Bradley Kicks Off 21st Season Friday
Bradley will kick off its 21st season as a NCAA Division I soccer program this weekend by hosting the 11th Holiday Inn City Centre Classic Friday and Saturday nights at Shea Stadium. Bradley's Missouri Valley Conference rival Eastern Illinois will play the opening game at five o'clock each night by facing Belmont Friday and Lipscomb Saturday. The Braves will follow with the 7:30 p.m. game both nights, Friday versus Lipscomb and Saturday against Belmont.
The Braves own a 15-4-1 (.775) record in the previous 10 Holiday Inn City Centre Classics, but Bradley has not won the tournament since sharing the 2004 crown with Missouri State. This is the seventh year the Holiday Inn City Centre Classic has served as Bradley's season-opening event and the Braves are 9-2-1 (.792) with four championships (1995, 2000, 2002, 2003) in the six previous times they have started a season by hosting the HICCC.
Friday's season-opener versus Lipscomb will serve as Bradley's first-ever game versus the Bisons. The Braves posted a 4-1 Missouri Valley Conference road win verus Belmont Oct. 8, 2000 in the only previous meeting between the two teams.
Braves Picked Second
? In a poll of the league's head coaches conducted in late July, Bradley has been picked to finish second in the 2007 Missouri Valley Conference race.
? Having claimed at least a share of the last two Valley regular-season crowns (outright in 2005, shared in 2006), Bradley is attempting to join Creighton (1992-96) and SMU (2000-02) as the only teams to win three straight league titles.
2007 MVC Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Creighton (47 1st place votes) 47 Points
2. Bradley (1) 39
3. Eastern Illinois 28
4. Evansville 27
5. Drake 24
6. Missouri State (1) 21
7. Western Kentucky 10
Three Preseason Honors
? Sophomore midfielder Grant Campbell, sophomore forward Chris Cutshaw and senior defender Joe Donoho all were named to the 13-player preseason all-conference squad in a league-wide vote of coaches this summer.
? Playing primarily as Bradley's central defensive midfielder, Campbell was one of just three Braves to start all 20 games last season and he is the only returning field player who started all 20 games (graduate Zach Bell and keeper Mike Haynes were the other two 20-game starters).
? Cutshaw was the 2006 Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year and he is the team's top returning scorer after contributing five goals and two assists for 12 points last season.
? A 6-foot-3 transfer from Rutgers, Donoho anchors Bradley's back line and also added a scoring threat on restarts last season, finishing with three goals and an assist.
Difficult Schedule
? The Braves figure to be faced with the most difficult schedule in program history and one of the toughest in the country in 2007.
? This year's 20-game regular-season schedule features seven conference champions and eight teams that played in the 2006 NCAA Tournament.
? Bradley will face the meat of the schedule starting with the second week of the season when the Braves venture to Winston-Salem, N.C. to take on North Carolina (Sept. 7) and Wake Forest (Sept. 9) in the Wake Forest Tournament.
? While UNC received a first-round bye in the 2006 NCAA Tournament, the host Demon Deacons reached the national championship game, losing in a penalty kick shootout.
? The Wake Forest Tournament will start a string of five consecutive games, as well as seven of nine, against teams that played in the 2006 NCAA Tournament.
DeRose Is a Young Veteran
? Jim DeRose is preparing for his 12th year as Bradley's head coach, but he has not yet celebrated his 40th birthday.
? DeRose, who will turn 40 Sept. 28 when the Braves host IUPUI, is the only active men's soccer coach in the country with 100 wins before his 40th birthday.
? DeRose will enter the 2007 campaign with a 127-78-21 (.608) record.
Senior Leadership
? The 2007 Bradley Soccer team should benefit from some experienced leadership as the team boasts eight seniors, including a quartet of fifth-year seniors: Teddy Anderson, Mike Haynes, Ken Hickman and Todd Reedy.
Old Man Hickman
? Senior midfielder Ken Hickman, who is the team's active career leader for goals (10) and assists (9), began his career at Bradley in 2002 and is the last remaining link to the program's school-record 15-game unbeaten streak.
? Following his sophomore season, he embarked on a two-year church mission, then returned to Bradley in 2006 to complete his eligibility.
? Hickman (23) also is married.
Re-Connected One Last Year
? Although senior goalkeeper Mike Haynes joined the Bradley program from nearby Dunlap High School and senior forward Teddy Anderson made the trek to Peoria from Florida, the two were former club teammates.
? As a nine-year-old, Haynes began a three-year stint playing for the Tampa Bay Kickers, where he teamed with Anderson.
The Western Experience
? Senior goalkeeper Mike Haynes has ventured west the last two summers to keep his skills sharp.
? In 2006, Haynes ventured to Utah to play for the Ogden Outlaws in the Premier Development League.
? In preparation for his senior year, Haynes spent this past summer in South Dakota playing for the PDL's Sioux Falls SpitFire.
? Haynes was joined by current Braves Chris Cutshaw and Brad Snook in Sioux Falls.
