Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Travel to a Pair of Difficult Environments
10/25/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Oct. 25, 2005
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The two-time defending national champion Indiana men's soccer team will travel to a pair of tough environments with matches at Notre Dame and at No. 3 Maryland. Both matches are slated to be televised with the Notre Dame match airing on ESPNU and the Maryland tilt on CN8: The Comcast Network. The No. 5 Hoosiers will have their second mid-week away match of the year, traveling to South Bend, Ind., on Wednesday, Oct. 26 at 6 p.m. Indiana will then travel to College Park, Md., for a rematch of the epic College Cup semifinal from a season ago. Game time is set for 8 p.m. EDT.
Hoosier News and Notes
- Indiana is ranked No. 2 in the Great Lakes Region according to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. Notre Dame is sixth in the region.
- The Hoosiers are averaging 3,065 fans per match at Armstrong Stadium. Indiana has drawn 21,453 total fans in seven home matches this season.
- Junior forward Jacob Peterson currently ranks among the Hoosier top 25 in two career categories. He is 21st on the career goals list with 26 during his three-year career. Peterson needs one goal to move into a tie for 20th. He is tied for 19th with 165 career shots. The Portage, Mich., native needs two more attempts to move into 18th.
- Senior midfielder Brian Plotkin ranks among the IU all-time top 25 in three categories. He is tied for 10th in assists with 33 career helpers. With one more assist, he will move into a tie for ninth place with Ryan Mack. Plotkin ranks ninth on IU's career shots list with 249, trailing eighth-place Paul DiBernardo by two. The Lisle, Ill., native moved into 23rd place on the Hoosiers' career points list, following his pair of assists against Ohio State. Plotkin has 73 career points as a Hoosier.
- Plotkin ranks 13th nationally in assists per game. He leads the Hoosiers with nine assists in 15 matches.
- Senior Mike Ambersley ranks among IU's top 25 in career shots. He is tied for 23rd with 147 career attempts. He trails Matt Fundenberger, who is 22nd, by 15 shots.
- Peterson recorded his second career hat trick and 48th in Hoosier annals. Against Boston University on Sept. 11, he notched the first three goals of the match in a 5-0 victory. Peterson became the 10th Hoosier in school history to record multiple hat tricks in a career.
- Sophomore goalkeeper Chris Munroe ranks 17th nationally in goals against average (GAA) as of Oct. 16. He has a GAA of 0.65. Munroe had a career-best seven saves in a victory over then-No. 25 Cal State-Northridge on Sept. 16.
- As a team (as of Oct. 23), Indiana ranked seventh nationally in shutout percentage, blanking nine of 15 opponents. The Hoosier defense also ranks 12th in the country in goals against average at 0.62. IU ranks fifth nationally in goals per game with 2.80 per contest.
Scouting Notre Dame
Notre Dame is 9-5-2 overall and 5-4-1 in the BIG EAST. The Fighting Irish are currently riding a two-match winning streak after picking up victories at Providence and at Pittsburgh. This season, Notre Dame is 4-2-1 at Alumni Field.
Indiana and Notre Dame have played six common opponents. The large number of similar foes is attributed to each team playing in the other's home tournament as a playing partner. This means that both teams are well acquainted with the other. Those six foes are Wake Forest, SMU, Boston University, Saint Louis, Louisville and Michigan State. The Irish are 4-1-1 against the six, while the Hoosiers are 4-0-2. Notre Dame lost to Wake Forest, 1-0, in overtime at the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic, beat SMU (4-1), Boston University (1-0), Saint Louis (1-0) and Louisville (1-0) and tied Michigan State, 0-0. Indiana has victories over Wake Forest (1-0), SMU (4-0), Boston University (5-0) and Louisville (2-0). The pair of ties came from Michigan State (0-0) and Saint Louis (1-1).
The Irish have a balanced offensive attack with six different players having two or more goals and seven players with five or more points. Junior forward Justin McGeeney leads the team in goals with four on the year, while sophomore forward Joe Lapira tops the squad with 10 points. Lapira and junior midfielder Ryan Miller are tied for the team lead with four assists on the season. Notre Dame is led by Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy candidate Greg Dalby, who has five points on two goals and one assist. He was the captain of the U.S. Under-20 National Team at the FIFA World Championships last summer in Holland. Dalby was a teammate of Hoosiers Lee Nguyen and Jacob Peterson at the event. Junior goalkeeper Chris Cahill has started all 16 matches for Notre Dame. He has a goals against average of 0.89, 57 saves and six shutouts.
The in-state rivals have split the last four matches. The Hoosiers are 22-3-1 all-time against the Fighting Irish, including a 2-0 victory in Bloomington a season ago. Indiana is 11-2 in South Bend. In the 2004 affair, Jacob Peterson scored in the 54th minute off the assist from Mike Ambersley and Josh Tudela. Brian Ploktin followed that up with a goal of his own in the 81st minute to ice the match.
Scouting Maryland
Maryland enters the match as one of the hottest teams in America. The Terrapins are on a seven-match winning streak entering their Wednesday affair with NJIT. Maryland is 12-3 on the year and sits atop the Atlantic Coast Conference at 6-1. The Terps are a perfect 8-0 at Ludwig Field.
The Hoosiers and Terrapins have a pair of common opponents in Penn State and Wake Forest. Both teams are 1-1 against the pair, with victories over the Demon Deacons and losses to Penn State.
Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy candidate Jason Garey leads Maryland and ranks second nationally with 16 goals on the season. He also has 35 points, which ranks in the top five nationally. The Terps have five double-digit scorers, including Garey. Sophomore midfielder Stephen King has 22 points on eight goals and six assists. Freshman forward Robbie Rogers (4g, 2a), Sophomore froward Maurice Edu (3g, 4a) and Junior midfielder A.J. Godbolt (0g, 10a) round out the double-digit scorers with 10 apiece. Freshman Chris Seitz has started eight matches in goal for Maryland. He has a goals against average of 0.48 with 25 saves and four shutouts. He has an 8-1-0 overall record, including a perfect 5-0 mark in ACC play.
The Hoosier-Terrapin battle will be a rematch of the epic College Cup semifinal from a season ago that saw a John Michael Hayden header send the Hoosiers to a 3-2 double-overtime win. In the match, Maryland got on the board first on a goal from Garey. IU responded with a pair of goals. One on a free kick from Brian Plotkin and the other on a bending shot from 18 yards out by Mike Ambersley. Edu evened it with a header late in the second half before Hayden's heroics. The Hoosiers are 3-0 all-time against Maryland, including a 2-1 victory in College Park in 2000.
Hoosiers on TV
Indiana has its final two regular-season television appearances this week. IU will battle Notre Dame on Oct. 26 with the game to be televised on ESPNU. The Hoosiers' Saturday affair with Maryland will be shown on CN8: The Comcast Network. In total, the Hoosiers will be on television on four different occasions during the 2005 regular season. The Hoosiers were on Fox Soccer Channel on Sept. 30 and Comcast Local in Michigan on Oct. 9.
The Hoosiers took part in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) and Fox Soccer Channel (FSC) College Soccer Game of the Week television package. The Hoosiers' Sept. 30 tilt with Big Ten rival Penn State on Yeagley Field at Armstrong Stadium was part of the live FSC eight-game Friday night package. Over the past eight years, the Hoosiers are 13-4-1 on television, playing games on FSC, CSTV, ESPN, ESPN2, Fox Sports Net, Comcast Local and CN8: The Comcast Net.
Indiana History on Television
Comcast Local - 1-0-0
Oct. 9, 2005 - Indiana def. Michigan, 2-0, in Ann Arbor
Fox Soccer Channel - 0-1-0
Sept. 30, 2005 - Penn State def. Indiana, 2-1 in OT, in Bloomington
CN8:The Comcast Net - 1-0-0
Oct. 1, 2004 - Indiana def. Penn State, 2-0, in University Park
CSTV - 2-0-1
Sept. 15, 2004 - Indiana def. Notre Dame, 2-0, in Bloomington
Nov. 16, 2003 - Indiana tied Penn State, 1-1, at the Big Ten Tournament
Oct. 24, 2003 - Indiana def. Saint Louis, 2-1, in Bloomington
ESPN - 4-2-0
Dec. 12, 2004 - Indiana def. UCSB, 3-2, in PKs at the College Cup
Dec. 11, 2004 - Indiana def. Maryland, 3-2, in 2OT at the College Cup
Dec. 16, 2001 - North Carolina def. Indiana, 2-0, at the College Cup
Dec. 9, 2000 - Creighton def. Indiana, 2-1, in 3OT at the College Cup
Dec. 12, 1999 - Indiana def. Santa Clara, 1-0, at the College Cup
Dec. 13, 1998 - Indiana def. Stanford, 3-1, at the College Cup
ESPN2 - 5-0-0
Dec. 14, 2003 - Indiana def. St. John's, 2-1, at the College Cup
Dec. 13, 2003 - Indiana def. Santa Clara, 1-0, in 2OT at the College Cup
Dec. 15, 2001 - Indiana def. St. John's, 2-1, in 2OT at the College Cup
Dec. 11, 1999 - Indiana def. UCLA, 3-2, in 4OT at the College Cup
Dec. 11, 1998 - Indiana def. Santa Clara, 4-0, at the College Cup
Fox Sports Net - 0-1-0
Dec. 12, 1997 - UCLA def. Indiana, 1-0, in 3OT at the College Cup
Senior Leaders
The senior trio of Brian Plotkin, Mike Ambersley and Jordan Chirico have been an integral part of the Hoosier success during their careers in Bloomington. The threesome are doing its best to make its final season in Bloomington a magical one. The trio has really been picking it up as of late. The examples being set by the elder statesmen are being followed as the Hoosiers' are unbeaten in their last seven matches (5-0-2).
On Oct. 19 against Butler, all three seniors tallied a goal and an assist in the 6-0 victory. Ambersley found Plotkin with a header for the game-winner against the Bulldogs. Not long after, Plotkin found Chirico for a header on the back post. Chirico notched an assist and Ambersley scored a goal in the four-goal, second-half barrage against Butler.
Chirico has notched a goal and an assist against both Wisconsin and Butler. He has a career best nine points on the season with two goals and five assist. Ambersley has been a model of consistency whether it be in the midfield or up front as a forward. The Ballwin, Mo., native has already equaled his points total of 12 from a season ago and better his goal total with four markers this season.
Plotkin has been the leader of the Hoosiers this season. He tops the squad in points (23), assists (9) and game-winners (3). In each of the last four matches, the Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy candidate has notched a point for the Hoosiers.
