Hoosiers To Host VCU Rams (11-28-03)

11/28/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer

Nov. 30, 2003

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -Indiana (13-3-5) will battle the Virginia Commonwealth Rams (17-4-0) in the third round of the NCAA College Cup on Sunday, Nov. 30, in Bloomington at Bill Armstrong Stadium. The match-up features the No. 8 (IU) and No. 9 (VCU) seeds in the College Cup's "Sweet Sixteen." Kickoff for the match is set for 2 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the gate and are $5 for adults and $3 for all students.

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. The IU student radio station, WIUS 1570 AM, will also carry the game. That station's web site is www.wius.org. Live Updates: Live in-game updates will be available on Indiana's athletics web site at IUHOOSIERS.COM.

Setting The Scene
 After a first-round bye, Indiana defeated Kentucky, 2-1, in double overtime in Bloomington to advance to the third round on Wednesday.
 Virginia Commonwealth was a 5-2 victor over Virginia Tech in Richmond, Va., on Wednesday.
 Sunday marks the first-ever meeting between Indiana and Virginia Commonwealth.
 Virginia Commonwealth made the tournament field for the fifth time in the last seven years.
 VCU is a veteran team, while the Hoosiers are relatively young. The Rams' roster features 14 upperclassmen (7 seniors, 7 juniors) while the Indiana roster has just six upperclassmen (2 seniors, 4 juniors). Since junior Ned Grabavoy is gone with the U.S, U-20 team, that number is now five.
 Both teams are ranked in the top 10 in the latest version of all four national polls. Indiana is ranked No. 8 NSCAA poll, No. 5 in the Soccer America poll, and No. 7 in both the Soccer Times and College Soccer News poll. VCU is No. 7, No. 9, No. 8 and No. 10 in the four polls, respectively.
 Both teams earned automatic bids to the College Cup by winning their respective conference tournaments.
 The winner of the IU-VCU match will advance to face the winner of No. 1 UCLA-Florida International match, which is also on Sunday. Date and location are TBA on Sunday evening.

Indiana Update

The No. 8 seed Hoosiers sport a 13-3-5 record heading into Sunday's match with Virginia Commonwealth. IU defeated Kentucky, 2-1, in the NCAA second round on Wednesday night. Junior Greg Badger converted his first career goal at the 105:46 mark to secure the IU victory.
After a slow start with a 2-3-4 record at the halfway point, IU won nine straight matches to finish the regular season. IU currently maintains a 14-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 again in the NCAA third round. 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 sophomore 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 14 points on five goals and four assists. Sophomore Pat Yates' 10 points, on four goals and a pair of assists, rank fourth on the club.
In the Nov. 23 version of the NCAA's national statistics, the Hoosiers ranked No. 14 nationally in team goals-against average (now 0.67). IU also has nine shutouts. Junior goalkeeper Jay Nolly, who is a two-time first-team All-Big Ten pick, owns an 0.67 GAA, the 16th-best mark in the country (as of Nov. 23). Nolly has also collected 55 saves and is has posted all nine Hoosier shutouts.

A Look at the Rams
Virginia Commonwealth owns a 17-4-0 record, and is making its fifth appearance in the last seven years in the NCAA Tournament. The Rams earned an automatic bid after winning the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Tournament. In second round action, the Rams soundly defeated Virginia Tech, 5-2.
VCU has a high-powered offensive attack that has yielded 50 goals. In the Nov. 23 NCAA statistics, the team was No. 11 in team scoring.
The Rams' roster features eight international players, including the team's top three scorers. Senior Matthew Delicate, the CAA Player of the Year, has scored 39 points (15 g, and 9 a) while fellow senior McColm Cephas is second with 38 points (17 g, 4 a). Senior defender Cristian Neagu ranks third on the team with 15 points (5 g, 5a). Junior goalie Saul Montero has played in all 21 games for the Rams and owns an 0.90 goals-against average. He also has 76 saves and nine shutouts to his credit.
VCU's head coach Tim O'Sullivan is in his ninth season.

Badger the Hero
Greg Badger did not disappoint his teammates on Wednesday night. The junior striker scored the game-winning goal, the first of his career, to lift Indiana over Kentucky in the NCAA second round. It was just Badger's seventh appearance this season, but when the IU coaching staff prepared to make a substitution, the team called for him to enter the game.

Tudela Times Two
Redshirt freshman Josh Tudela did his part to step up on Wednesday night. The midfielder assisted on both Hoosier goals in the victory over Kentucky, matching his season points output. In fact, three of Tudela's four assists this season have come against the Wildcats, the first in the Nov. 2 regular season meeting.
On Jacob Peterson's goal in the first half, Tudela combined with Vijay Dias for the set-up. In overtime, Tudela got his head on John Michael Hayden's corner kick and placed the ball in front of the goal for Greg Badger. Badger knocked the ball in to give IU the 2-1 victory.

Come Back Kids
Indiana has come back from a deficit to win or salvage a tie five times this season, including Wednesday's victory over the Wildcats.
 On Sept. 21, Indiana trailed Michigan State, 1-0, heading into the final 10 minutes. Jacob Peterson tallied the game-winner and IU avoided its first Big Ten loss since 1995.
 On Oct. 2, Butler went ahead of Indiana, 1-0. Trey Meek evened the score with his first goal of the season and IU walked away with a 1-1 draw.
 On Oct. 5 at Michigan, Indiana fell behind the Wolverines, 1-0. Ned Grabavoy's penalty kick tied the game up. Just 2:41 into the first overtime period, Peterson struck against his home state to give the Hoosiers a 2-1 win. The victory began a stretch of nine straight for the Hoosiers.
 On Nov. 8, Indiana turned in its best comeback of the season. IU trailed, 2-0, to Big Ten rival Penn State at halftime. The Hoosiers scored three second-half goals in a 22-minute span to clinch the Big Ten Conference regular season title and a victory in Jerry Yeagley's final regular season home match.
 On Nov. 26, in the NCAA second round, Kentucky jumped to a 1-0 lead in the first half. Peterson scored for IU with just more than a minute to play before halftime. In the second overtime period, Greg Badger knocked in the game winner.

A Chance to Tie the Record
Jerry Yeagley's 540 wins are the second-most in Division I history, and 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 collect the four wins necessary to capture the NCAA title, Yeagley would match the 544 career wins.

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 were 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

* NCAA top 16 seeds

With 16 teams remaining, four of Indiana's regular season foes are still playing. Akron will play at Maryland, Notre Dame hosts Michigan and Saint Louis will meet Washington at home in the NCAA third round.

Corner Kicks
 Indiana is playing its 52nd NCAA home match and its 45th at Bill Amrstrong Stadium against VCU on Sunday.
 The Hoosiers are also playing their sixth-straight home match, dating back to a Nov. 2 regular season win over Kentucky. Indiana has also played nine of its last 10 matches at home.
 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.
 Indiana baseball coach Bob Morgan's daughter, Beth Cunningham, is the head women's basketball coach at Virginia Commonwealth.
 The Hoosier women's basketball team will travel to Richmond, Va., to face the Rams on Dec. 5.