Freshman finds role in NCAA victory

Freshman midfielder Ned Grabavoy came to IU as the best player in IU's highly touted 2001 recruiting class. In his final high school season he was named National Player of the Year by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, was the Illinois Player of the Year and captained the Under-18 U.S. 2000-2001 National Team.\nHopes were high that he could compensate somewhat for IU's loss of All-American midfielder Ryan Mack, who was forced to redshirt after tearing his ACL over the summer. But those hopes were dashed when Grabavoy broke his foot during the second week of preseason practice. He was predicted to be out for 4-6 weeks. \nSix weeks ballooned to 10 and as the regular season began to wind down, Grabavoy was uncertain if he would play at all this year.\n"There were times before I stepped out on the field for my first minute of my career here at Indiana where I was really thinking about redshirting because (my recovery) was taking so long," Grabavoy said.\nBut he decided against redshirting and after some subpar games, came through as a key player in Sunday's sweet 16 victory against Rutgers.\nHe came off the bench early in the first half and accounted for two of the Hoosier's four assists in the game. \nRutgers head coach Bob Reasso said Grabavoy's play accounted for much of IU's momentum. \n"As soon as he got in the game, he changed the game totally," Reasso said. "He's the one that (assisted junior midfielder Phil) Presser for that chance in the box. I think he made a big impact on the game."\nPresser's goal came at the 32:02 mark. The scoring drive was initiated when junior forward Pat Noonan sent a pass to Grabavoy from the far side of the box. Grabavoy then made a quick touch pass to Presser who sent a shot past Rutgers junior goalie Ricky Zinter. Noonan and Grabavoy were both credited with an assist. \nGrabavoy's second assist came at the 56:50 mark when he found sophomore midfielder Vijay Dias streaking toward the goal. Dias took Zinter one-on-one and put the ball in the back of the net to put the Hoosiers ahead 3-0.\nHead coach Jerry Yeagley said Grabavoy played to his potential Sunday. \n"This was an ideal game for Ned because there were some spots in front of their backs and in between their midfield and we wanted him to get in there and get him the ball," Yeagley said. "When he has the ball people run and he gets it to them. That was a tremendous performance today, hopefully he can continue it."\nRutgers junior forward Guy Abrahamson said his team's defense had a hard time containing Grabavoy.\n"Grabavoy seemed to be beating guys pretty easily in the middle," Abrahamson explained. "So then we had to make decisions as backs stepping up and that kind of opened us up."\nAfter a long season of uncertainty and disappointment, Grabavoy finally lived up to his billing as a potent offensive threat. He said after a recovery process that was at times tedious and frustrating, he is back to 100 percent.\n"When I first came back to practice, my passes weren't on. My touch wasn't there (because) I was out for 10 weeks." Grabavoy said. "But these last two weeks after the Big Ten Tournament I really feel like I'm coming back and I'm back to normal"