Indiana University Athletics
IU Defeats Air Force (09-13-02)
9/13/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Sept. 13, 2002
Indianapolis, Ind. - Behind a pair of goals from senior All-American Ryan Mack, the ninth-ranked Indiana University men's soccer team opened the Butler Classic on Friday night with a 2-0 win over the Air Force Academy at Kuntz Stadium in Indianapolis. The victory moved the Hoosiers to 3-1-2 on the year while Air Force slipped to 2-3-0.
"It was a difficult game. Air Force, as all the Academy teams do, played with a lot of heart and fight," Hoosier head coach Jerry Yeagley said. "Their work ethic and effort is excellent and I thought that brought it out in us in the second half. For the first time we were consistent, we really fired to the ball. It looked an Indiana team - the heart, the fight and the dominance."
The Hoosiers took the lead in the 16th minute on Mack's second goal of the season. Fellow senior All-American Pat Noonan set up the score in the middle as he dished the ball to Mack on the run. Mack drove the ball left to right and buried in the bottom corner of the net. Sophomore midfielder Ned Grabavoy, who played the ball to Noonan, was also credited with an assist.
The Hoosiers continued to attack and had several close chances at another goal in the second half, finally putting one away at the 84:16 mark. Mack tallied his second goal at after sophomore Josh Reiher chipped the ball in and Mack deflected it to the right corner for the score. The assist marked Reiher's first point of the season and the second of his IU career.
"It was great to see (Ryan) Mack get on the scoreboard," Yeagley said. "We did a good job of generating a lot more offense than we achieved. That's still one area of our game we've got to improve."
The contest was physical from start to finish as a total of 43 fouls were called and seven yellow card cautions were assessed.
Sophomore goalkeeper Jay Nolly was solid in goal. The Littleton, Colo., native thwarted several Air Force goal chances, in addition to the four saves he earned.
IU will play in the Classic again on Sunday, Sept. 15, when it faces Hartwick College at Noon at Kuntz Stadium.
