Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Capture Tourney Title (11-6-03)
11/16/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Bloomington, Ind.--The Indiana men's soccer team found itself in a similar position as last season's Big Ten Championships, ending regulation and overtime tied with Penn State, and facing a penalty kick shootout situation. Unlike the 2002 result, the Hoosiers nailed all four penalty attempts and junior goalkeeper Jay Nolly made two saves, lifting the Hoosiers to the 2003 Big Ten Tournament Championship.
Indiana led off the shootout. Sophomore Drew Moor nailed the first penalty kick attempt to give IU a 1-0 lead. Penn State's Gabe Bernstein went right, and although Nolly picked right, the ball deflected off his glove to knot it up at 1-1.
Junior Ned Grabavoy gave the Hoosiers what ultimately would be the margin they needed, putting the ball past a diving Novchich. Grabavoy was one-of-three on penalty kicks going into game. Penn State's second attempt from David Walters was stopped on a diving save to the left by IU goalkeeper Jay Nolly.
After senior Vijay Dias went upper 90 to give Indiana a 3-1 advantage, it was again Nolly who stepped to the forefront. Once again The Littleton, Colo., native stopped Joe Zewe's PK attempt, diving to his right to keep the margin at 3-1.
Sophomore Brian Plotkin ended Penn State's upset bid as he scored on his attempt. Penn State goalkeeper Matt Novchich, who had made four saves in the match, guessed wrong, and the Hoosiers were Big Ten Tournament Champions.
The Hoosiers and Nittany Lions played a midfield battle for most of the first half. The first shot of the match did not come until the 22:53 mark, when Indiana redshirt freshman Josh Tudela sent a shot from the top of the 18-yard box wide left.
Just over a minute later, the Hoosiers got on the board first. Freshman Jacob Peterson touched a pass to Grabavoy. The national-player-of-the-year semifinalist led Plotkin into the left side of the box. Plotkin one-timed a shot under Penn State keeper Matt Novchich and into the lower left corner of the net for the Hoosier goal.
The goal was Plotkin's sixth on the season. Grabavoy notched his 11th assist on the year, while Peterson picked up his fourth helper on the season.
Indiana had three more solid opportunities within a four-minute stretch. In the 26th minute, Friday night's hero, sophomore Pat Yates sent a shot from the right side of the 18-yard box just wide. Peterson dribbled from middle field to just inside the 18-yard box in the 16th-minute, but his shot went wide left as well. Just a minute later, Peterson led Grabavoy into the box. Novchich came out to put pressure on Grabavoy, who sent a shot high over the crossbar.
Penn State struck with just two minutes remaining in the first half to send the teams to the locker room, knotted at one. David Walters sent a cornerkick into the middle of the 18-yard box. Mike Lindemann was there to head the ball into the left side of the net for the Nittany Lion goal. The goal was Lindemann's first on the season and the assist was Walters third on the year.
The shot on the goal for Penn State was their only shot of the first half. Indiana outshot the Nittany Lions, 5-1. For the game, Indiana the Hoosiers held a 17-4 shot advantage, while the Nittany Lions had the advantage in fouls at 32-13.
The Hoosiers had a number of opportunities in the second half as well. Only two minutes into the second stanza, Yates sent a header that was saved by Novchich.
In the 52nd-minute, Grabavoy beat Novchich to the ball on the right side of the box. Grabavoy sent a shot from the right side, that was saved by Kenji Treschuk of Penn State on the line. The defense made another team save in the 78th-minute. Senior Vijay Dias made a nice move to get by a defender and into the left corner. He sent a cross that ended up on the head of sophomore Drew Moor, who flicked a header towards the goal. The ball almost crossed the line before being flicked over the crossbar by a PSU defender.
Penn State's Chad Severs put two shots on goal for the Nittany Lions, forcing Nolly to make his only two saves of the regulation period. Severs shots came in the 59th and 82nd-minutes.
Indiana looked as though it would end the game in the final seconds of the first overtime period. With less than 30 seconds remaining, Dias put a nice move on a defender and go to the corner. He crossed the ball into Peterson. Peterson's shot in front of the goal was blocked by Novchich. Yates ended up with the ball, but Novchich gathered himself enough to block the second shot as well.
Grabavoy and Nolly were named to the 2003 Big Ten All-Tournament team. The two Hoosiers were also awarded the top two honors at the Championships, as Nolly was named Defensive Most Valuable Player and Grabavoy was named Offensive Most Valuable Player
NCAA rules state that a game that goes into penalty kicks is ruled a tie, and the team that wins in PKs advances. The only game that can be ruled a victory after a win in penalty kicks in the National Title game. The Hoosiers are now 12-3-5 on the year, but by winning the shootout, penalty kick segment, the Hoosiers earn the Big Ten's automatic bid to the 2003 NCAA Tournament. The tournament field will be announced on Monday afternoon at 4 p.m. The selection show can be seen on ESPNews. Stay tuned to IUHOOSIERS.COM for the latest on where and when the Hoosiers play.
