Championship Schedule Continues in Week 3

The third week of the 2007 Bradley Soccer season will continue to see the Braves challenge championship opponents.  The two-time defending Missouri Valley Conference champion Braves will visit reigning Summit League champion Western Illinois Thursday evening before hosting defending Big East Conference Red Division champion Cincinnati Sunday afternoon at Shea Stadium.  After dropping a 3-0 decision Sunday afternoon at #1 Wake Forest, Bradley's streak of consecutive games against reigning conference champions will reach four when the Braves follow the Cincinnati game by hosting Atlantic 10 Conference champion Saint Louis Sept. 22 at Shea Stadium.

Sunday's 1 p.m. contest against the Bearcats also will be the feature attraction during the Bradley Soccer program's 20-year reunion weekend.  Now one-fifth of the way through its 21st season, Bradley Soccer was elevated to NCAA Division I status for the 1987 campaign, playing its first game at college soccer's highest division Sept. 1, 1987 at Quincy (a 1-0 loss).  The Braves earned their first win as a NCAA Division I team Sept. 23, 1987 by dropping Augustana (Ill.), 1-0, in a home game contested at then Bergan High School.

Time for evaluation

?    After missing as many as 16 potential training sessions during the preseason following the death of redshirt freshman Danny Dahlquist, 12th-year Bradley head coach Jim DeRose has been forced to evaluate his players in live game situations rather than on the practice field.

?    As a result, DeRose used 19 players during Friday's 1-1 draw versus North Carolina and 20 in Sunday's 3-0 loss at #1 Wake Forest, including six true freshmen in both games against the national powers.

?    Goalkeeper Mike Haynes and senior sweeper Joe Donoho were the only two Braves to log all 200 minutes during the weekend action at Wake Forest, while 15 players earned at least 90 total minutes of playing time in the two games.

Anderson Adjusting

?    Teddy Anderson, a fifth-year senior who had collected six goals and six assists as an attacking player in his first four years at Bradley, has made a smooth transition to right back for the Braves this fall.

?    Anderson joined sophomore forward Chris Cutshaw on the all-tournament team at Wake Forest after logging 131 minutes in the oppressive heat of Winston-Salem.

?    After overcoming severe dehydration during Friday night's game, Anderson again stood out Sunday and made a tremendous team save near the left post midway through the second half against the top-ranked Demon Deacons to keep the game scoreless at the time.

?    Anderson was injured on his hustle play and Wake Forest scored all three of its goals in a span of 10 minutes after he came out of the game.

Tight Tussle Expected

?    Expect a close game when Bradley visits Western Illinois Thursday evening.

?    Bradley owns a 12-7-0 lead in the all-time series against the Leathernecks and each of the last nine confrontations have been decided by one goal.

?    Western Illinois ended Bradley's eight-game winning streak in the series last year by hanging on for a 3-2 victory Oct. 17 at Shea Stadium.

?    Bradley is 7-2 all-time at Western Illinois and six of those seven wins have been decided by one goal, including all four games in Bradley's current road winning streak against the Leathernecks.

Cincinnati Skid

?    The Braves are 1-4-0 all-time against Cincinnati and Bradley's current four-game slide against the Bearcats equals the team's longest active losing streak against an opponent (Ohio State and Wisconsin).

?    In Cincinnati's only previous visit to Peoria, the Bearcats earned a 2-1 win Sept. 14, 2003, dealing Bradley its first-ever loss at Shea Stadium.