Indiana University Athletics
IU Visits Louisville (10-28-03)
10/28/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana (8-3-4, 4-0-1 Big Ten) plays it final regular season road match and its second straight match against an opponent from Conference USA on Wedneday night, when it meets Louisville (10-5-2, 5-2-2 Conference USA). Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at UofL's Cardinal Park.
About the Hoosiers
Coming off their biggest win of the season to date, a 2-1 decision over No. 5 Saint Louis, the No. 14/11 (NSCAA/Soccer America) Hoosiers are looking for their sixth straight win on Wednesday night against Louisville. The Hoosiers' league unbeaten record puts them atop the conference standings with one match remaining against Penn State on Nov. 8 in Bloomington.
Junior co-captain Ned Grabavoy's added two goals on Friday night's win over No. 5 Saint Louis to bring his season point total to 26. The National Player of the Year candidate has collected 10 goals and six assists this season, the second-most by a player in the Big Ten Conference.
Sophomore Brian Plotkin scored is next with 13 points after assisting on Grabavoy's game winner against the Billikens. The sophomore has scored four goals and assisted on five others this season, a figure that ranks second on the team and ties him for 10th in the Big Ten.
Freshman Jacob Peterson ranks third on the club with nine points (3 g, 3 a), all of which have come during conference play. That mark is third among Big Ten players.
The Hoosier defense had its four-match shutout streak snapped when it gave up a goal to Saint Louis on Friday, but has allowed only one goal in its last five games. In addition, IU has allowed only two goals in its five Big Ten matches. During the current six-game winning streak, IU has allowed just three goals while scoring 14. With an 0.68 goals against-average, IU ranks 15th nationally (as of Oct. 22).
Junior goalie Jay Nolly's GAA is the the best mark among conference keepers. He has totaled six shutouts and made 38 in 2003.
A Look at Louisville
The Conference-USA leading Cardinals own a 10-5-2 record on the season. In league play, UofL is 5-2-2. Most recently, the Cards played to a 2-2 tie with South Florida on Sunday at home.
Senior Simon Bird leads Louisville with 23 points on 10 goals and three assists this season. Freshman Marco Terminesi is second on the club with 12 points (3g, 6a) and freshman Ryan Pomeroy is third with seven points (3g, 1a).
Brad Sokolowski is the Cardinals' starting goalkeeper. He has logged 1411:47 minutes in goal and made 50 saves to go with his 0.83 goals-against average.
Tony Colavecchia is in his eighth season as the head coach at Louisville. He owns 127-107-21 record overall and a 116-76-14 mark with the Cardinals.
The All-Time Series With the Cardinals
Indiana has captured wins in all 10 of the series meeting with Louisville. IU won the first-ever game between the two teams, 6-1, on Oct. 4, 1981. The regional rivlas have played annually for the last five seasons. The Hoosiers defeated the Cardinals in last season's meeting, 2-0, on Sept. 10 at Armstrong Stadium.
Hoosiers in the Polls
For the first time since Sept. 20, Indiana appears in all four national soccer polls this week. The Hoosiers are No. 14 in the NSCAA/adidas Coaches Poll, No. 11 in the Soccer America Poll, No. 15 in the Soccer Times Poll and No. 20 in the CollegeSoccerNews.com Poll.
In addition, IU is No. 2 in the NSCAA's Great Lakes Region Poll, trailing only Notre Dame.
IU Opponents in the Polls
Seven of Indiana's 2003 opponents appear in at least one of the four national poll this week. The list includes: No. 7 Notre Dame, No. 8 Saint Louis, , No. 16 Akron, No. 21 UAB, No. 24 Kentucky, No. 25 Michigan and No. 25 UConn. (Rankings listed are the highest of the four polls. Complete polls are listed below.)
Trio Returns Home for Louisville Game
In addition to sophomore Chris Pomeroy, two other IU players graduated from high school in Louisville, Ky. Pomeroy attended St. Xavier. Redshirt freshman John Michael Hayden graduated from Trinity and senior Vijay Dias went to Ballard High School.
Start Time Set for the IU-Penn State Match on Nov. 8
Indiana's match with Penn State that was rescheduled for Saturday, Nov. 8, will kickoff at 7 p.m. The match will be played at Bill Armstrong Stadium in Bloomington and marks the final Big Ten Conference regular season match.
Indiana and Penn State started play on Friday, Sept. 26, but severe weather in the Bloomington area forced the game to be suspended in the 67th minute with the Hoosiers leading, 2-0. Since the game had not been played for the required 70 minutes for it to become official, officials waited more than two hours for the weather to clear before the game called was called off. By NCAA rules, a suspended game that is not resumed on the same day is considered "no contest." Therefore, IU and Penn State will play a full match on Saturday, Nov. 8. It will be Indiana's final regular season home match before the Hoosiers host the Big Ten Tournament Nov. 13,14 and 16 at Armstrong Stadium.
The Hunt for an Undefeated October
After stumbling out of the gates with a 2-3-4 record through nine matches, Indiana has reeled off six-straight victories. In fact, IU is unbeaten in the month of October, with only one game remaining at Louisville. In its seven matches this month, IU has recorded only one tie, a 1-1, decision against Butler on Oct. 2 in Bloomington.
grabavoy garners big ten offensive player-of-the-week honors
Junior co-captain Ned Grabavoy has been selected the Big Ten Conference Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week for the period ending Oct. 26, the league officed announced on Monday. This marks the third time this season and the second time in three weeks Grabavoy has earned the honor (also on Sept. 1 and Oct. 13).
Grabavoy scored two goals on four shots in the Hoosiers' 2-1 upset of No. 5 Saint Louis last Friday night. He notched the game-winning tally in the final five minutes to seal the Hoosiers' six-straight victory. He leads Indiana with 26 points on 10 goals and six assists this season. The New Lenox, Ill., and Lincoln Way High School product is also second in scoring among Big Ten players overall and in league action.
A Family Affair
A pair of brothers will be on opposite benches on Wednesday when the Hoosiers meet the Cardinals. Sophomore Chris Pomeroy plays for Indiana while his younger brother, true freshman Ryan Pomeroy, plays for UofL.
The Big Ten Conference Race
The 2003 Big Ten Conference race has come down to two teams. Indiana is currently atop the Big Ten Conference standings with a 4-0-1 record and one match remaining. Second-place Michigan owns a 4-1-0 record in league action with one match left to play. For IU to relinquish its position, Michigan would need to win at Ohio State on Nov. 1 and the Hoosiers would have to lose their final match to Penn State on Nov. 8 in Bloomington.
Plotkin Provides a Spark
Sophomore midfielder Brian Plotkin was responsible for the game-winning goal in IU's back- to-back wins over IUPUI (Oct. 15) and Ohio State (Oct. 19). Plotkin, who is Indiana's second-leading scorer with 13 points, snapped a five-match scoreless streak when he assisted on Ned Grabavoy's game-winning goal against Northwestern on Oct. 12. Against IUPUI, the Lisle, Ill., product scored the only goal of the game and followed up with the game-winner in the Ohio State match on Sunday. In IU's last match against Saint Louis (oct. 24), Plotkin, along with senior midfielder Vijay Dias, assisted on Ned Grabavoy's game winner.
Dynamite Defense
The Hoosier defense has stepped up its play in the last two weeks and now boasts six shutouts this season, including four in its last five games. IU gave up a goal to Saint Louis last Friday, but it was first goal allowed since the 19th minute of a match at Michigan on Oct. 5.
Three new starters in sophomore Drew Moor, freshman Julian Dieterle and freshman Jed Zayner have combined with junior goalkeeper Jay Nolly and junior defensive midfielder Danny O'Rourke to smother opposing offenses lately. In addition, senior David Prall and Drew Shinabarger have seen extensive action in the back. Indiana is allowing just 0.66 goals per game overall and has held Big Ten opponents to an 0.40 average after giving up just two goal sin five matches.
Next Up for the Hoosiers
Indiana plays its third straight non-conference match on Sunday, Nov. 2, when its hosts the Kentucky Wildcats at Armstrong Stadium in Bloomington. The match is set for a 2 p.m. start.
Game Promotions
The first 2,000 fans in attendance at the Hoosiers' match with Kentucky on Sunday, Nov. 2, will receive a free Jerry Yeagley Bobblehead Doll, courtesy of adidas.
Youth Movement
With only five juniors and three seniors on the roster this season, several underclassmen are seeing extensive action for Indiana. In every one of the Hoosiers' 15 games, at least five underclassmen who are true freshmen, redshirt freshmen or sophomores who did not start a year ago have been in the starting lineup. With junior goalkeeper Jay Nolly returning, all of those players are starting in the field. In fact, of 130 possible starts by field players, 95 are by new starters.
