In a town where basketball is the law, Lee nguyen and company just keep winning

The scene: IU trails Oregon State 2-1, seven minutes left.\nThe stakes: With a loss, the Hoosiers lose their No. 1 ranking.\nAnd then it happened.\nFreshman Lee Nguyen receives a pass 30 yards out and begins barreling toward the goal. Two OSU defenders converge on The Kid, and one is able to deflect the ball into the air. In one fluid motion, Nguyen chests the ball back to the ground, splits the two defenders, chips a shot off the short hop and watches it sail over the approaching keeper.\nThe game is tied, the Hoosiers win the tourney and retain their No. 1 ranking. All in a day's work for the reigning National High School Player of the Year.\nAfter his breakout weekend at the Oregon State Classic, the Big Ten honored the freshman forward by naming him Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week. After two weekends of scoreless play, Nguyen finally tallied his first career point with an assist to junior forward Jacob Peterson Sept. 16 against No. 16 California State University, Northridge.\n"Lee had been finding me a lot during play, but I couldn't finish," Peterson said. "I'm glad I was able to score one of those he gave me."\nNguyen wasted little time getting back on the score sheet when he notched his first career goal ten minutes after his assist to Peterson. Nguyen followed the Cal-State, Northridge, game with another one goal, one assist performance against Oregon State. \nThe Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week accolade is Nguyen's first taste of collegiate sports recognition, but he is certainly no stranger to the spotlight.\nNguyen is the reigning National Gatorade Boys Soccer High School Player of the Year, playing for Plano East High School in Richardson, Texas. Parade Magazine named him as part of its All-American squad two years in a row, and Nguyen led his high school team to its first state tournament berth in school history. Adding to his resume, Nguyen was the only high school player to be named to the USA U-20 roster for the 2005 FIFA World Championship in Holland. In 11 appearances for the U-20 national team, Nguyen scored two goals and had one assist. Playing in such prestigious events helped prepare him for the transition to Big Ten college soccer.\n"It is something you cherish for the rest of your life," Nguyen said. "Not many people get the chance to do that. I learned a lot playing against top professionals."\nPeterson represented the only other Hoosier on the U-20 World Championship team. Playing in Holland gave Nguyen and Peterson time to form a relationship on and off the field. The time the two scorers spent overseas helped ease Nguyen's jump from high school to collegiate soccer.\n"The soccer is so much faster here in Division I because everyone here can play," Nguyen said. "Playing with Jake all summer before I came here, he made me believe I can do whatever I wanted. He made me feel real comfortable."\nNguyen has made an immediate impact on the Hoosier offense that only scored 1.8 goals per game last season. IU is currently averaging three goals per game, including two five-goal games. The team didn't score five goals in any single game last year.\n"He is the type of player that can create," IU head coach Mike Freitag said. "That is why we recruited him. We knew he was special, and he has some special offensive creativity and effectiveness a team needs. We are glad we have him."\nWhile the individual awards have -- and will most likely continue to -- come for Nguyen, he is searching for some hardware his elder teammates already have: a national championship ring.\n"We are working towards another national championship," Nguyen said. "That is on our minds right now, so we are taking it one game at a time."\nAll in a day's work for The Kid.