Final road trip points east

When Jerry Yeagley put together the schedule for the men's soccer 2001 season, an easy finale wasn't one of his priorities. Instead, the No. 6 Hoosiers final road trip will pit them against a No.10 Rutgers squad Friday and a dangerous Princeton team Sunday.\n"They're both going to be very difficult games," coach Yeagley said. "But we want tough games against national contenders at the end of the regular season."\nThe Hoosiers (10-3-0) will get that tough game Friday night, when they match up with Rutgers (9-2-3). IU has faced the Scarlet Knights only three times, holding a 2-1 lead in the series. The last time the two teams played each other was in 1997 when the Hoosiers managed a 4-3 victory. \nRutgers presents a definite challenge for the Hoosiers. They return 10 starters from last season's team and are coming off a 1-1 tie against No.11 South Carolina. \nIU will have to do without the aggressive defense of freshman forward Danny O'Rourke Friday. He received his fifth yellow card of the season in last Saturday's game against Ohio State, receiving an automatic one game suspension.\nThe team is able to adjust to the loss of O'Rourke, said senior goalie Colin Rogers.\n"Someone else will be in there and we're confident whoever it may be will step up," Rogers said. "I think (junior midfielder Phil) Presser is going to have to have a big game for us and really communicate in the back midfield for us. That will be key." \nYeagley agreed that Presser will have to play well in the defensive midfield position to compensate for the benched O'Rourke. He said reserve sophomore backs Drew Shinabarger and David Prall will also have to play well Friday.\nOn Sunday the Hoosiers travel to Princeton for what should be another demanding contest. IU has never played the Tigers before, who are 5-2-4 on the season. O'Rourke will be welcomed back to help defend Mike Nugent, Princeton's leading scorer, who has seven goals and three assists on the season.\nThe Hoosiers' offense has struggled the last two games. Last Wednesday IU was unable to score against Notre Dame in a 1-0 loss. They beat Ohio State 1-0 Saturday but many shots on goal were unsuccessful.\n"Sometimes goals dry up and bounces don't go your way," Yeagley said. "We have to keep creating chances and stick with the things we've been doing." \nJunior forward Pat Noonan said scoring will come so long as the chances are there.\n"We have struggled the last two games but we haven't had the opportunities," Noonan said. "(Ohio State and Notre Dame) kind of packed it in and put eight behind the ball (defensively) so I think our chances will come. After watching the film I think we see what (Rutgers and Princeton) have and I think we'll get plenty of scoring opportunities"