Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers To Tangle With 'Cats (11-24-03)
11/24/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana (12-3-5) opens NCAA Tournament play on Wednesday, Nov. 26, against the Kentucky Wildcats (12-6-2) at Armstrong Stadium in Bloomington. Kickoff for the match is set for 7 p.m. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for all students.
As the tournament's No. 8 seed, the Hoosiers received a first round bye. UK played to a scoreless tie with Cincinnati in Lexington in the first round, but advanced to meet IU by outshooting the Bearcats, 4-2, on penalty kicks.
The Hoosiers are making their 17th straight appearance and 28th overall in the NCAA Tournament. IU owns a 63-22 record in tournament games for a .741 winning percentage, the best in the nation.
Radio: The match will be broadcast live by Bloomington's WGCL 1370 AM. Chris Doran will handle play-by-play and former IU player and assistant Sean Phillips will provide color commentary.
Live Updates: Live in-game updates will be available on Indiana's athletics web site at IUHOOSIERS.COM.
The Hoosiers and the NCAA Tournament
Since the inception of the varsity program in 1973, Indiana has been a staple in the NCAA Tournament. This season, IU is making its 17th consecutive appearance in the tournament. The Hoosiers have earned a bid 28 times and made 15 trips to the College Cup. In 11 of the those trips, IU has played in the national title game and won the championship five times. Here's a look at the numbers:
Overall NCAA Record:63-23 (.741) Ranks first in the Nation
At Home: 47-3 (.940)
At Bill Armstrong Stadium: 40-3 (.930)
NCAA Championships: 5 Ranks second in the Nation
NCAA Appearances: 28 Ranks third in the Nation
NCAA Tournament Wins: 63 Ranks tied for first in the Nation
NCAA College Cup Appearances: 15 Ranks second in the Nation
Indiana Update
Indiana is the No. 8 seed in the 2003 NCAA Tournament after finishing the regular season with a 12-3-5 record and the Big Ten Conference regular season and tournament titles. After a slow start with a 2-3-4 record at the halfway point, IU won its last nine matches. After defeating Wisconsin, 1-0, in the Big Ten Tournament, the Hoosiers captured the title by beating Penn State in a shootout, 4-1. Indiana maintains a 13-match unbeaten streak with its last loss coming at Notre Dame, the No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament, on Sept. 18, 1-0.
IU will be without two starters as the NCAA Tournament commences. Junior Ned Grabavoy, who is a semifinalist for the Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy and has led the Hoosiers in scoring with 31 points, and sophmore defender Drew Moor, a unanimous first-team All-Big Ten pick, were selected to the United States U-20 team that will play in the World Youth Championships in the United Arab Emirates over the next three weeks.
Though the team has holes to fill, the Hoosiers have the depth to do it. Sophomore Brian Plotkin, a first-team All-Big Ten selection, is IU's second-leading scorer with 19 points on six goals and seven assists. Freshman and second-team All-Big Ten honoree Jacob Peterson is third on the team with 12 points on four goals and four assists. Sophomore Pat Yates' 10 points, on four goals and a pair of assists, rank fourth on the team. Two of his goals have come in IU's last three games.
Defensively, the Hoosiers rank 12th nationally in team goals-against average (0.68). IU has shut out the opposition in seven of its last 10 outings. Junior goalkeeper Jay Nolly, who is a two-time first-team All-Big Ten pick, owns an 0.68 GAA, the 15th-best mark in the country. Nolly has also collected 51 saves and nine shutouts.
Scouting Kentucky
The Wildcats enter Wednesday's match with a 12-6-2 record, and are making their fourth appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Junior midfielder Jamal Shteiwi paces the UK offenisve attack with 22 points on five goals and 12 assists. Freshman Riley O'Neill is second with 15 points on a team-best six goals and three assists. The Wildcats are solid defensive team, evidenced by the fact that they have given up just 11 goals in 16 matches. Sophomore goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum has played all 1864:86 in goal for Kentucky. He sports an impressive 0.66 goals-against average and has made 61 saves this season.
Kentucky head coach Ian Collins is in his 10th season at the school. He owns a 118-77-14 record at UK and a 129-108-21 mark overall in 13 years of coaching.
The All-Time Series With Kentucky
The Hoosiers lead the all-time series with the Wildcats, 16-1-0. IU is 9-1-0 in matches played in Bloomington with the lone loss coming on Sept. 10, 1995, 1-0, at Armstrong Stadium. Since that match, the Hoosiers have reeled off nine straight wins in the series, including a 1-0 decision on Nov. 2, 2003.
Indiana and Kentucky also played in the 1999 NCAA Tournament. The two teams met in the first round in Bloomington. IU's Aleksey Korol tallied the game-winner in the second overtime to lift the Hoosiers past the Wildcats, 1-0.
A Look at the Last Meeting With the `Cats
Indiana and Kentucky met during the regular season in Bloomington and the Hoosiers came away with a 1-0 victory. Senior midfielder Vijay Dias converted the game-winning goal on an assist from redshirt freshman midfielder Josh Tudela in the 45th minute of the match. The Wildcats and Hoosiers also played in an exhibition match (doesn't count on season record) in Ft. Wayne, Ind., on Aug. 22. UK scored in the final minute of play to win, 2-1.
More Tournament Trivia
• The Hoosiers have won 63 games in 27 NCAA Tournament appearances, good for an average of 2.33 wins per year.
• Indiana has made the College Cup in 15 of its 30 seasons as a varsity program.
•Every four-year player at IU has experienced a College Cup.
• The Hoosiers are looking to return to the College Cup in 2003 after their five-year streak was snapped in 2002.
Hoosiers Abroad
Two Hoosier players were called up to play on the United States Under-20 Team that will compete in the World Youth Championships in the United Arab Emirates over the next few weeks. Junior Ned Grabavoy and sophomore Drew Moor are two of nine collegians named to the 20-man roster. Santa Clara is the only other school that has two players on the team. The 2003 Big Ten Player of the Year Knox Cameron is also on team. Here's a look at other college players representing their country: (Bold indicates teams that are in the 2003 NCAA Tournament)
Knox Cameron, Michigan Steve Cronin, Santa Clara
Ryan Cochrane, Santa Clara Clint Dempsey, Furman
Ned Grabavoy, Indiana Jordan Harvey, UCLA
Chad Marshall, Stanford Drew Moor, Indiana
Ford Williams, North Carolina
IU vs. the NCAA Field
Seven of the Hoosiers' 2003 opponents, made this season's NCAA Tournament. Indiana has a 4-3 record against those teams. In fact, four of IU's opponents are top 16 seeds in the tournament and the remaining three advanced out of the first round. All three of the team's losses came to teams who made the Tournament:
Date Opponent Result
8/29 Cal W, 3-0
9/6 at UConn L, 2-1
9/12 vs. Akron L, 2-1
9/18 at Notre Dame L, 1-0 (2 OT)
10/5 at Michigan W, 2-1 (OT)
10/24 Saint Louis W, 2-1
11/2 Kentucky W, 1-0
A Chance to Tie the Record
Jerry Yeagley's 539 wins are the second-most in Division I history, an there is a possibility he could tie all-time the leader, Stephen Negoesco, who piled up 544 wins in 39 seasons at San Francisco. If the Hoosiers collected the five wins necessary to capture the NCAA title, Yeagley would match the 544 career wins.
A Tale of Two Seasons
After its first nine games, Indiana had sputtered to a 2-3-4 record and its worst start in program history. With half of the Hoosiers' schedule behind them and second half remaining, head coach Jerry Yeagley had some instructions for his players. While this team was off to the worst start in school history, its goal should be to accomplish the best turnaround in school history. And IU did just that. The Hoosiers racked up nine straight wins to run their record from 2-3-4 to 11-3-4 at regular season's end. IU is now 12-3-5 and unbeaten in its last 13 matches.
