Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Open NCAA Tournament Against Notre Dame
11/22/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Nov. 22, 2005
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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The two-time defending national champion Indiana men's soccer team will begin its quest for a third straight title on Tuesday, Nov. 22, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament against Notre Dame. The Hoosiers are the third seed in the tournament, meaning they will have home field advantage until the College Cup. Game time for the second round affair will be 7 p.m. on Yeagley Field at Armstrong Stadium.
The Irish defeated Western Illinois, 2-0, in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament to advance to Tuesday's affair. The matchup will be the second between the two in-state rivals. On Oct. 26, Indiana defeated Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., 3-0, on goals from freshman Lee Nguyen, senior Mike Ambersley and sophomore Charley Traylor.
The winner of the match will player the winner of 14th-seeded N.C. State/Clemson in the third round of the NCAA Tournament. The Irish and Hoosiers have met on two other occasions in the NCAA Tournament. IU defeated Notre Dame, 1-0, in the 1994 regional semifinals. In 2002, the Hoosiers defeated the Irish by the same 1-0 on Brian Plotkin's first career goal.
Tickets for the event will be available at the gate or by calling 1-866-IUSPORT. Adult tickets are $7, while children (high school and under) and IU Students with a valid ID are $3. Children under the age of two receive free admission.
Hoosier News and Notes
- Indiana is ranked No. 1 in the Great Lakes Region according to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.
- 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. 13), Indiana ranked sixth nationally in shutout percentage, blanking 13 of 21 opponents. The Hoosier defense also ranks 12th in the country in goals against average at 0.62. IU ranks fourth nationally in goals per game with 2.57 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 16th with 186 career shots. The Portage, Mich., native needs one more attempt to move into 15th with Yeagley. 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 260, trailing seventh-place Aleksey Korol (1996-99) by one. 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 160 career attempts. He trails Matt Fundenberger (1997-00), who is 22nd, by four 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.
- Indiana has two players ranked among the top 20 nationally in assists per game. Senior Brain Plotkin ranks 20th (0.50), while freshman Lee Nguyen ranks 12th (0.57) as of Nov. 13. Plotkin has 10 assists in 20 matches for the Hoosiers, and Nguyen has 12 in 21 affairs.
- Sophomore goalkeeper Chris Munroe ranks 13th nationally in goals against average at 0.65.
- 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.
Scouting Notre Dame
Notre Dame earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, one of seven Big East squads to make an appearance. The Irish improved to 11-7-3 on the season with a 2-0 victory over Western Illinois in the opening round of the tournament. Notre Dame got goals from sophomore forward Joe Lapira and Kurt Martin in the victory over the Leathernecks.
Lapira leads the Irish in points, goals and assists. He is the lone Notre Dame player with double-digit points at 17 on six goals and five assists. Senior Ryan Miller is tied for the team lead with Lapira in assists with five. Nat Norman (3g, 3a) and Justin McGeeney (4g) are second and third on the team, respectively, with nine and eight points.
Chris Cahill has started all 21 matches in goal for the Irish. He has a goals against average of 0.87 with 79 saves and eight shutouts.
Junior captain Greg Dalby was named one of 15 semifinalists for the Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy. Dalby and junior midfiedler Ian Etherington were first team All-Big East selections, while Lapira was a third team honoree.
The Hoosiers improved to 23-3-1 all-time against Notre Dame with a 3-0 victory in South Bend, Ind., on Oct. 26. Indiana is 12-1-1 at home against the Fighting Irish.
Home Field Advantage
By virtue of its top four seeding, the Indiana men's soccer team will have home field advantage until the NCAA College Cup during the tournament. The confines of Armstrong Stadium have been quite friendly for the Hoosiers during the tournament. IU has won 19 straight NCAA Tournament games at home and is 45-3 at Armstrong Stadium during the tournament.
The Hoosiers are a top-four seed for the second straight season. Indiana was the second seed on its way to the program's seventh national title in 2004. Indiana defeated the ninth-seeded UC-Santa Barbara Gauchos, 3-2, in penalty kicks to bring home last season's national title. In 2003, the Hoosiers were the eighth seed and defeated sixth-seeded St. John's, 2-1, in the title game. In the 33-year history of Indiana soccer the Hoosiers have won seven national titles (1982, 1983, 1988, 1998, 1999, 2003 and 2004), second only in NCAA history to Saint Louis' 10.
Against the Field
IU has played eight tournament teams on 10 different occasions, including four seeded squads, this season. The Hoosiers hold a record of 6-2-2 in those 10 affairs. Here is a look at how the Hoosiers have faired against the NCAA Tournament field:
Sept. 2 - Defeated Wake Forest, 1-0, in Bloomington, Ind.
Sept. 4 - Defeated SMU, 4-0, in Bloomington, Ind.
Sept. 16 - Defeated No. 15 Cal State Northridge, 5-0, in Corvallis, Ore.
Sept. 30 - Lost to No. 11 Penn State, 2-1 in overtime, in Bloomington, Ind.
Oct. 10 - Tied Oho State, 2-2, in Bloomington, Ind.
Oct. 26 - Defeated Notre Dame, 3-0, in South Bend, Ind.
Oct. 29 - Tied No. 1 Maryland, 3-3, in College Park, Md.
Nov. 3 - Defeated No. 9 Akron, 1-0 in overtime, in Bloomington, Ind.
Nov. 11 - Defeated Ohio State, 3-0, in Evanston, Ill.
Nov. 13 - Lost to No. 11 Penn State, 1-0, in Evanston, Ill.
M.A.C Hermann Trophy Semifinalists
Senior midfielder Brian Plotkin, junior forward Jacob Peterson and junior back Jed Zayner were among 15 semifinalist named by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America for the Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy. The M.A.C. Hermann Trophy is college soccer's version of the Heisman Trophy. Last season, former Hoosier Danny O'Rourke took home the hardware as the national player of the year.
Indiana is one of just two schools with multiple players among the semifinalists. IU has the largest contingent with three, while UCLA has a pair in Patrick Ianni and Marvell Wynne. The list of 15 players is comprised of two backs, six midfielders and seven forwards. The semifinalists were selected by a panel of NCAA Division I coaches who comprise the selection pool.
Last season, O'Rourke became the first Hoosier to win the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy. The M.A.C. Award and Hermann Trophy were merged into one award prior to the 2002 season. Before that, the honors were both given out as national player of the year awards. The merge of the two honors competed a process of combining the three top honors in collegiate soccer. In 1999, the M.A.C. and NSCAA came together to create a single award to recognize the top Division I player.
On five occasions, a Hoosier won the Hermann Trophy and on three occasions, a Hoosier won the M.A.C. Player of the Year Award. The list of Hermann Trophy winners includes: Angelo DiBernardo (1978), Armando Betancourt (1981), Ken Snow (1988, 1990) and Brian Maisonneuve (1994). The list of M.A.C. Award winners includes Snow (1988, 1990) and Todd Yeagley (1994). O'Rourke became the first to win the merged honor.
The winner will be determined in voting by NSCAA Division I member coaches. Three men's and three women's finalists for the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy will be announced at the 2005 Men's College Cup on Dec. 9. The finalists will be invited to the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis on Friday, Jan. 6, 2006, for the announcement of the winner at a press conference, which will be telecast live by ESPNews. Both winners will be presented the prestigious crystal soccer ball trophy at a banquet later that evening.
