Indiana University Athletics
HOOSIERS HOST LOUISVILLE, OPEN BIG TEN PLAY AT MICHIGAN STATE
9/22/1998 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
HOOSIERS HOST LOUISVILLE, OPEN BIG TEN PLAY AT MICHIGAN STATE
Game Data: Indiana plays two games this week. The Hoosiers are back at Bill Armstrong Stadium this week to host Louisville Friday (Sept. 25) at 7:30 p.m.. On Sunday (Sept. 27) at 2:30 p.m., IU travels to Michigan State to kick off the Big Ten season.
Indiana Head Coach Jerry Yeagley is in his 26th year at Indiana and is the winningest coach in collegiate soccer history. He has a career record of 440-79-37. He has led the Hoosiers to national titles in 1982, 1983 and 1988, 11 Final Four appearances and six Big Ten titles.
Hoosiers In the Polls: This week the Hoosiers are ranked No. 2 (Soccer America), No. 4 (NSCAA) and No. 5 (Soccer News). Indiana remains the top team in the Great Lakes Region.
Alavanja is Big Ten Player of the Week: After scoring two goals and tallying three assists during IU's wins against Central Florida and Jacksonville, the Big Ten Conference honored senior Lazo Alavanja as the conference's Player of the Week. He had a break-out game against Jacksonville as he tallied two goals and an assist against the Dolphins.
Indiana is the Big Ten's Best: Since soccer became a Big Ten sport in 1991, the Hoosiers have been the dominant team in the conference. Indiana is 29-4-2 in league play over the last seven years and has won the league tournament six times.
Series Matchups: Indiana has never lost against Louisville. The last meeting occurred on September 30, 1992 as IU defeated the Cardinals 4-1. IU leads the series 5-0. The Hoosiers and Cardinals did meet earlier this year in the Golden Boot exhibition game in Indianapolis Aug. 29. IU won that game 2-0 as Dema Kovalenko and Lazo Alavanja scored. The Hoosiers outshot the Cardinals 18-4 in that game. Indiana leads the series against Michigan State 23-0-0 and have outscored the Spartans 89-6. The Hoosier shut out the Spartans 3-0 last season at Bill Armstrong Stadium.
A Look at the Opponents: Louisville comes to Bloomington with a 5-1 record. The Cardinals only loss came at the hands of Dayton by the score 1-0. George Zabaneh leads the Cardinals in scoring with 8 points. Michigan State is currently 5-2 overall and 1-0 in the Big Ten. In the Big Ten, the Spartans rank third with 10 goals. With 8 points, Rick Smith is the top scorer for the Spartans.
Last Week Recap: IU defeated Miami (O.) on Wednesday 4-0 at Bill Armstrong Stadium. The Hoosiers had a season-high 23 shots compared to Miami's 4 attempts. At the Butler Classic, the Hoosiers beat Central Florida, the nation's leading offensive team, 3-0 and Jacksonville 4-1.
Winning Streak Comes to an End: Indiana's loss to SMU broke a 31-game regular season winning streak for the Hoosiers. The team's last loss in the regular season prior to last Saturday was back on Oct 13, 1996 when IU lost to Bowling Green 2-0. Still over the last 42 games, the Hoosiers are 38-3-1.
Have to Shut Them Out: If a team is going to beat Indiana they have to shut them out. In Indiana's last seven losses (which dates back to Oct. 13, 1995), the Hoosiers have been shutout each time. The last time Indiana scored at least one goal and lost was Oct. 8, 1995 at Bowling Green (2-1).
In The Rankings: Lazo Alavanja, Dema Kovalenko and Aleksey Korol all lead the Big Ten in scoring with 4 goals and 2 assists for 10 points. With 4 goals, the three of them are tied for the conference lead in goals scored. Matt Fundenberger is tied for first in the league with 3 assists. Ryan Mack is tied for fifth in points with 8. T.J. Hannig is the top goalkeeper in the league with a 0.44 GAA. He also leads in shutouts with 5. As a team, the Hoosiers lead the league in scoring with 20 goals and with a 0.42 team GAA. Hannig also appears in the NCAA stats as his GAA is 10th in the nation this week. This week Indiana is ranked 16th in scoring offense (2.86), 5th in team defense (.419), tied for 4th in shutouts per game (.714) and tied for 11th in winning percentage (.857)
Hoosier News and Notes: Dema Kovalenko scored his 34th career goal against Central Florida. That places him solely in 10th on the all-time IU list. He needs five more to take over 9th place. His 75 career points are now 16th on the all-time scoring list. Freshman Tyler Hawley scored his first career goal against Miami. Lazo Alavanja needs just three more assists to move into the Top 10 on IU's all-time list. He also needs just three more points to move into 15th place on the all-time scoring list. He now has 28 career goals which is tied for 15th on the school's all-time list. Goalkeeper T.J. Hannig posted his 15th career shutout versus Central Florida. His GAA stands at 0.44 heading into the week. Nick Garcia, Alavanja, Dennis Fadeski, and Matt Fundenberger were all named to the all-tournament team at the Butler Classic. Garcia was also named the Defensive MVP. The Hoosiers have scored 10 first half goals this season while allowing just one in the first 45 minutes.
Next Up: The Hoosiers play Penn State next Friday (Oct. 2).
Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. and will be played at Fleetwood High School
in Reading, Pa.
© Indiana University Athletics, 1998
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