Hoosiers Topple New Mexico, 1-0

8/25/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer

Aug. 25, 2007

FT. WAYNE, Ind. - A first half-goal from Kevin Noschang was all the Indiana men's soccer team needed for a 1-0 win over New Mexico on Saturday night in an exhibition match at the National Soccer Festival in Ft. Wayne, Ind.

"I thought we got tired as the game went on," said head coach Mike Freitag. "Sometimes when you have a lead and you are tired, you take your foot off the gas a little bit and I think that is what happened in the second half.

"You also have to give credit to New Mexico. They picked it up in the second half and we got a bit out of our rhythm.

The Hoosiers started with their standard 3-5-2 look, pairing freshman Andy Adlard with Noschang up top.

Brad Ring had the crowd on its feet in the opening minute when his serve into the front of the goal mouth just missed connecting with Noschang.

Both teams struggled to possess the ball early on as a lot of back-and-forth play resulted in no shot attempts until the 17th minute when Brian Ackley's attempt sailed wide. Indiana had a couple of chances with Kevin Alston playing the ball into the goal mouth, but the team's timing was just seconds off from putting together a legitimate scoring threat.

Indiana pulled through for a 1-0 lead at 22:47 with a score from Noschang. Daniel Kelly possessed the ball up the right flank and served it in to the front of the goal. Noschang got a toe on it and sent a lobbing shot that bounced off the top of the crossbar and into the net.

The Hoosiers nearly had another one just four minutes later when Adlard's free kick was played back into the field by UNM goalkeeper Mike Graczyk. Greg Stevning picked up the rebound and played it to the feet of Ackley. The junior had a wide-open look at the net but sent his shot high.

Indiana finished the game with a 15-10 advantage in shot attempts, with four each from Adlard and Brian Ackley. Each team finished with six corner kicks.

Freshman Michael Roach saw his first action for the Hoosiers, coming on with 15 minutes left in the first half. Roach thought he had his first collegiate goal with just over three minutes to play, but the offsides flag went up.

"I was pleased with the play of our young guys like Adlard and Roach," Freitag said. "I also thought our midfield did well. Brad (Ring), Brian (Ackley) and Eric (Alexander) are the heart of this team and did well tonight."

The Lobos came out on the offensive in the second half but the Hoosier defense held strong, clearing out a pair of dangerous corner kicks in the opening minutes. The Lobos' James Urbany got free on a breakaway in the 62nd minute but sent his attempt to the right of the goal.

Freitag went to his bench early in the second half, bringing Lee Hagedorn, John Mellencamp and Billy Weaver into the mix. In addition, Chris Munroe took over in goal at 51:49 when starter Chay Cain took a knee to the head. Also making his debut for IU was Rich Balchan.

Billy Weaver missed a prime scoring opportunity with just over 2 minutes left in the match. After New Mexico goalkeeper Eric Staver came out and misplayed the ball, allowing it to go over his head, Weaver's got a touch on the ball but sent it out of play.

"This will be some good tape for us to watch," Freitag said. "New Mexico is a quality opponent so we can take this and analyze what we did well and what we need to work on."

The Hoosiers open the 2007 season on Friday night as they take on No. 9 Maryland at the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic. Match time is 7:30 p.m. at Jerry Yeagley Field and Bill Armstrong Stadium.