In a rematch of the NCAA 2012 College Cup final match, the Georgetown men’s soccer team will open its season Friday against the Indiana Hoosiers in Bloomington, Ind. The game will mark the beginning of the 2014 regular season and follows two preseason exhibition games. In their 2012 encounter, Indiana struck for a goal in the 64th minute and held on to win 1-0, securing the national championship for the Big Ten team. The ninth-ranked Hoyas (0-0) played No. 15 Pennsylvania State and No. 3 Virginia in away matches and emerged with a 1-0-1 preseason record. The Hoyas spent much of their game in Happy Valley holding possession in the opposing third of the field, creating enough chances to manufacture a 3-1 win over the Nittany Lions. Virginia then played host to the Hoyas on Aug. 23 for both squads’ final warm-up match. The offense waited until late in the game to find the back of the net. Shortly after Georgetown conceded in the 75th minute, senior defender Jared Rist scored to tie the match 1-1. Preseason, of course, does not count for anything real at the end of the day, but Georgetown Head Coach Brian Wiese believes that positive results against two strong opponents signal good things to come once the games start to matter. “I thought the whole team was really positive. Hopefully the preseason will be a good indicator for the rest of the fall for us,” Wiese said. Wiese was impressed not only with the team’s in-game performance, but also with the players’ conditioning and focus when they first arrived for summer practices. Wiese also heaped praise on a “humble but also very hungry” group of freshmen players. Despite this encouraging new influx of talent, Wiese does not plan on using any freshmen in the the starting 11 against Indiana. This means that top recruits like midfielders Christopher Lema and Arun Basuljevic will need to wait before making their college debuts. “All of [the freshmen] are just getting used to the pace at which the game happens at the college level. It is different,” Wiese said. “Experience is going to have to carry the day in a highly charged environment.” Wiese also confirmed that sophomore forward Alex Muyl will be moved from his midfielder spot to the central role vacated by graduated forward Steve Neumann, who now plays for the New England Revolution in the MLS. Muyl’s position will likely be filled by one of a trio of experienced players: Senior midfielders Tom Skelly and Austin Martz and junior forward Melvin Snoh are all candidates for the starting honors. These players, along with Muyl, will be part of an attack led by junior forward Brandon Allen, who was named the Big East Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. Georgetown’s opponents enter the season with a number of question marks. The team did not return its top three leaders in points, meaning that the Hoosiers’ offense will rely on new players. Indiana will be concerned about its defense, especially against the high-powered Georgetown attack. The team allowed 1.73 goals on average last season. In contrast, Georgetown averaged just 0.48 goals per game — while the Hoyas scored an average of nearly two goals a game. Despite Georgetown’s apparent statistical advantage, Wiese believes that the chaotic atmosphere in Bill Armstrong Stadium will provide a challenge to the visiting team. “They will be figuring things out, as are we,” Wiese said. “But they are playing at home and are expecting 5000 to 7000 thousand people there. The environment will be as great a test as the actual opponent.” In addition to dealing with their opponent’s raucous fan support, the team will also have to keep their emotions in check during a game that carries special significance. A number of players from the 2012 College Cup loss will see the field Friday. According to Wiese, the Hoyas are trying to overlook this painful history in order to prevent it from overshadowing the game at hand. “It has never really come up. This group is doing a good job of taking every game for what it is and not trying to make something into a grudge match. The danger of doing something like that is that your emotions can start clouding the game,” Wiese said. Kickoff in Bloomington is at 8 p.m. The Hoyas will then travel to South Bend, Ind., to play the near-unanimously chosen preseason No. 1 Notre Dame on Sunday, Aug. 31 at 2 p.m.