Cougars to face tough competition on the road

Branden Peterson
Sports Stringer

The SIUE men's soccer team will go east to University of Indianapolis Friday and will then travel to Northern Kentucky University in Highland Heights, Ky., Sunday.

The Cougars are tied for second in the Great Lakes Valley Conference with Lewis University, Quincy University and Indiana University Purdue University at-Fort Wayne.

Coach Ed Huneke isn't worried about the standings right now.

"There is a lot of parody in the league this year," Huneke said. "Nobody is really dominating. We most likely won't know who the top team is until the last week of the season."

Since there are no teams dominating, the Cougars will need to win every game possible to win the conference championship.

Both Indianapolis and Northern Kentucky are tied for third in the conference rankings. Indianapolis has two of the top three scorers in the conference: Danilo Moreira, who has scored 25 points this season, and Paul Makovec, with 20.

Both players are also two of the top four scorers in the conference.

"They do have some good goal scorers, but I've been pleased with the way our defense has been shutting down some top goal scorers and key players," Huneke said. "I think they're up to the task this weekend."

The Greyhounds not only have the two top scorers but are also ranked No. 1 in overall offense.

To combat the Greyhound offense, the Cougars have fourth-ranked conference goalie Donny Sheehan, who has two shutouts and has a 1.13 goals against average.

Huneke will also be looking to defenders Cress Maddox and Ryan Harken.

"We feel very confident about Cress Maddox and Ryan Harken when it comes to man-marking abilities," Huneke said. "We will make sure to put the appropriate assignments together, so it will be a tough day for their forwards."

But defense can't win it alone.

The coach will also be looking to the forward line to get the job done.

"I'm looking for starters Brandon Gibbs, Justin Huneke and Yuzuru Takami to score," Huneke said.

Justin Huneke has scored five goals and 10 points this season, and Takami and Gibbs have each scored three goals this season.

Northern Kentucky has two good scorers in Mohamed Janah and Jeff Anderson, who both have 15 points this season.

The Cougars will play Indianapolis at 1 p.m. Friday and will play Northern Kentucky at 12:30 p.m. Sunday at Bob Guelker Field at Ralph Korte Stadium.