Indiana University Athletics
IU To Face Georgetown, UConn (09-04-03)
9/4/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The fifth-ranked Indiana men's soccer team heads to Storrs, Conn., this weekend to play a pair of BIG EAST teams in the UConn/adidas Classic. The Hoosiers will face Georgetown on Friday at 3:30 p.m. On Saturday night, IU will battle the host and No. 24 Huskies, the team that knocked the Hoosiers out of the 2002 NCAA Tournament. UConn won the third-round match up on its home field a season ago, 1-0.
About the Hoosiers
Indiana is currently 1-0-1 after winning its own adidas/IU Credit Union Classic last weekend in Bloomington. The Hoosiers defeated No. 17 California, 3-0, and then played to a scoreless tie with No. 20 UAB.
Indiana is youthful team that returns just 11 letterwinners and five starters from last season's team that went 15-4-2, won the Big Ten regular season title with a 6-0-0 record and advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament. Junior forward and co-captain Ned Grabavoy is the leader of IU's offensive attack. The All-American scored a goal and added an assist in the Hoosiers' season opener against Cal. The Hoosiers' defense is a mix of the old and the new. Junior goalkeeper Jay Nolly has yet to allow a goal in 200 minutes of soccer this season. Nolly is in his second season as the Hoosiers' starter in goal. For their efforts, Nolly and Grabavoy were selected the Big Ten Defensive and Offensive Players of the Week, respectively. Junior co-captain and defensive midfielder Danny O'Rourke also provides leadership to a pair of rookie defenders in sweeper Jed Zayner and marking back Julian Dieterle.
In the midfield, Big Ten Freshman of the Year Brian Plotkin has entered the starting lineup as a sophomore. Senior and three-year starter Vijay Dias brings experience to the lineup. Both Dias and Plotkin scored goals in IU's season opener.
The Road Trip Begins...
This weekend's matches at UConn mark the beginning of a five-game road swing. After playing Georgetown and UConn in Storrs, the Hoosiers will head to South Bend, Ind., for their next three games. IU will take part in the Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament at Notre Dame, Sept. 12 and 14. Indiana takes on Akron on Friday the 12th at 5 p.m. and then meets Fresno State on Sunday the 14th at 11 a.m. Four days later, the Hoosiers will travel back to South Bend to battle the Fighting Irish at 7 p.m. on Sept. 18.
Familiar Territory
As they head for Connecticut, the Hoosiers return to place where their season ended in 2002. IU lost in the third round of the NCAA Tournament to UConn, 1-0, at the Huskies Morrone Stadium. On Saturday, the Hoosiers and the Huskies will have a rematch of last season's game.
Battling the BIG EAST
Indiana owns a 31-7-2 record all-time against teams from the BIG EAST. Last season, IU was 1-2-1 against BIG EAST teams. The Hoosiers defeated Notre Dame in the NCAA Tournament, tied with Rutgers and lost to St. John's and UConn.
The Opponents
Georgetown: Indiana will play Georgetown for the first time in history this weekend. The Hoyas enter Friday's matchup with a record identical to IU's at 1-0-1. Georgetown won its own D.C. Cup after defeating Howard, 4-0, and tying American, 1-1. Ricky Schramm led the team with six points on two goals and three assists over the pair of games.
The Hoyas are coming off an 8-9-1 season and return 19 letterwinners and 10 starters. GU also went 5-4-1 in the BIG EAST to finish fifth. Head coach Keith Tabatznik is in his 20th season at the school.
UConn: UConn enters the weekend at 0-2-0 after dropping a pair of matches to No. 3 Wake Forest, 2-0, and No. 8 North Carolina, 3-0, in the Wake Forest adidas Classic. The Huskies return 13 lettermen and three starters from last season's club that compiled a 17-6-0 record. UConn was 7-3-0 against BIG EAST competition and finished third in the league regular season standings. The all-time series between the Hoosiers and the Huskies is locked at 2-2-0. The Huskies are coached by Ray Reid, who is in his seventh season at UConn.
Grabavoy Named to MAC Hermann Watch List
Ned Grabavoy is on the watch list for the 2003 Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy, which honors the nation's best collegiate soccer player. The list includes 15 players from around the nation who are considered to be early favorites for the award. Grabavoy, who will switch from the midfield to play forward for Indiana this season, was one of only four underclassmen to earn first or second-team All-America honors in 2002. As a sophomore, he scored 20 points on six goals and eight assists to rank third on the team behind now-departed seniors and 2002 M.A.C. Hermann Trophy candidates Pat Noonan and Ryan Mack. Grabavoy led the Big Ten in scoring with 15 points in league games and was a unanimous first-team All-Big Ten selection in his first full season of competition. The New Lenox, Ill., product and Lincoln Way High School graduate came to Indiana as the National Socccer Coaches' Association of America's National High School Player of the Year, but was injured during preseason training as a freshman and did not grace the lineup until the middle of the 2001 season.
Grabavoy is off to a quick start in 2003. The co-captain scored a goal and assisted on another in Indiana's 3-0, season-opening victory over California in the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic. IU won the Classic Championship. For his efforts, Grabavoy was selected the Big Ten's Offensive Player of the Week.
Last year, Noonan finished second in the MAC/Hermann voting as he was edged by just four points by Virginia's Alecko Eskandarian. Indiana has had five players earn eight Missouri Athletic Club Player of the Year Awards or Hermann Trophies. Todd Yeagley (Missouri Athletic Club) and Brian Maissoneuve (Hermann Trophy) were the last Hoosier players to win either honor when they both did so in 1994.
Young Guns
On opening weekend, the Hoosiers' starting lineup featured four players who made their college debuts. Redshirt freshmen Josh Tudela (two) and John Michael Hayden (one) both made starts in the midfield and true freshmen Julian Dieterle (two) and Jed Zayner (two) both started in the back. Redshirt sophomore forward Trey Meek also started both matches. In addition, rookie forward Jacob Peterson came off the bench to play in both matches.
The Year of Yeagley
At the conclusion of the 2003 season, the curtain will close on the career of the architect of Indiana soccer Jerry Yeagley. Yeagley begins his 31st year at the helm of a program he ran for 10 years as a club team before guiding it to varsity status in 1973. During this past offseason, Yeagley announced that the 2003 campaign would be his last before retiring.
A five-time National Coach of the Year and seven-time Big Ten Coach of the Year, Yeagley's record of success is in college soccer is unmatched:
• Five National Titles
• 15 College Cup Appearances
• 27 NCAA Tournament Appearances
• 63 NCAA Tournament Victories
• An .823 Overall Winning Percentage
• A .741 NCAA Tournament Winning Percentage
• Nine Big Ten Tournament Titles
•Nine Big Ten Regular Season Championships
All of these numbers represent the most of any school in the country in the time that Indiana has played soccer as a varsity sport. Additionally, Yeagley ranks second all-time in coaching victories with 527 in 30 seasons. Stephen Negoesco, who coached at San Francisco for 39 seasons, is the leader with 544, leaving Yeagley just 18 wins shy of overtaking the record as the 2003 season begins.
Yeagley Closing In On Record
With his career win total now at 528 in his 31st season, head coach Jerry Yeagley needs 17 wins to become collegiate soccer's all-time winningest coach. Stephen Nogoesco, who is retired, holds the distinction currently with 544 wins in 39 seasons.
Packing Them In
The Indiana soccer team is never short on fan support and the 2002 season was no different. IU finished second nationally in attendance, averaging 2,195 fans at each of its eight home matches played at Bill Armstrong Stadium. UConn led the country with an average of 2,519 fans at each of its 11 home matches, while Wake Forest ranked third with an average of 2,066 over 11 home dates.
A total of 5,876 fans came through the Armstrong Stadium gates to watch the Hoosiers last weekend during the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic.
Hoosiers Named Big Ten Players of the Week
Indiana juniors Ned Grabavoy and Jay Nolly were selected the first Big Ten Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week of the season, respectively.
Grabavoy, a forward, shared Offensive Player-of-the-Week honors with Michigan's Mychal Turpin. The preseason All-American was involved in two of the three Indiana goals, assisting on one and scoring another, in IU's 3-0 victory over 17th-ranked California. He also recorded four shots against No. 20 UAB. For his play, Grabavoy was awarded the Offensive MVP Award at the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic.
Nolly, the Hoosier goalkeeper, earned the Big Ten honor after leading Indiana to 200 minutes of shutout soccer against a pair of ranked opponents. He made a career-high nine saves against No. 17 California and then held No. 20 UAB scoreless. For his play, the Littleton, Colo., native, was named Defensive MVP of the Classic. He now has 10 career shutouts.
All-Tournament Honors
Indiana had four players make the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic All-Tournament team. Junior forward Ned Grabavoy, junior goalkeeper Jay Nolly, junior midfielder Danny O'Rourke and sophomore midfielder Brian Plotkin represented the honors. Grabavoy was selected the Offensive MVP and Nolly earned Defensive MVP honors.
