Indiana University Athletics
Indiana Falls to UCONN in NCAAs (12-01-02)
12/1/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Oct. 13, 2002
STORRS, Conn. - In freezing temperatures with high southeasterly winds, the fifth-ranked Indiana men's soccer team ended its season with a 1-0 loss at No. 8 Connecticut Sunday in Storrs at Morrone Stadium. The Hoosiers fell to 15-4-2 while UCONN, the tournament's No. 7 seed, improved to 17-5-0 and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. It marks the first time in six years that IU will not advance to the Final Four.
"I'd like to congratulate UCONN," Indiana head coach Jerry Yeagley said. "They're an excellent team and I wish them all the best as they go forward and attempt to win a championship. I think they have a very good chance. They're one of the most talented teams we've faced all year."
The Hoosiers went on the attack early. Sophomore forward Mike Ambersley took Indiana's first shot on goal in the second minute of the game. His shot from the left side about six yards out was saved by UCONN goalkeeper Adam Schuerman.
Nine minutes into the match, the Huskies' Cesar Cuellar launched a shot from the top of the box. IU goalie Jay Nolly punched the ball high for his first save.
At the 16:34 mark, though, Cuellar would convert a goal to put UCONN on top. He broke through a couple of IU defenders and scored from the right side, 25 yards out, to the bottom right corner of the goal.
"They took advantage of a mistake we made," Yeagley said. "It's uncharacteristic of our defense to do that. I was hoping that if we were scored on it would be an earned play; however, they did have other dangerous situations, certainly more than we did.
With just over 23 minutes to go in the first half, Indiana had another scoring opportunity. Sophomore Ned Grabavoy played a nice ball downfield to senior Pat Noonan. Noonan dribbled the ball on the right side toward the goal. Schuerman came out of the box, leaving an empty net for Noonan's shot, but Husky defender Marcus Svensson came to the rescue, knocking the ball off course.
At halftime, Indiana had been out-shot 10-5 and trailed, 1-0.
Heading into the second half, Indiana would now have the wind at its back, with UCONN defending south goal.
The Hoosiers threatened to tie it up in the 57th minute. After some ball work and several passes, Grabavoy fed the ball to Ambersley in the middle of the box at the 15-yard mark. Ambersley fired a shot that went just barely wide of the goal on the right side.
With 18 minutes remaining in the match, IU had its second scoring chance of the half. Senior Ryan Mack received the ball from Grabavoy in the middle, but his shot was just wide to the right.
"We didn't perform as well offensively as I thought we would, especially with the wind in the second half," Yeagley said. "We couldn't seem to crack them. Footing was tough, conditions were tough and it was hard to play a controlled game."
The Huskies were close to scoring a second goal with eight minutes remaining. As Nolly came out of the goal to help defend, Cuellar rifled a shot toward the left. Senior defender Phil Presser covered the net and made the save.
Nolly tied his season and career best, making six saves in the match. Indiana was out-shot for just the second time all season, 15-7. The Huskies upped their record at home to 10-0 on the season with the victory.
Seven seniors played their final game in an Indiana uniform. All-American and Hermann Trophy finalists Noonan and Mack, co-captain John Swann, Presser, Michael Bock, Marcus Chorvat and Matt Reiswerg closed their careers at IU with a 70-18-3 record and three appearances in the College Cup.
