Indiana University Athletics
INDIANA PLAYS PENN STATE IN ONLY GAME THIS WEEK
9/29/1998 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Game Data: Indiana plays one game this week on Friday (Oct. 2). The Hoosiers travel to Reading, Pa. for a game against Penn State. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and will be played at Fleetwood High School.
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 442-79-37. 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 return to the top spot in the nation as they ranked No. 1 in the Soccer America and Soccer News polls. Indiana is No. 2 in the NSCAA and Soccer Times rankings. Indiana remains the top team in the Great Lakes Region. Indiana was ranked No. 1 earlier this year before losing to SMU but was out of the top spot for just one week.
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 30-4-2 in league play over the last seven years and has won the league tournament six times.
Series Matchup: Indiana holds a 12-4-2 edge over Penn State after winning both games last year 2-0 in Bloomington and 4-0 at Bill Armstrong Stadium in the Big Ten Tournament. Penn State leads the series 3-12 in games at State College but this is a neutral site game and the Hoosiers lead in those contests 3-1-0.
A Look at the Nittany Lions: Penn State was the only other Big Ten team besides IU to hold a national ranking. The NSCAA/Umbro Division I Poll ranked the Nittany Lions 20th this week. They are 5-2-2 record without playing any Big Ten competition yet. Penn State is second in the Big Ten statistics behind IU in goals (17), points (45), corner kicks (55), and GAA (0.72). Jon McClay is tied for third place with 9 goals on 17 shots. In assists, Ricardo Villar and Parham Parsa are third with three a piece.
Last Week Recap: IU defeated Louisville 3-0 last Wednesday at Bill Armstrong Stadium. Aleksey Korol had one goal and two assists. Dema Kovalenko had the other two goals. IU won 3-0 versus Michigan State to open the Big Ten season on Sunday. Matt Fundenberger, Gino DiGuardi and Tyler Hawley scored.
Tough Defense: Indiana has allowed only three goals in nine games this season and the team GAA stands at a stellar 0.33. In fact, the team has allowed only one goal from scrimmage this year as well. This week the Hoosiers are ranked third in the nation in team defense, allowing just .327 goals per game.
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: Dema Kovalenko and Aleksey Korol lead the Big Ten in scoring with 14 points. Korol has 5 goals and 4 assists, while Kovalenko has 6 goals and 2 assists. Lazo Alavanja leads the league with 6 assists, and Matt Fundenberger is tied for third with 3 assists. T.J. Hannig is the top goalkeeper in the league with a 0.35 GAA. He also leads in shutouts with 7. As a team, the Hoosiers lead the league in scoring with 26 goals and with a 0.33 team GAA. Hannig also appears in the NCAA stats as his GAA is sixth in the nation this week (0.35). This week Indiana is ranked 13th in scoring offense (2.89), 4th in shutouts per game (.778) and tied for 6th in winning percentage (.889).
Hoosier News and Notes: Dema Kovalenko scored his 35th and 36th career goal against Louisville. That places him solely in 10th on the all-time IU list. He needs three more to take over 9th place. His 79 career points are now 16th on the all-time scoring list.With 28 career assists, Lazo Alavanja moved in a three-way tie for ninth place on IU's all-time list. He is also 14th on the all-time scoring list, and 15th on the all-time goals listGoalkeeper T.J. Hannig posted his 17th career shutout versus Michigan State. His GAA stands at 0.35 heading into the week...The Hoosiers have scored 13 first half goals this season while allowing just one in the first 45 minutes. They have out shot their opponents 134 to 52 With the victory over Michigan State last week, the Hoosiers have won 12 consecutive conference games. That streak includes Big Ten Tournament games. The current conference-game unbeaten streak now stands at 19 games (17-0-2)The Hoosiers have been spreading the scoring punch around this season as eight different players have scored. Last year, 12 different players scored.
Next Up: The Hoosiers travel to Indianapolis to take on in-state rival Butler at Kuntz Stadium on Thursday (Oct. 8) at 7:30 p.m. Indiana then plays at Evansville Sunday (Oct. 11) at 2 p.m. at Black Beauty Field.
© Indiana University Athletics, 1998
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