Indiana University Athletics
IU Ready For Key Weekend (10-08-03)
10/8/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The Indiana men's soccer team will continue its three-match, Big Ten Conference road trip this weekend with contests at Wisconsin and Northwestern. The Hoosiers will battle Wisconsin on Friday, Oct. 10, in Madison. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at the McClimon Soccer Complex. Indiana will then travel to Evanston to take on the Northwestern Wildcats on Sunday, Oct. 12, at 3 p.m. at Lakeside Field.
The week will have huge implications on the Big Ten Conference race. Indiana and Michigan State are the only two teams without a loss in league play. The pair of matches at Wisconsin and Northwestern closes out the Big Ten road slate for the Hoosiers. Only an Oct. 19 match with Ohio State and the make-up game with Penn State, scheduled for Nov. 8, remain for IU.
About the Hoosiers
Indiana is 3-3-4 overall and 1-0-1 in Big Ten Conference play entering this weekend's matches. Last week, the Hoosiers tied Butler, 1-1, in an intra-state battle in Bloomington on Oct. 2 and notched their first Big Ten victory of the season by defeating Michigan, 2-1, in overtime in Ann Arbor.
Junior forward/midfielder Ned Grabavoy scored on a penalty kick and assisted on freshman forward Jacob Peterson's game-winning goal against the Wolverines on Sunday, bringing his season point total to a team-best 13 points (5 goals, 3 assists). Sophomore midfielder Brian Plotkin is second on the club with seven points (2 goals, 3 assists), while Peterson (4 points on 2 goals) has scored a goal in two of the last three matches for the Hoosiers. Junior goalkeeper Jay Nolly has an 0.90 goals-against average to go with 27 saves. Junior defensive midfielder and co-captain Danny O'Rourke, a first-team All-Big Ten selection in 2002, has also continued his strong play.
Scouting Wisconsin
Wisconsin enters Friday's tilt with a 7-6-0 record overall and a 1-1-0 mark in Big Ten action. The Badgers are fresh off a 1-0 upset victory at Penn State on Sunday. Freshman Aaron Hohlbein tallied his first career goal of the season to push UW past the Nittany Lions.
Jed Hohlbein leads the Badgers in scoring with 17 points on seven goals and three assists. Junior Nick Van Sicklen, a 2002 first-team All-Big selection, is second with 11 points on five goals and an assist. Current Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week Eric Hanson has handled the majority of the goalkeeping duties for UW. The junior captain has a 1.10 goals-against average and has collected 44 saves.
Jeff Rohrman is in his second season at the head coach at Wisconsin after spending seven seasons as an assistant at Maryland. Rohrman led the Badgers to a 9-10 record last season.
Scouting Northwestern
The Wildcats are 4-3-4 on the season and will play Loyola on Wednesday before taking on the Hoosiers on Sunday. Northwestern picked up an impressive road win on Oct. 5, defeating the Duke Blue Devils, 2-1.
Head coach Tim Lenahan is in his third season at Northwestern. He joined the Wildcats following three years as the head coach at Lafayette College.
The Wisconsin Series
Indiana owns a 25-3-3 record against Wisconsin all-time in a series that began in 1975. In fact, Iu and UW have played in each of the previous 16 seasons (since 1987) The Hoosiers have prevailed in the last eight meetings between the two teams, dating back to 1996. In fact, Wisconsin's last victory over Indiana was the Hoosiers' last loss during the Big Ten regular season. The Badgers scored a 2-0 win against IU on Oct. 13, 1995, in Madison. In 2002, Indiana handed Wisconsin a 5-1 setback. Current junior Ned Grabavoy (2) and current senior David Prall (1) both scored goals for IU in the match.
The Northwestern Series
Indiana is undefeated with a 19-0-0 record in the all-time series with Northwestern. The inaugural meeting between IU and NU took place in 1983, an 11-0 Hoosier win, and the two teams have played annually since 1990. The Hoosiers were victorious in last season's meeting, 1-0, on Oct. 13, 2002, at Armstrong Stadium in Bloomington.
Peterson Productive Against Home State
Freshman forward Jacob Peterson rises to the occasion when Indiana plays a team from his home state of Michigan. The Portage native has scored a pair of goals this season, one against Michigan State and one against Michigan. On Sept. 21 in IU's Big Ten Conference opener, Peterson hit the game-tying goal in the 82nd minute against the Spartans. On Sunday, Oct. 5, the rookie gave Indiana its first conference win when he scored the golden goal less than three minutes into overtime. Peterson's four points pace the Hoosiers in league matches this season and are tied for first among Big Ten players.
Hoosiers in Overtime
Indiana captured its first overtime victory of the season in its seventh try on Sunday at Michigan. Jacob Peterson's goal in the third minute of overtime stopped a six-match winless streak in extra sessions. IU is now 1-2-4 on the season in OT.
This season's seven overtime games mark tie for the most in school history (also in 1995). The most OT games an Indiana team has ever competed in is nine, which happened during the 1983 season.
The Chicago Connection
When the Hoosiers play Northwestern in Evanston on Sunday, a contingent of players will be close to home. Indiana has five players on its roster who hail from the state of Illinois and the Chicago area: Greg Badger (Wilmette), Ned Grabavoy (New Lenox), Julian Dieterle (Elgin), Brian Plotkin (Lisle) and Jed Zayner (Orland Park). Dieterle and Zayner, both freshmen defenders, have started in all 10 of IU's matches this season. Grabavoy and Plotkin are the Hoosiers' two leading scorers with 13 and seven points, respectively this season.
Defense Shuts Down Nation's Leading Goal Scorer
Indiana's defense held Michigan's Mychal Turpin to just two shots on Sunday afternoon, no small feat considering Turpin was leading the country with 11 goals scored last week. Freshman back Julian Dieterle marked Turpin, a junior, for much of the match and freshman sweeper Jed Zayner, senior back David Prall and sophomore back Drew Moor were all impressive defensively. In addition, junior goalkeeper Jay Nolly stopped both of Turpin's attempts in front of the goal.
Nolly Leading the League
Junior Jay Nolly currently sports the best goals-against average at 0.90 of any goalie in the Big Ten Conference. The 2002 first-team All-Big Ten selection has logged 1009:18 in goal for the Hoosiers this season. Nolly has 27 saves and a pair of shutouts to his credit.
Klein Named MLS Player of the Week
Former IU midfielder and current Kansas City Wizards star Chris Klein was selected the Major League Soccer Player of the Week on Oct. 4. Klein picked up the honor after his two-goal performance on last Saturday helped guide the Wizards past the Colorado Rapids 4-2 at Arrowhead Stadium. Klein's two-goal effort was his second in as many games. He was also named the MLS Player of the Week on April 12 of this season.
Klein played at Indiana from 1994-97. While at IU, he was a two-time first-team All-Big Ten selection and earned All-Region honors as a senior in 1997.
BIG TEN STANDINGS
Indiana 1-0-1
Michigan State 1-0-2
Penn State 1-1-0
Wisconsin 1-1-0
Ohio State 1-1-0
Northwestern 0-1-1
Michigan 0-1-0
2003 IU STATISTICAL LEADERS
Points
Ned Grabavoy 13
Brian Plotkin 7
Jacob Peterson 4
Goals
Ned Grabavoy 5
Brian Plotkin 2
Jacob Peterson 2
Assists
Brian Plotkin 3
Ned Grabavoy 3
Saves
Jay Nolly 27
