IU cautious about last road game

The men's soccer team squares off with the Louisville Cardinals 7 p.m. tonight in Louisville, Ky. The Hoosiers (8-3-4, 4-0-1 Big Ten) have won six consecutive matches, dating back to Oct. 5. During that streak, IU has outscored it opponents by 12 goals and has allowed a mere two. This game marks IU's last road game of the regular season.\nIU coach Jerry Yeagley said he is a little bit anxious about this match with the Cardinals (10-5-2, 5-2-2 Conference USA) and added his team must get over its last victory. \n"I'm worried about Louisville," Yeagley said. "They beat Saint Louis. They play in a strong conference in Conference USA. Sometimes midweek games on the road are hard. We have to get over Saint Louis."\nThe Hoosiers outlasted then-No. 5 Saint Louis, 2-1 Friday at Armstrong Stadium.\nWhile IU has experienced success recently, in the early part of the season it was a different story. At one point, the Hoosiers only won one game in an eight-game stretch. \nSophomore midfielder Brian Plotkin said that challenging period helped bring the team closer together.\n"We're a close unit," Plotkin said. "We've been through adversity in the beginning of the season. That helped us. It made us better."\nAfter a tie with Butler at home, IU had two wins compared to four ties, before they went on the current winning streak.\nBut the Hoosiers have been able to turn the tide and have gone unbeaten in eight consecutive games. The youths on the team have had a say in that. In every one of IU's 15 games, at least five underclassmen, who are true freshmen, redshirt freshmen or sophomores who did not start last season, have been in the starting lineup.\nYeagley said the freshmen have been instrumental to the team's turnaround.\n"Five or six freshmen are playing with more confidence," Yeagley said. "At the midseason point, we were 2-3-4. That's the worst we've ever been at the midseason point. Part of it was us. Part of it was bad breaks. Things were going against us early on. We were starting to wonder."\nOne of those younger players is sophomore defender/midfielder Jordan Chirico. He has played in 14 contests this year and has started in four of them. Chirico said he can be used as an asset off the bench. \n"If I'm coming off the bench, I pick things up," he said. "I try to do something positive for the team. If I don't play, it's not a big deal. Whether I play or not, I just care whether we win the game."\nBesides the younger players on the team, junior forward Ned Grabavoy has provided the offensive firepower for the team. Grabavoy was awarded the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week Monday. This marks the third time this season Grabavoy has earned the honor, the last time being Oct. 13. \n"Ned's our player, our go-to player," Plotkin said. "We look to him to get us out of tough situations."\nAt the same time, Plotkin has been an offensive weapon. He ranks second on the team in goals and points behind Grabavoy, with four and 13, respectively. Grabavoy has registered 10 goals and 26 points this year, including scoring a pair of goals in the Saint Louis victory. \nMeanwhile, the players are focused on the Cardinals and are taking the remaining matches of the regular season one match at a time.\n"We try to come into every game like we need it," Chirico said. "We need every game for the tournament. We haven't won enough games to get into the tournament yet."\n-- Contact staff writer Zack Eldridge at zeldridg@indiana.edu.