Indiana University Athletics
Weekly Press Release
9/30/1997 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Weekly Press Release
GAME DATA: The Indiana soccer team continues Big Ten competition this weekend at home against Penn State (Friday, October 3 at 7:30 p.m.) before traveling to Miami of Ohio to face the Redhawks (Sunday, October 5 at 2 p.m.).
THE SERIES: The Hoosiers lead the Penn State series, 10-4-2, with the two teams tying twice last season at University Park. The Hoosiers and Nittany Lions tied 1-1 in the regular season, and 2-2 in the Big Ten Tournament last year (however, IU won that game in a PK shootout). IU and Miami of Ohio are meeting for the ninth time with the Hoosiers holding a 8-0-0 series edge. Last season Indiana defeated the Redhawks, 4-0 in a game that saw IU's leading scorer, Dema Kovalenko, suffer a season-ending leg injury.
THE WEEK IN REVIEW: The Hoosiers won two games last week at home, shutting out Kentucky, 9-0 and Michigan State, 3-0. IU received hat tricks from senior Chris Klein and sophomore Dema Kovalenko as well as a pair of goals from freshman Matt Fundenberger, as the Hoosiers recorded their first shutout of the week. In the Big Ten opener, IU defeated Michigan State behind two more goals from Kovalenko and one from Klein. With the two shutouts, Hoosier goalkeepers T.J. Hannig and Joe Zarr lowered the team's GAA to 0.66.
HOOSIERS RANKED NO. 1: Indiana is the No. 1 team in the nation this week according to all three national polls. The Hoosiers have been No. 1 for the last four weeks in at least one poll and the consensus No. 1 team in the nation over the last three weeks.
QUICK START: Indiana's 9-0 start is its best since 1978 when the Hoosiers had the best start in school history at 16-0. The 9-0 start is tied for the third best in history with the 1973 squad, behind 16-0 in 1978 and 10-0 in 1974.
INDIANA HEAD COACH JERRY YEAGLEY: The Indiana mentor is in his 25th year at the helm of the Hoosiers. He has a career record of 420-77-37. He has led the Hoosiers to national titles in 1982, 1983 and 1988, 10 Final Four appearances and five Big Ten titles.
KOVALENKO NAMED BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Sophomore Dema Kovalenko was on a tear last weekend as he scored five goals and notched his first assist of the season against Kentucky and Michigan State. He was named Big Ten Player of the Week, marking the third such award for a Hoosier this season. He leads the Hoosiers in shots (25), goals (12), and points (25) in just 492 minutes this season. He has equalled or beaten last year's total in each of those categories, which he accomplished in 770 minutes. He leads the Great Lakes Region in scoring. He is third Indiana player to win the award this season.
DUO PULLS OFF RARE TRIPLE-DOUBLE: In the Hoosiers 9-0 victory over Kentucky, sophomore Dema Kovalenko and senior Chris Klein each recorded hat tricks, the first time two players did so in the same game since 1983. The last duo to accomplish that feat was Manuel Gorrity (4) and Iker Zubizerreta (3) in a 14-0 win over Louisville for the eventual national champions.
IU GRABS CORNER OF HISTORY: With its 19 corner kicks against Michigan State, IU tied a single-game team record set in 1975. The Hoosiers also recorded 19 corners in a 9-0 win over Wabash that season.
SEASONUS BESTS: Indiana posted a number of season-highs during the week. The nine goals against Kentucky and 23 shots against Michigan State were both season-highs. The nine goals was the most by IU since scoring 11 against Northwestern last season in an 11-1 victory. The Hoosiers also equalled their season-high in assists with six against Kentucky.
THE RKS KONNECTION: The Hoosier duo of Chris Klein and Dema Kovalenko accounted for three-fourths (9/12) of Indiana's goals this week. Against Kentucky, Klein scored twice unassisted and once off a Kovalenko assist while two of Kovalenko's three goals came off assists from Klein. Of the three goals in Sunday's match against Michigan State, Klein had one while Kovalenko scored twice, once on an assist from Aleksey Korol. Hoosier junior Tommy Keenan also added an assist in the Hoosiers' win over the Wildcats.
INDIANA NOTEBOOK: Chris Klein tripled his season scoring output in just two games, as he went from five to 15 points over the weekend. Klein's five goals and 15 points are both career highs. Yuri Lavrinenko continues to lead the team with seven assists. Dema Kovalenko's two goals against Michigan State marked his fourth multi-goal game of the season and the seventh of his career. With one and a half shutouts this week, T.J. Hannig lowered his goals against average to 0.50Imaking his Hoosier debut this week was Greg Jermack, who played 13:25 minutes in the goal against Kentucky. Freshman Justin Tauber registered his first career shot against Kentucky. Indiana has outscored its opponents 37-6 and has more than doubled their shots (140-57) this season.
NEXT UP: The Hoosiers play host to Butler next Thursday (Oct. 9) at 7:30 p.m., and Evansville next Sunday (Oct. 12) at 2:30 p.m.
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