Indiana University Athletics
INDIANA ADVANCES TO COLLEGE CUP; DEFEATS PENN STATE 3-0
12/4/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Bloomington, Ind.-Indiana scored three second half goals to advance to its 13th College Cup with a 3-0 victory over Penn State. The Hoosiers will now face UCLA in the national semifinals on December 10 as they continue their quest for their fifth national championship. This is the third straight year Indiana has advanced to the College Cup.
Indiana took a 1-0 lead 2:59 into the second half just after Penn State had a golden opportunity to grab the lead. The Hoosiers converted off of a throw-in down the left side. Matt Fundenberger headed the ball to a pack of the players and Indiana's Pat Noonan one-touched the head pass to the upper left-hand corner from six yards out. It was Noonan's first goal since October 20.
"I happened to be in the right place at the right time," said Noonan. "Fundy (Matt Fundenberger) had a great flick to me. I didn't really see the ball, but luckily my foot saw it."
Noonan proved to be the playmaker at the 67:52 mark when he sent a long cross into the box. The pass found Alexsey Korol's head and he finished for his 19th goal of the season. It marked the fifth straight game that Korol scored a goal in and the eighth time in nine games.
Korol wasted little time picking up his 20th goal of the season as he once again headed a cross into the back of the net. This time Yuri Lavrinenko provided the feed.
"Aleksey and Yuri are just two of the best offensive players in college soccer," said Hoosier head coach Jerry Yeagley. "That third goal was the exclamation point on things. For their last game in Bill Armstrong stadium, that's as pretty of a goal you'll see."
The two-goal game was Korol's third multi-goal game of the season and he became the 7th IU player to tally 20 or more goals in a single season. His 48 points this season is the 10th highest single-season mark in history. He now ranks fifth on the career goal list (57) and is tied for fourth on the career points list (139).
Just 1:00 prior to the goal Indiana defender Nick Garcia kept the game scoreless with a defensive save while standing on the goal line. Then, just 2:00 following the score, Indiana goalkeeper T.J. Hannig made a kick save on a point blank header from six yards out.
"That was the turning point of the game," said Penn State head coach Barry Gorman. "They got the momentum, and then got a quick goal."
Indiana owned the best scoring chance in the first 45:00 as the Hoosiers nearly converted with 4:10 to play in the half. Korol worked the ball into the box from the right wing and sent a crisp pass to Lavrinenko just inside the goalkeeper box. Lavrinenko dropped the ball back to Ryan Mack who fired a shot that had Penn State goalie Whit Gibson beat to his right but the post prevented the Hoosiers from taking a 1-0 lead.
Penn State had its own opportunity 15:00 into the first half when Greg Oldfield's diving header went just wide of an open net.
Both teams had four shots in the first half. Three of Indiana's were on goal with the fourth hitting the post. Indiana owned a 9-8 edge in shots for the game.
"If I were neutral, I would have enjoyed that game," said Gorman. "It was a good game. But I am bitterly disappointed for our kids."
"After the game, I told Barry that it was unfortunate that we had to meet this early," said Yeagley. "We could have had two Big Ten teams in the final four."
Game times for the College Cup to be played in Charlotte, N.C. will be announced on Monday. The Hoosiers will play at 6:30 p.m. at Ericsson Stadium against UCLA. The semifinals will be broadcast on a tape delayed basis on ESPN at 12:30 a.m. on Saturday and the championship will be broadcast live on ESPN on Sunday, December 12 at 1 p.m.
