Scorers leading team into home MSU match

Freshman Eriq Zavaleta and senior Alec Purdie don’t plan on slowing their goal production any time soon.

After a three-game losing streak to start October, the IU men’s soccer team has turned around with a three-game win streak. The streaks are in large part due to the feet of the freshman and senior.

The No. 13 Hoosiers are back to conference play against Michigan State on Sunday in Bloomington. The game is their fourth to last of the regular season.

“That’s always the sign of a good team,” senior Purdie said about the streak. “If you’re playing well, that’s great, but if you’re aren’t playing your best you can find a way to get the win. It’s all about at the end of the 90 minutes finding the result that you need, and we’ve done a good job of that so far.”

Purdie and Zavaleta have proved to be a lethal one-two punch for opponents, combining for 15 goals. Zavaleta continues to impress, after his go-ahead goal on a penalty kick against Kentucky. He now leads the Hoosiers in goals, having scored eight.

“I came in wanting to help the team no matter if I get goals or if it’s someone else,” Zavaleta said. “It’s coming down to crunch time, and we’ve got to win games, both Big Ten and non-conference.”

After giving up six goals during their three-game losing streak, the Hoosiers’ defense has tightened up the last three games, allowing only one goal.

“We’re starting to get our confidence back up top,” junior goalie Luis Soffner said. “Our defense has been solid. We’re still keeping the ball out of the net and creating less chances for their offense. I think that all around the field, confidence is up.”

While Michigan State is having a down year at 4-7-3, IU Coach Todd Yeagley said he feels his team is going to come out Sunday with a sense of urgency to seek the result that they need.

“We’re going to see a very motivated group in the sense of our Big Ten position,” Yeagley said. “It’s going to be a pivotal game as this last game was to keep us in the hunt, and I see us having a very good performance.”

With the recent losses by No. 1 Connecticut, No. 7 North Carolina and defending national champion No. 6 Akron, the field for the College Cup appears to be
 wide open.

Purdie said he knows his team understands the challenge ahead.

“There are a lot of teams that are dropping games right now,” Purdie said. “At the end of the day, we control our own destiny. We just need to control ourselves, keep getting the results we want, and everything else will take care of itself.”