Team trusts steady players to supply offense

For the first time in three years, the men's soccer team doesn't boast a star international player that has carried the team with prolific scoring. \nInstead, the Hoosiers have looked to three American players without gaudy numbers to supply the offense. \nSenior forward Matt Fundenberger, junior midfielder Ryan Mack and sophomore forward Pat Noonan have each scored less than 13 goals, making IU the only Final Four team not to have a prolific leading-scorer.\n"Those are the three guys who've stepped up and gotten us our goals," coach Jerry Yeagley said. "And we just hope we can win with good defending and hang in there with good defending and one or more of those guys can find us a way to get a goal."\nThe Hoosiers enter the first semifinal of the NCAA tournament with 41 season goals against Creighton's 55 Friday in Charlotte, N.C. Connecticut and Southern Methodist meet in the other semifinal.\nUnlike the Hoosiers, who had three Hermann Trophy candidates who didn't make the finalist cut, UConn has two of the five final candidates for national player of the year. The other three teams clawed their way through road games, top-ranked opponents and out-hustled star athletes.\nTo reach the Final Four the last three years, the Hoosiers had players such as Aleksey Korol, Yuri Lavrinenko, Lazo Alavanja and Dema Kovalenko to shine on offense. Korol scored 20 goals and tallied 10 assists last season. \nThis season, the Hoosiers have relied on three players to carry the bulk of the scoring. Game after game in the NCAA tournament, IU has faced an opponent that has largely scored more goals than the Hoosiers in the regular season. For example, the Tar Heels' top two leading scorers had more goals than all of the Hoosiers combined.\nThe lack of a star player gives the Hoosiers an advantage against opposing defenses.\n"Our offense has been working together real well and coming together," said Mack, who has scored five goals and six assists for 16 points in his NCAA tournament career. "And I think that helps because it gives us more chances for scoring because they can't just shut one man down."\nMack scored one of his two tournament goals 20 yards out, after beating his defender on the run in the 1-0 win against North Carolina.\nWhile Mack sprints through defenses and fires shots from anywhere on the field, Noonan drives through the midfield and takes any open shot. Fundenberger compensates for his lack of quickness by finding open space in the opponent's third.\n"(Noonan) sort of floats around to find the open spots where he can get the ball, and (Fundenberger's) just sort of our target, our Clydesdale workhorse," Yeagley said. "He can occupy a couple central defenders. It's an interesting mix."\nNoonan has totalled three goals and four assists for 10 points in NCAA tournament play. Fundenberger has scored four goals and four assists for 12 points in his four years at IU, and he is 12th on the all-time list with 37 goals.\nWhile IU has balanced its offense, Creighton's primary scorers are three forwards, two of whom have scored 35 goals -- nearly matching IU's offense (41). Brian Mullan leads the Bluejays with 17 goals and 12 assists. Mike Tranchilla comes in second with 18 goals and eight assists. Creighton has scored 55 goals on the year and four against the Hoosiers in September.\n"Creighton's got a lot of weapons, especially their two forwards," Noonan said. "They're like the Carolina forwards. They got a lot of goals between them and they're real dangerous, so we've got to have a good defensive effort.\n"I think our offensive chances will come. Last game, I think we outshot them I think by double, but we just have to finish our opportunities when we get them."\nSMU is also explosive, tallying 81 goals this season with four players in double figures, including Mohamed Fahim, who has 25 goals.\nUConn is like the Hoosiers, having scored only 45 goals, but Cesar Cuellar is the only Husky to tally double figures.\nThe Huskies are a team the Hoosiers used to resemble -- filled with veterans and loaded with skills.\n"Indiana is more blue-collared, Midwest work ethic along with some good players as compared to Connecticut and SMU, who are maybe more known for their technical skill and individual players," Yeagley said. "And that changes year to year. We were known for that for the last three. \n"This year, we're much more of a team for our success"