Momentum carries Hoosiers into home battle with Kentucky
Oct 29, 2008 12:15 amWith an upset, a penalty kick victory and a last-minute win behind them, the No. 17 Hoosiers have experienced a wide variety of matches.
With an upset, a penalty kick victory and a last-minute win behind them, the No. 17 Hoosiers have experienced a wide variety of matches.
With two consecutive wins against top-15 teams, the IU men’s soccer team hopes to continue the momentum when it travels to Ohio State in a critical conference battle Sunday afternoon.
Only five games remain before the Big Ten tournament, but the No. 22 Hoosiers aren’t about to look ahead.
Coming off a 3-1 upset win against then-No. 9 Notre Dame, IU (7-4-2)
wants to build off its victory going into the match against No. 14
Louisville (9-3-2) at 7:30 p.m. today.
Sophomore forward Andy Adlard said a key component to the win was a
good week of practice preceding the match. Leading up to the Notre Dame
game, every Hoosier showed up motivated and prepared, Adlard said.
The bench players stood in their black warm-ups, some wearing red
beanies, waiting for the game to end and for the celebration to begin.
The Hoosiers (7-4-2) finally lived up to past legends and current
expectations as they defeated No. 9 Notre Dame 3-1 on Thursday.
Their first home victory since a 3-2 win against Big Ten foe Wisconsin
on Sept. 21 and first upset of the year, Thursday’s match marked a
turning point in the season.
Brushing off an away defeat to Michigan State last week, the Hoosiers
entered the match ready to start a winning streak. In a team meeting
this week after practice, the players and coaches discussed their
strengths and weaknesses.
“It’s a game that shows the players have a feeling what’s it like to
have to play a 90 minute game,” said IU coach Mike Freitag. “It’s a
feeling we’ve had in other games, but now we can’t forget it.”
One strength of the Hoosiers, depth, was forced into action in the game’s opening minutes.
Sophomore defender Rich Balchan had his nose broken in a tussle in the
sixth minute and left the game, Freitag said. Freshman Tommy Meyer took
his place for the remaining minutes.
In the 24th minute junior defender Kevin Alston rifled the ball from 25
yards out into the right corner for his second goal of the season.
“It was a rush,” Alston said. “I didn’t really expect it. It felt great.”
Three minutes later, senior forward Kevin Noschang hit the ball into the bottom left corner.
It’s time for the IU men’s soccer team to live up to its potential.
After
opening the Big Ten campaign with an exciting 3-2 overtime win against
Wisconsin, the Hoosiers dropped two of three games before getting back
on track with a 2-0 victory against Butler on Tuesday night.
Soccer
can be a fickle game because no matter how dominant a team is, unless
that team can finish its scoring opportunities, the opponent will
always be one goal away from pulling an upset.
For the Hoosiers, it’s been the type of season where good play has not always translated to wins.
This past weekend against unranked Michigan, the IU men’s soccer team
was upset 1-0 after the lone Wolverine goal came less than two minutes
into the match. But come Tuesday night, it was IU sophomore forward
Daniel Kelly providing the early spark for the Hoosiers in their 2-0
win at Butler.
Kelly scored his second goal of the season just
11 seconds after the opening whistle was blown, when a pass back to
Butler junior goalkeeper Nick Hegeman was misplayed on the wet field.
Kelly rushed in on the loose ball to put it in the back of the net and
give his team a one-goal advantage.
Searching for a way to explain the IU men’s soccer team’s near misses and defensive mistakes, IU coach Mike Freitag urged his players to be as vigilant as a chicken.
The roller coaster continues, but for the struggling 20th-ranked IU men’s soccer team, the ride has not been thrilling.
The
Hoosiers lost 1-0 to unranked Michigan on Saturday, their second
straight home loss. The defeat was also IU’s second shutout loss of the
season.
PODCAST: Hoosier Sidelines
IU came into the weekend’s game hoping to build on its 3-2 overtime road victory against Evansville.
But
the Wolverines needed just seconds to clinch the win in the second
minute, when senior midfielder Alex Morisset sent the ball in to senior
forward Jake Stacy. Amid a sea of defenders, Stacy fired the ball in
the right side of the net.
Whirling. Tumbling. Soaring. Dropping.
The IU men’s soccer team has been on a wild ride, and only halfway through the regular season, it can’t get off yet.
After losing 2-1 to unranked UC-Santa Barbara, the No. 20 Hoosiers
traveled to Evansville on Tuesday to prove they remain of the NCAA’s
elite teams.
A 3-2 overtime win showed the team, though struggling, hasn’t gone
away. IU coach Mike Freitag said IU regrouped well after losing to the
Gauchos.
“It shouldn’t have been close to that (score).” Freitag said. “We
played very well from start to finish. Everyone played with the
intensity, the composure, the fight we needed.”
PODCAST: Hoosier Sidelines
As the fall season officially begins, a change is in the air for the men’s soccer team.
After last Sunday’s 3-2 overtime win against Big Ten foe Wisconsin, the
No. 14 Hoosiers (4-1-2) are riding a three-game winning streak. IU has
scored eight goals in the past three games after finishing three
consecutive scoreless matches.
With two decisive victories this past weekend in Los Angeles, the men’s soccer team for the first time this season will have momentum on its side. And with Big Ten play approaching, it could not have come at a better time.
The growing pains of two scoreless ties and a 4-0 upset by unranked Dartmouth gone, the No. 19 Hoosiers sprung out of adolescence as they defeated No. 24 UCLA 3-0 and San Diego 2-1.
Heading into his weekend matchups against No. 24 UCLA and San Diego,
both in Los Angeles, sophomore midfielder Rich Balchan said he feels
good about his team’s chances.
“We are moving forward and are confident going into this weekend,”
Balchan said. “I’m honestly not too worried about (UCLA). If we just
play our game, we will be fine.”
The No. 19 Hoosiers, 1-1-2, are hoping to rebound from a 4-0 loss this
past weekend against Dartmouth in South Bend. The outcome was the
largest margin of defeat in the program’s history.
From the Cardinals to Nelly, the Gateway Arch to Budweiser, St. Louis’ influence spreads beyond its borders, and IU men’s soccer is reaping the benefits.
IU head coach Mike Freitag signed another top-10 recruiting class this
season as College Soccer News ranked the incoming Hoosier men’s soccer
freshman class No. 3 in the nation in the publication’s eighth annual
recruiting rankings.
Not long ago, Todd Yeagley stumbled across a tape of the 1994 College Cup Championship game. He was in the IU men's soccer team locker room, looking for footage in the team's archives when he saw a copy of his last game as a college soccer player. He had never watched the game before. "I almost took it out," Todd Yeagley said, "and I said, 'No.'" The tape remains tucked away in storage, but Todd's memories of the game are vivid. He knows a victory would have been a perfect ending to his college career, a chance for him to give his father -- legendary men's soccer coach Jerry Yeagley -- another national championship to hang at the east end of Bill Armstrong Stadium.
Solutions by The State News