Indiana University Athletics
Big Ten Championship Game Notes
11/12/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Nov. 12, 2005
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The two-time defending national champion Indiana men's soccer team will face Big Ten regular season champion Penn State in the Big Ten Championship Game on Sunday, Nov. 13. Game time is slated for 11 a.m. CT and will be televised live on College Sports Television (CSTV). The winner of the Big Ten Tournament will receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The field for the 48-team NCAA Tournament will be announced live on ESPNEWS at 4 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 14.
The Hoosiers will look to avenge a loss to the Nittany Lions earlier this season. The two teams met in front of a national television audience and with the eighth-largest crowd of 4,585. After the Hoosiers took a 1-0 advantage in the 13th minute, Penn State responded with a goal three minutes later. The Nittany Lions got the game-winner in the sixth minute of overtime.
It is the 11th trip in the 15-year history of the Big Ten Conference that the Hoosiers have advanced to the title game. The matchup with Penn State will be the sixth between the two teams in the Big Ten Championship Game. The Hoosiers are 4-0-1 in the previous five title game tilts with Penn State. The last time the two squads met in the championship game was 2003 in Bloomington. After playing to a 1-1 draw, Indiana claimed the crown with a 4-1 victory in penalty kicks. The last time the Championship was held in Evanston, Ill., was 1998. That season, Indiana defeated Penn State, 1-0, in overtime to claim the title.
The Hoosiers are 20-4-2 all-time in the Big Ten Tournament. The road to the Big Ten title goes through Indiana. That statement will hold true this season as well. In the previous 14 years of the conference tournament entering the 2005 championship, the winner has either been IU or beaten the Hoosiers before going on to the championship.
Tickets for the event can be purchased at the gate. Single day tickets are $7 for adults, $5 for students, children and seniors (over 65) and infants are $1.
Hoosier News and Notes
- Indiana is ranked No. 1 in the Great Lakes Region according to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.
- IU is unbeaten in its last 12 matches this season. During that stretch, the Hoosiers are 9-0-3.
- The Hoosiers are averaging 3,292 fans per match at Armstrong Stadium. Indiana has drawn 26,337 total fans in seven home matches this season.
- As a team (as of Nov. 6), Indiana ranked sixth nationally in shutout percentage, blanking 13 of 20 opponents. The Hoosier defense also ranks 15th in the country in goals against average at 0.61. IU ranks third nationally in goals per game with 2.70 per contest.
- Junior forward Jacob Peterson currently ranks among the Hoosier top 25 in three career categories. He moved past current assistant coach Todd Yeagley into 18th on the career goals list with his three goals in the Big Ten Tournament. Peterson has 30 goals during his three-year career. He needs two goals to move into a tie for 16th. That spot is currently held by Manuel Gorrity (1980-84) and Iker Zubizerreta (1981-84) who had 32 during their IU careers. Peterson is 17th with 181 career shots. The Portage, Mich., native needs three more attempts to move into 16th with three-time All-American Lazo Alavanja (1995-98). With his pair of goals in the first half against Ohio State on Nov. 11, Peterson pushed his career points total to 69, which moved him into 25th on career points list. He trails 24th-place Tim Walters by two points.
- Senior midfielder Brian Plotkin ranks among the IU all-time top 25 in three categories. He is tied for ninth in assists with 34 career helpers. He is even with former All-American Ryan Mack (1998-00, 2002). He needs one assist to move into a tied for eighth with Aleksey Korol (1996-99) and two to move into a tie for seventh with Paul DiBernardo (1981-84). Plotkin ranks eighth on IU's career shots list with 259, trailing seventh-place Aleksey Korol (1996-99) by two. The Lisle, Ill., native moved into 23rd place on the Hoosiers' career points list, following his pair of assists against Ohio State on Oct. 26. Plotkin has 75 career points as a Hoosier and trails 22nd-place Rudy Glenn who had 83 points from 1976-79.
- With his next goal, Plotkin will push his career total to 22, which would move into a tie for 25th on the Hoosiers career list. Hudson Fortune (1975-78) is currently 25th on the career list with 22 goals.
- Senior Mike Ambersley ranks among IU's top 25 in career shots. He is 23rd with 157 career attempts. He trails Matt Fundenberger (1997-00), who is 22nd, by seven 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.
- Freshman Lee Nguyen ranks 11th nationally in assists per game (0.60) as of Nov. 6. He has 12 assists in 20 matches this season.
- Sophomore goalkeeper Chris Munroe ranks 18th nationally in goals against average at 0.64.
- With its 3-0 victory at Notre Dame on Oct. 26, Indiana upped its streak of consecutive seasons with 10 or more wins to 19. In fact, the Hoosiers have had 10 or more victories in 32 of their 33 seasons as a varsity program.
- Indiana will face Penn State for the second time this season on Sunday, Nov. 13. In the 33-year history, only two teams have defeated the Hoosiers twice during the season. In 1985, Evansville defeated the Hoosiers during the regular season 3-0 on Oct. 27 before knocking IU out of the NCAA Tournament on Nov. 24, 3-0. In 2000, Creighton defeated Indiana, 4-1, at the Butler Classic (Sept. 15). Later that season, the Blue Jays defeated the Hoosiers 2-1 in three overtimes at the NCAA College Cup (Dec. 8).
Peterson in the Record Books
Junior forward Jacob Peterson became the fourth Hoosier player to score two goals in a game at the Big Ten Tournament and just the third IU player to score three games at the Big Ten Tournament. Peterson scored the Hoosiers, clinching goal in the final 20 seconds against Wisconsin on Thursday, Nov. 10. He followed that up with the first two Hoosier goals in the opening half against Ohio State on Friday, Nov. 11.
Lazo Alavanja and Aleksey Korol scored three goals in the Big Ten Tournament in 1996 and 1999, respectively. In 1996, Alavanja scored two goals against Penn State, while Korol notched a pair against Penn State as well in 1999. Dema Kovalenko is the other Hoosier to have scored two goals in a game at the Big Ten Tournament. He had two against Wisconsin in 1998.
Being the Third Seed in the Big Ten Tournament
The Hoosiers are seeded third in the Big Ten Tournament for only the second time ever. It is the lowest seed the Hoosiers have held at the Big Ten Tournament. The last time IU was the third seed was 1995 when it finished as co-champions with Wisconsin. After the Hoosiers defeated Northwestern (2-1) and Penn State (3-1), the championship game was snowed out and Wisconsin and Indiana were declared co-champions.
Advancing to the Big Ten Title Game
The Hoosiers advanced to the Big Ten Championship Game for the 11th time in the 15-year history of the Big Ten Conference. In fact, the Hoosiers have never lost a Big Ten title game. IU is 8-0-1 in Big Ten Championship Games. Indiana claimed the 2003 Big Ten title in penalty kicks, 4-1. The game officially went into the record books as a 1-1 tie after 110 minutes of deadlocked soccer before IU took the crown and automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament in penalty kicks. The 1995 title game between IU and Wisconsin was cancelled due to snow. IU and Wisconsin were designated co-champions.
IU in Big Ten Title Games:
1991 - No. 2 Indiana def. No. 1 Wisconsin, 2-0
1992 - No. 2 Indiana def. No. 4 Penn State, 2-1
1994 - No. 1 Indiana def. No. 2 Penn State, 3-1
1995 - No. 3 Indiana and No. 1 Wisconsin declared co-champions
1996 - No. 1 Indiana def. No. 2 Michigan State, 4-0
1997 - No. 1 Indiana def. No. 2 Ohio State, 1-0
1998 - No. 1 Indiana def. No. 2 Penn State, 1-0 (OT)
1999 - No. 1 Indiana def. No. 3 Penn State, 2-1 (2OT)
2001 - No. 1 Indiana def. No. 3 Michigan State, 2-0
2003 - No. 1 Indiana tied No. 7 Penn State, 1-1*
* - IU claims title 4-1 in penalty kicks
Scouting Penn State
Penn State enters the Big Ten Championship Game on a hot streak. The Nittany Lions have won eight games in a row and nine of their last 10. PSU is 11-6-2 overall in 2005 and completed its first perfect Big Ten regular season in school history. Penn State garnered the Big Ten regular season title and the top seed in the tournament with an unblemished 6-0 mark.
The Nittany Lions are led in scoring by the duo of freshman forward Jason Yeisley and junior forward Simon Omekanda. Yeisley has 22 points on the season on eight goals and six assists, while Omekanda has 20 points on six goals and eight assists. Each has three game-winning goals and has been the driving force behind the Nittany Lions' resurgence.
Defensively, sophomore goalkeeper Conrad Taylor has played every minute between the pipes for the Nittany Lions. He has a goals against average of 0.75 with 55 saves and eight shutouts.
The Hoosiers are 23-7-3 all-time against Penn State. IU is 8-3-2 in the Big Ten Tournament against the Nittany Lions. PSU knocked off IU, 2-1, in overtime earlier this season in front of a national television audience on Fox Soccer Channel. Yeisley had two goals in the win for Penn State to give IU its lone loss of the 2005 campaign.
Big Ten Player of the Year
Senior midfielder Brian Plotkin was named the 2005 Big Ten Player of the Year on Thursday, Nov. 10, at the Big Ten Championship Banquet. He joined a list that includes five other Hoosiers. It marked the ninth occasion in the 15-year history of the Big Ten Conference that an IU player earned the Player of the Year accolade. The Lisle, Ill., native joins the likes of Brian Maisonneuve (1993 and 1994), Lazo Alavanja (1997 and 1998), Aleksey Korol (1999), Ryan Mack (2000) and Pat Noonan (2001 and 2002) to earn the honor. Along with earning the Player of the Year, Plotkin was the only player that was a unanimous first team All-Big Ten selection.
The Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy candidate led the conference in scoring with 26 points. He also topped the Big Ten in game-winning goals while ranking second in goals (8) and assists (10). For his Hoosier career, Plotkin ranks ninth in career assists with 34, eighth in career shots with 259 and 23rd in career points with 75.
Big Ten Freshman of the Year
Freshman forward Lee Nguyen became the eighth IU rookie to earn Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors. He joined a group that includes current assistant coach Todd Yeagley (1991), Lazo Alavanja (1995), Dema Kovalenko (1996), Nick Garcia (1997), senior Mike Ambersley (2001), Plotkin (2002) and junior Jed Zayner (2003) in earning the honor. Nguyen also was the lone Big Ten freshman to earn first team all-league honors.
Against Wisconsin on Thursday, Nov. 10, Nguyen assisted on the Hoosiers' game-winning goal by senior midfielder Jordan Chirico in the first half. It was Nguyen's conference-leading 12th assist of the season. The number also marked the IU freshman record, eclipsing the mark of 11 previously held by Yeagley. On the season, Nguyen ranks second on the team in points with 22 on five goals and 12 assists.
All-Big Ten Honorees
The Hoosiers had a trio of players were named first team All-Big Ten seletions, while two others were second team choices. Senior midfielder Brian Plotkin, junior forward Jacob Peterson and freshman forward Lee Nguyen were first team honorees, while juniors Josh Tudela and Jed Zayner were second team honorees.
It marked the third time in Plotkin's Hoosier career that he was named a first team all-conference selection. It was the second straight season Peterson was a first team honoree after he earned the distinction in 2004. As a freshman in 2003, the Portage, Mich., native was a second team selection.
Peterson leads the Hoosiers and the Big Ten in goals with 12 on the season. In fact, the Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy candidate has scored three goals in the first two games of the Big Ten Tournament. He notched one in the final minute of a 2-0 victory over Wisconsin on Nov. 10, before scoring the first two Hoosier goals in a 3-0 victory over Ohio State in the semifinals. With his latest streak, Peterson is tied for the team and conference-lead with Plotkin in points with 26.
Tudela has been a constant in the midfield for the Hoosiers all season long. He has had a career year with 17 points on six goals and five assists. His goals and assists totals rank among the top 10 in the conference. The Evansville, Ind., native earned Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 10 after scoring three goals in a pair of IU victories over Louisville and Michigan. He assisted on the Hoosiers' game-winning goal against Ohio State on Nov. 11 before scoring the third and final goal in the 87th minute.
Zayner, a Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy candidate, organizes a Hoosier defense that tops the Big Ten in both shutouts and goals against average. The Orland Park, Ill., native is a mainstay in a stingy Hoosier defense that ranks sixth nationally in shutout percentage (13 of 20 opponents) and ranks 15th in the country in goals against average at 0.61 from his center back position. Against Ohio State on Oct. 26, Zayner scored his first career goal, heading in a corner kick during the first half. It marked the second consecutive season that Zayner was a second team All-Big Ten selection.
Big Ten All-Freshman Team
Freshmen Lee Nguyen and Brad Ring were named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team. The team started in 2003. The Hoosiers had a trio of selections in 2003 with juniors Jacob Peterson, Jed Zayner and Julian Dieterle. IU did not have a All-Freshman Team selection a season ago.
Nguyen was one of seven unanimous All-Freshman Team selections. Ring was one of four midfielders named to the rookie squad. The Rockford, Ill., native has been a valuable contributor off the bench for the Hoosiers. He has played in 17 matches, while making two starts. He started in the defensive midfield position for the Hoosiers in the opening game of the Big Ten Tournament in place of senior midfielder Brian Plotkin, who was forced to sit out due to accumulated yellow cards. Ring scored his first career goal for the Hoosiers on a 40-yard bomb in a 5-0 victory over then-No. 25 Cal State-Northridge on Sept. 16.
Freshman Record
Freshman forward Lee Nguyen surpassed current assistant coach Todd Yeagley's freshman record for assists in a season with his 12th on the game-winner in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament against Wisconsin. For the season, the Big Ten Freshman of the Year has 22 points on five goals and 12 assists. He has assisted on four game-winning goals this season, while scoring two game-winning goals.
Nguyen equaled Yeagley's freshman record assisting on the game-winning gaols against then-No. 1 Akron. He helped set up the Hoosiers' game-winning goal, feeding senior midfielder Jordan Chirico down the right sideline. Chirico in turn sent a centering cross to senior Brian Plotkin, who scored from six yards out.
Nguyen's 12 assists not only leads the Hoosiers but tops the Big Ten Conference. Nguyen also ranks 11th nationally in assists per game at 0.60 per contest. The 12 assists also ranks ninth on the Hoosiers' single-season list. One more assist will move up to No. 7 on the single-season list, while two will push him to fourth.
Plotkin Named National Player of the Week
For the second time in as many weeks, the Indiana men's soccer team has the national player of the week, as senior midfielder Brian Plotkin earned the distinction from Soccer America on Wednesday, Nov. 9. Plotkin earned the honor after scoring the game-winner in the 95th minute to knock off previously unbeaten and then-No. 1 Akron, 1-0, on Nov. 3.
It was the third distinction of the week for Plotkin, following his golden goal on senior night. The Lisle, Ill., native also was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week for the third time this season and named to the College Soccer News National Team of Week for the second time during the 2005 campaign.
Plotkin led the Hoosier offensive charge against the Zips. He led the Hoosiers in shots with five as IU outshot the NCAA's top scoring offense, 17-5. Freshman Lee Nguyen found senior midfielder Jordan Chirico down the right side of the 18-yard box. Chirico sent a centering cross that found Plotkin at the six-yard line, and he finished into the center of the open Zip net. The goal not only marked the exciting end to an unforgettable senior night, but incited a Hoosier celebration from both the bench and stands. Following the goal, the 4,884 IU faithful in attendance charged the field in celebration, mobbing the Hoosier bench and Plotkin in the process.
Nguyen was named College Soccer News National Player of the Week on Oct. 31. During the week, the Richardson, Texas, native scored the game-winner against Notre Dame on a 25-yard free kick before leading the first three-goal comeback in school history against then-No. 3 Maryland. Nguyen had a hand in all three Hoosier goals, as IU overcame a 3-0 halftime deficit in front of a Maryland-record crowd of 6,203. He had a hand in all three Hoosier goals, notching a pair of official assists, including finding sophomore back Greg Stevning for the third and final goal off a corner kick with just five seconds remaining.
Hoosiers on TV
Indiana will have its fifth game on television this season when the Big Ten Championship Game airs live on College Sports Television on Sunday, Nov. 13, at 11 a.m. CT. The Hoosiers had four regular season affairs on television during the 2005 campaign. The Hoosiers were on Fox Soccer Channel on Sept. 30, Comcast Local in Michigan on Oct. 9, ESPNU on Oct. 26 and CN8: The Comcast Net on Oct. 29.
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 14-4-2 on television, playing games on FSC, CSTV, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, 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 - 1-0-1
Oct. 29, 2005 - Indiana tied Maryland, 3-3, in College Park
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
ESPNU - 1-0-0
Oct. 26, 2005 - Indiana def. Notre Dame, 3-0, in South Bend
Fox Sports Net - 0-1-0
Dec. 12, 1997 - UCLA def. Indiana, 1-0, in 3OT at the College Cup
