Indiana University Athletics
HOOSIERS TO PLAY LOUISVILLE IN GOLDEN BOOT EXHIBITION
8/24/1998 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
HOOSIERS TO PLAY LOUISVILLE IN GOLDEN BOOT EXHIBITION
Game Data: The Indiana soccer team plays the second of two exhibition games this Saturday (Aug. 29) against Louisville in the annual Golden Boot Classic. This year's game starts at 8 p.m. and will be played at IUPUI's on-campus stadium.
Indiana Head Coach Jerry Yeagley is in his 26th year at Indiana. He has a career record of 434-78-37. He has led the Hoosiers to national titles in 1982, 1983 and 1988, 11 Final Four appearances and six Big Ten titles.
Last Week: The Hoosiers played their first exhibition game last Saturday against Saint Louis. IU outshot the Billikens 17-2 but lost 1-0 on a Dominic DaPra goal in the 54th minute. Indiana also had 12 corner kicks to SLU's 1. Aleksey Korol led the Hoosiers with five shots while Lazo Alavanja had four.
Quoting the Coach: "The score was a disappointment, but not the play," Yeagley said. "We can't be satisfied to play well and not score, especially with all the offensive weaponry we have and with the sort of chances we created tonight. But we could have scored four or five goals and I liked the looks of things tonight, especially after just three days of practice. The chances we missed, boy, it was a lot like that NCAA semifinal last year. Still, maybe this was the best thing that could have happened to get the team's attention. You've got to put the ball into the net."
"(Ryan) Mack was our best forward, all-around, and we had a lot of guys look good," Yeagley said. "We were concerned about the midfield spot (of graduated captain Caleb Porter), but (erstwhile sweeper) Nick Garcia moved right in there and fit right in with Lazo (Alavanja) and the others. And our defense was very solid, even in Nick's absence. We moved Andy Parrish back to sweeper from his marker-back spot, with Dennis Fadeski and Justin Tauber looking good sharing time in Andy's old spot."
Last Year's Golden Boot: Indiana and Lousiville played each other in last season's Golden Boot. The Hoosiers won the game 4-0 as Matt Fundenberger had a hat trick and Dennis Fadeski also scored. The Hoosiers outshot the Cardinals 18-2 and had 10 corner kicks while holding UL to 0. Fundenberg led the team with 6 shots while Dema Kovalenko, Yuri lavrinenko and Aleksey Korol each had three shots.
A Look Back: Indiana had one of the greatest seasons of any college soccer team in history last season as they finished the year 23-1. The Hoosiers were 23-0 before losing in the national semifinals 1-0 to eventual national champion UCLA. The team set a school record by winning 23 consecutive games. The Hoosiers also won their sixth Big Ten title in the seven years the conference has sponsored the sport.
What's Returning: Eight starters return to this year's team, including six of the top seven scorers from a year ago. Leading the list of returnees are 1997 Big Ten Player of the Year and All-American Lazo Alavanja and All-American Dema Kovalenko. Kovalenko led the team in scoring last year with 20 goals and 43 points. Alavanja had 9 goals and 11 assists for 29 points. Other returnees include Aleksey Korol (14g, 7 a, 35 pts), Matt Fundenberger (13-2-28), Yuri Lavrinenko (6-14-26), Big Ten and National Freshman of the Year Nick Garcia (3-2-8) and goalkeeper T.J. Hannig (19-1, 0.54 GAA). Freshmen Ryan Mack, Matt Thompson and Jason Jorgensen should all be vying for time somewhere as well.
Hoosiers Ranked Second in First Poll: Indiana is ranked second in Soccer America's Preseason Poll. The Hoosiers were ranked No. 1 all of last season.
Hoosiers Named All-American: Soccer America released preseason All-American teams and four Indiana players have made either the first or second teams. Lazo Alavanja, Dema Kovalenko and Nick Garcia were named first team All-Americans while Aleksey Korol begins the season as a second team selection.
Hoosiers Named Finalists for Hermann Trophy: Three Indiana players -- Lazo Alavanja, Nick Garcia and Dema Kovalenko -- head the 15 finalists for the 1998 Hermann Trophy. Two players each from Duke, Virginia and North Carolina are also among the finalists. The winner will be announced Dec. 12 at the Soccer America FanZone in Richmond, Va.
Next Up: The Hoosiers host the 16th annual adidas Classic at Bill
Armstrong Stadium next weekend (Sept. 4 & 5). The Hoosiers play at 7:30
p.m. both nights against the College of Charleston on Friday and California
on Saturday. Butler is the other team in the tournament.
© Indiana University Athletics, 1998
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