Loading ...Mares officially joins IU soccer
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by Jeremy Price | Friday, January 4, 2013 - 12:09 am UTC
This became official earlier today, but I’m late due to being on post-holiday vacation. Here’s the release from IU confirming the transfer of midfielder Dylan Mares from Louisville to the Indiana men’s soccer team:
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana University head men’s soccer coach Todd Yeagley announced today that Dylan Mares (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville Community) has joined the Hoosier soccer program for the spring 2013 semester.
Mares comes to Indiana after two seasons at the University of Louisville. He will have two years of eligibility remaining beginning with the fall 2013 season.
“Dylan is a special attacking player who will make an immediate impact within our team,” Yeagley said. “He is very talented off the dribble and is able to create goals for himself and others. Our program is excited to have Dylan Mares wear the IU jersey.”
In 2012, Mares started 18 of 19 matches played for theCardinals, leading the team in goals scored (seven) and total points (20). Two of his seven goals were game winners as Louisville finished the year 14-6-1 and advanced to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament.
Mares took a medical redshirt in 2011 after suffering a knee injury. That was after a freshman campaign in 2010 that saw him play all 22matches and earn BIG EAST Rookie of the Year, second-team All-BIG EAST, Soccer America All-Freshman and second-team NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region honors. Mares was second on the team in points with eight goals and four assists (20 points) as the Cardinals advanced to their first-ever NCAA College Cup.
A high school standout at Zionsville Community alongside current Hoosiers A.J. Corrado and Harrison Petts, Mares finished his senioryear with 24 goals and 10 assists, earning all-state honors. He was named to the Indianapolis Star Super Team in 2009 and helped guide the Eagles to thestate title with a record of 23-2-2. Mares was an all-district honoree for three-straight seasons and was an all-state selection in 2008.
Indiana recently wrapped up its 2012 campaign at 16-5-3 with the program’s eighth national title, defeating Georgetown 1-0 in the NCAA College Cup championship match on Dec. 9.
I know just enough about soccer to spell it correctly. This looks to be a big + for IU. How big is it? What does it mean for the next 2 years?
Coach Yeagley’s recruiting strategy is interesting to observe. He’s cultivating multi-generational ties to the Hoosier program a la Tommy Meyer who was selected in last year’s MLS draft and whose father played for IU under Jerry Yeagley, as well as the Thompson brothers from CA whose father also played for the elder Yeagley. Then he goes and gets a top talent transfer in Mares from Louisville who, as mentioned in the release, played with Petts & Corrado in high school. Proven talent + team chemistry + addressing position needs.
What you don’t necessarily see is Coach Yeagley doing as much coast-to-coast recruiting of national top talent unless he has an in-road. He’s mixing a national focus with an emphasis on the historical “IU Family”, in-state Indiana talent, and regional talent from perennial places like St. Louis where we’ve always had a recruiting pipeline. However if you look at our roster from this year’s championship team, I love that there are an overwhelming number of guys from Indiana, so Coach is confident in his ability to develop players vs. relying heavily on talent hotbeds like California and the East Coast.
I think (and hope) we’re seeing the beginning on another IU soccer renaissance beginning to take off. Can’t wait.