IU looks to continue win streak

They aren’t quite the Three Musketeers, but senior Alec Purdie, sophomore Nikita Kotlov and freshman Eriq Zavaleta have had no problem leading the IU men’s soccer team.

“Eriq’s obviously doing a great job up top,” senior defender Tommy Meyer said. “He’s finding goals at crucial times. Purdie’s scoring goals. Nikita’s up there now. We’ve got a solid top three.”

But if the three potential Musketeers play up front, then add a fourth: Meyer and his defense of the backfield.

He’s the one, after all, who’s seen the field against Kentucky for the past three years.

After the team’s 4-1 victory against Big Ten foe Michigan on Saturday, it appears the IU men’s soccer team leaders have refocused their team after its three-game skid a few weeks ago.

But tonight, as they take on border-rival Kentucky at Jerry Yeagley Field, the No. 19 Hoosiers will have a whole new challenge to conquer.

“Over the four years, they’ve always had teams that are real physical,” Meyer said. “But this year we’ve heard that they like to play a little bit more. Basically we got to keep the ball in their half instead of them coming at us.”

Although Kentucky comes into the matchup unranked, they have a roster filled with international talent unparalleled by any team IU has played thus far.

Kentucky head coach Ian Collins, who has coached the Wildcats for 15 seasons, hails from across the pond in England. With his international connection, he has started a tradition of building his teams with players from all around the world.

“He (Collins) has found some very good ones from all over, and that’s seemed to be his strategy throughout the years,” IU Coach Todd Yeagley said. “Kentucky’s players, especially their international ones, are always very confident and mature, both mentally and physically.”

Collins’s team this year contains 10 players originally from outside the United States, including five players from his native England. Yeagley said oftentimes international players have more energy and more of a drive, which he’s been working with his players this week to help prepare for.

“These kids are always very hungry,” Yeagley said. “ Oftentimes this is their only opportunity to get a good education, and they come from a tougher background, and this gives them more of an edge. They’ve been growing up around soccer their whole lives — it’s their culture — and our guys will have to try and adapt to that.”

IU contrasts Kentucky’s large international base with more than half of its players coming from the Hoosier state. This year in particular, it’s seen a good amount of success in its Indiana recruiting.

The team’s co-leaders in points, Zavaleta and Purdie, both hail from Indiana, with Zavaleta from Westfield, Ind., and Purdie from Elkhart, Ind.

The duo have combined for 32 of the team’s 74 points through 13 games. They’ve also each picked up two Big Ten Player of the Week awards each along the way.

But even with all the awards and points, Yeagley still said he expects more from his team.

“We’ve been watching a lot of video this week,” Yeagley said. “We’ve had our good periods here and there, but we haven’t put together a full 90 minutes of solid soccer. We’re looking for that perfect game, and we need all the parts to come together.”

That’s what Yeagley expects tonight. Even though Kentucky comes in dropping four of its last five games, Yeagley said he knows his players will see a great game from their regional foe.

“We’ve had lots of good games with them throughout the years,” he said. “You’re always physical, but anytime you play a border rival like Kentucky, there’s going to be some very high emotions. ”