Hoosiers Headed To Big Ten Tourney (11-13-02)

11/13/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer

Nov. 13, 2002

Bloomington, Ind. -- The No. 3 Indiana men's soccer team enters this week's Big Ten Conference Tournament in State College, Pa., as the top seed and will face the winner of Thursday's match between the host team and fourth seed Penn State and fifth-seeded Wisconsin. The Hoosiers completed the regular season with a 14-2-2 record and a perfect 6-0-0 mark in Big Ten play. On Friday at 5 p.m., IU will take the field for the first time since Nov. 3, when it defeated IUPUI, 2-1, in overtime to cap an undefeated season at Armstrong Stadium. If the Hoosiers win their semifinal match, they will play in the title game on Sunday at 2 p.m.

National Player of the Year finalist Pat Noonan leads Indiana with 37 points on a team-high 14 goals and nine assists, which is also tied for the team lead. He ranks first among Big Ten players in goals and points. Noonan has scored 17 points in IU's last five games, an average of more than three points a game. IU's second National Player of the Year finalist, Ryan Mack, ranks second on the squad with 21 points on six goals and nine assists. Sophomore Ned Grabavoy, who will not play in the conference tournament this week due to a conflict with the United States U-20 team, is third with 19 points on six goals and seven assists. Grabavoy missed the Hoosiers' final two regular season games with a high ankle sprain.

The Indiana defense has been solid all season long. A unit that returned just one starting back in senior John Swann has recorded seven shutouts. Sophomore goalkeeper Jay Nolly sports an 0.81 goal-against average in his first season as a starter for the Hoosiers.

Indiana won at Penn State, 1-0, on Sept. 27, and defeated Wisconsin, 5-1, at home on Oct. 11 during the regular season.

About Penn State
Penn State (11-7-0, 3-3-0 Big Ten) is the No. 4 seed and host for this season's Big Ten Tournament. In regular season league play, the Nittany Lions defeated Michigan, Northwestern and Ohio State. PSU is 4-1 in its last five games and have given up only two goals in that span.

Sophomore Chad Severs is the team's leading scorer with 28 points on 13 goals and a pair of assists. Severs ranks second in points and goal among conference palyers, trailing only Hoosier Pat Noonan. Sophomore Pasi Karpinnen is the Penn State's second leading scorer with 12 points (4 goals, 4 assists). Two players, senior Ryan Sickman and sophomore Ryan Moate split time in goal. Sickman sports a 0.91 goals-against average and has a 6-2-0 record. Moate's GAA sits at 1.41 and he is 4-5-0 on the season.

IU owns a 7-1 advantage over the Nittany Lions in Big Ten tourney tilts. Overall, the Hoosiers lead the series, 21-5-2. In games played in State College, the series is locked at 4-4-2.

About Wisconsin
Wisconsin (9-9-0, 3-3-0 Big Ten) is the No. 5 seed in the tournament. The Badgers' regular season conference victories came against Penn State, Northwestern and Michigan State.

UW's top scoring threat is Nick Van Sicklen with 19 points on seven goals and five assists. Phil Doehl is next with six goal and an assist for 13 points. Eric Hanson handles the goalkeeping duties for the Badgers. He has a 1.47 goals-against average to go with 75 saves.
Indiana leads the all-time series with Wisconsin, 25-3-3. The Hoosiers are 3-0 against the Badgers in tournament play.

Tournament Trivia
 Since the inception of soccer in the Big Ten in 1991, a conference tournament has been played and the Hoosiers have claimed the crown nine times. (In 1993, IU and Wisconsin were declared Co-Champions when the title game was cancelled because of weather.
 After falling to tourney host Ohio State in 2000, IU regained the crown last season in Madison, Wisc.
 Of the nine times Indiana has won the tournament, it was the No. 1 seed coming in seven of those years.
 Indiana holds an 18-2 record in Big Ten games all-time.
 The Hoosiers won the championship the last time it was played at State College in 1996.

O'Rourke To Return
Starting defensive midfielder Danny O'Rourke will be able to return to the field this week. O'Rourke missed Indiana's final six regular season games after sustaining four broken bones in his face. The sophomore will have to wear a mask during competiiton this week, but has been released by doctors to play.

Big Ten Streak
After finishing the Big Ten season undefeated again in 2002, the Hoosiers hold a 36-game regular season win streak in conference play. IU also owns a 39-game unbeaten streak. The victory streak started on Oct. 18, 1996, with a triumph over Wisconsin. The last time Indiana dropped a regular season conference match to a Big Ten opponent was on Oct. 13, 1995, at Wisconsin. On Oct. 4, 1996, the Hoosiers tied Penn State, 1-1.

All-Big Ten Honors To Be Announced On Thursday
The season's All-Big Ten Conference honorees will be announced on Thursday evening at the annual banquet held in conjunction with the Big TenConference Tournament.

Star-Spangled Sophomore
Indiana will be without sophomore midifelder Ned Grabavoy during the Big Ten Tournament. Grabavoy has been called to National Team Duty to compete for United States U-20 Nov. 13, 15 and 17 in Charleston, S.C., at Blackbaud Stadium. The U.S. team will attempt to qualify for the World Youth Championships.
The United States will be joined by Haiti, El Salvador, and Canada in the Group "B" qualifier played in South Carolina. The top two teams will advance to the FIFA World Youth Championship in the United Arab Emirates from March 25 to April 16, 2003.
During the month of August, both Grabavoy and fellow Hoosier sophomore Mike Ambersley spent 10 days in Valencia, Spain, competing for the United States in an Under-20 international tournament After playing in Spain on Aug. 29, the tandem traveled some 20 hours back to the United States and arrive near the start of Hoosiers' season opener against Rutgers on Aug. 30. Both saw action in the match.

Chorvat Back
After breaking his leg in an exhibition match in August, senior midfielder Marcus Chorvat saw his first playing time of the season on Nov. 3 against IUPUI. Chorvat got the start on senior day.

Climbing the Charts
Pat Noonan and Ryan Mack have been steadily moving up the record books all season long. Noonan currently ranks seventh with 48 goals in his IU career. Noonan also sits in ninth place on the assist list with 34. His 127 total points rank sixth.

Noonan joins former Hoosier All-American Aleksey Korol as the only players to rank in Indiana's top 10 in both goals and assists.

Mack's 84 points have him tied for 20th all-time. He also holds the eighth-place spot with his 35 assists.

The Defense Never Rests
Coming into the 2002 season, it seemed the Indiana defense would need time to solidify itself. After all, the Hoosiers lost three starters (backs Ryan Hammer and Josh Rife and goalkeeper Colin Rogers) to graduation in 2001. Last season's defensive unit led the nation in goals against average and shutout percentage.

Behind the leadership of senior co-captain John Swann and senior Phil Presser, who made the move to play the sweeper position after starting for two seasons in the midfield, Indiana has five shutouts in nine games. After missing last season due to an injury junior David Prall has moved back into the lineup as a starter as well. Sophomore goalkeeper Jay Nolly has come into his own in his first season as IU's starter. Nolly has seven shutouts and a Big Ten-best 0.81 goals against average (in all games).

All-American Connection
In overtime against IUPUI on Nov. 3, Ryan Mack played a nice ball to Pat Noonan and Noonan was able to put in the back of the net, lifting the Hoosiers to a 2-1 win and ending a frustrating day in which Indiana got a season-high 33 shots off, but couldn't score. The "golden goal" marked the 10th time this season, the tandem has hooked up for a goal. Noonan has assisted on four of Mack's goals and Mack has assisted on six of Noonan's goals.

Swann Making His Mark
Senior John Swann is making his case as the nation's best marking back. A team co-captain, he has provided outstanding leadership for an IU defense that needed to jell quickly at the beginning of the season.
Swann is constantly assigned to the opposing team's best striker. Though he stands just barely 5-10, he handles bigger, stronger players with his quickness, strength in the air and his defensive intelligence. Just when its seems IU might be in danger of getting scored on, Swann is breaking up the play.
Swann is a two-time first-team All-Big Ten selection and was named a preseason All-American by College Soccer News. He is also this week's Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week.

Switching to Sweeper
After two seasons as a starter in the Indiana midfield, senior Phil Presser has made the move to defense and taken over as the Hoosiers' starting sweeper. From game one, his presence in the backfield has been a huge plus for Indiana. For his outstanding play, the Ft. Wayne, Ind., product earned a spot on All-Tournament team at both the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic and the Butler SoccerFest.

In the National Rankings
Indiana appears in four sets of the Nov. 11 national statistical rankings compiled by the NCAA. Here's a look at the numbers:
 The Indiana defense ranks 16th with an 0.80 goals against average.
 Pat Noonan is No. 12 nationally in points per game (2.06).
 Ned Grabavoy's four assists at Michigan State on Sept. 22 put him tied for second in single-game assists.
 With its 14-2-2 record, Indiana is tied for seventh in the country in won-loss percentage (0.800).

Welcome, Freshmen
Three freshmen are making an impact in the early going for Indiana. Redshirt freshman Pat Yates has played in all 18 games, making seven starts. The Ft. Wayne, Ind., product also scored the first goal of his Hoosier career against William and Mary in the St. John's Classic on Sept. 6.
True freshmen Jordan Chirico and Brian Plotkin have seen action in 16 and 17 games this season, respectively. Plotkin has five assists to his credit, three of which he scored last week in games against Kentucky and Ohio State. With Danny O'Rourke out due to an injury, Chirico has been seen his playing time increase, logging extensive minutes in the defensive midfield.

NCAA Tournament Pairings Released on Monday
The bracket for the 2002 NCAA Tournament will be announced Monday, Nov. 18. The Selection Show is set for 4:30 p.m. (ET) and will be broadcast on ESPNEWS. ESPNEWS can be found on DirecTV at channel 207 and on Dish Network Channel 142. Immediately following the show, the bracket will be posted on www.ncaasports.com.

A total of 48 teams will be receive bids to the tournament, with the top 12 seeds earning first-round byes. The first round games of the tournament will be played the weekend of Nov. 22 or 23. Second round action is set for Wednesday, Nov. 27. Third round games will be played the weekend of Nov. 30-Dec. 1. Quarterfinal contests are set for the weekend of Dec. 6-8.

Yeagley Closing In On Record
With his career win total now at 526 in 30 seasons, head coach Jerry Yeagley needs 19 more wins to become collegiate soccer's all-time winningest coach. Stephen Nogoesco, who is retired, holds the distinction currently with 544 wins in 39 seasons.

NOTES AND TIDBITS
 Pat Noonan, Ryan Mack, David Prall and Jay Nolly are the only players to start all 18 games for Indiana.

 During conference play, Indiana outscored its opponents, 19-5.

 Indiana's all-time record in Big Ten Conference play is 57-4-2.

Junior midfielder Drew Shinabarger and freshman Jordan Chirico have been filling in for an injured Danny O'Rourke in the defensive midfield

 Sophomore Noah Gold, redshirt freshman Chris Pomeroy, redshirt freshman Heath Creager and sophomore Eric Goldstein all saw their first action in a Hoosier uniform against Wisconsin on Oct. 11.

 The Hoosiers are undefeated at home in 2002. In fact, IU's last loss at Armstrong Stadium came on Oct. 17, 2001, when Notre Dame defeated Indiana, 1-0. IU has a 9-0-3 record since that time, including a 5-0-2 mark this season.

 Indiana has had five different players earn nine weekly honors from the Big Ten Conference. That's the most of any league school.

 Senior Pat Noonan and now graduated Josh Rife were named to the All-Tournament team at the Big Ten Championships.
 In 2003, the Big Ten Tournament will be held in Bloomington, Ind., at Armstrong Stadium.