Indiana University Athletics
Men's Soccer Opens Big Ten Play at Michigan Saturday
9/28/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Sept. 28, 2007
No. 19 Indiana at No. 10 Michigan- Match Notes (PDF)
No. 19/23 INDIANA (4-3-1) at No. 10/12 MICHIGAN (8-0-1)
Sept. 29, 2007 • 7 p.m.
U-M Soccer Field • Ann Arbor, Mich.
Series: Indiana leads, 9-0-1
Last Meeting: Indiana 2, Michigan 2 (Sept. 24, 2006)
Radio: None
Television: None
SETTING THE SCENE
Indiana begins defense of its Big Ten title Saturday night as it opens up league play at No. 10 Michigan.
NEWS AND NOTES
• The Hoosiers used an aggressive offensive attack to break out of a three-game slump with a 2-0 win over Butler Wednesday night.
• Indiana held an 11-2 advantage in shots in the first half, but it was not until the 65th minute when Lee Hagedorn scored his first goal of the season to give IU a 1-0 lead it would not relinquish.
• Eric Alexander added another score just four minutes later, his third of the year and his second from the run of play.
• Junior Billy Weaver picked up the assist on both goals. His cross to Hagedorn resulted in goal No. 1, while a restart service into Alexander culminated in the second score of the night.
• The win marked just the second time this season the Hoosiers have scored two or more goals in a game.
• Junior goalkeeper Chay Cain had another solid night between the pipes, registering six saves and picking up his second shutout of the season.
• Three of IU's four wins have been shutouts. It allowed one goal in a 3-1 win over Rhode Island (Sept. 9).
• Head coach Mike Freitag tinkered with his lineup again on Wednesday, giving Neil Wilmarth his first career start.
• Wilmarth responded with a solid effort, taking two shots and continually disrupting Butler's back line.
• Weaver was making just his second start of the season, along with freshman Rich Balchan.
• This is the third time in the last five seasons that the Hoosiers are entering Big Ten play with three losses.
• In 2006, IU was 4-3-1 entering Big Ten action and went on to finish 15-4-3, capturing the Big Ten regular season and tournament titles.
• In 2003, the Hoosiers were 2-3-2 entering Big Ten play before going on to finish 17-3-5 and capturing their sixth NCAA title.
• Brad Ring was named TopDrawerSoccer Player of the Week and was named to the College Soccer News Team of the Week on Sept. 10.
• The Hoosiers were 1-0 winners over No. 1 UCLA in front of a record crowd of 7,420 at the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic on Sept. 2.
• With the win, Indiana is 2-0 in its last two meetings with No. 1 ranked teams at Armstrong Stadium. In 2005, IU defeated No. 1 Akron, 1-0 in overtime.
• Kevin Noschang was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week and NSCAA Player of the Week on Sept. 3.
• Freshmen Andy Adlard and Michael Roach have appeared in every match this season.
• Roach made his first career start at Saint Louis on Sept. 15, along with junior Nick Sutter. Freshman Rich Balchan also saw his first career action in the match.
ABOUT THE WOLVERINES
• Michigan is on a roll at 8-0-1, picking up a 2-0 victory at Oakland on Wednesday afternoon.
• The Wolverines won seven straight to open the year before playing Wisconsin to a 2-2 tie at home on Sept. 23.
• Perica Marosevic leads the team with 11 points, scoring five goals along with an assist.
• Marosevic played with Hoosiers Kevin Alston and Daniel Kelly at the Pan Am Games in Brazil in July. He teamed up again with Kelly at the SBS Cup in Japan in August.
• Mauro Fuzetti has four goals and two assists (10 points).
• Overall, Michigan has six players with two or more goals and are outscoring opponents, 25-4.
• Goalkeeper Patrick Sperry has six shutouts and a 0.33 goals-against average in 816 minutes of work.
• Michigan has been pretty even in its play, scoring 12 goals in the first half and 13 goals in the second period.
• The Wolverines are off to the best start in school history.
• Head coach Steve Burns is in his eighth season as head coach. He has led the team since it obtained varsity status in 2000. Prior to that he coached the Michigan club team from 1993-99.
• He is assisted by Paul Snape and Chris Grassie.
SERIES HISTORY
• Indiana leads the all-time series, 9-0-1.
•Michigan has never beaten the Hoosiers, coming closest last season when the two teams played to a 2-2 tie at Armstrong Stadium on Sept. 24.
• The first meeting came in 1974, a 10-1 win over IU.
• After rejoining the varsity ranks in 2000, Michigan was outscored 11-0 by the Hoosiers in the first three meetings. They did not score a goal until 2002, a 2-1 loss.
• That was the first of three-straight 2-1 wins for Indiana.
• The teams met twice in 2004, both IU wins. After a 2-1 win during the regular season, the Hoosiers posted a 1-0 victory in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, en route to their seventh NCAA title.
LAST TIME OUT
An aggressive, attacking Indiana men's soccer team took to the pitch against Butler on Wednesday night, and it paid off with a 2-0 victory over the Bulldogs in front of 1,054 fans at Jerry Yeagley Field at Bill Armstrong Stadium.
With the win, the 19th-ranked Hoosiers improved to 4-3-1 on the season. Butler fell to 4-3-2.
Trying to fight off the sting of three-straight losses, a rejuvenated squad took to the field and it was evident in the first-half play as the Hoosiers held a commanding 11-2 advantage in shot attempts.
Despite the dominant performance, the Hoosiers would not get on the board until 64:03. Lee Hagedorn's first goal of the season was a perfectly placed header that was the culmination of a play that began with midfielder Eric Alexander. After Alexander was able to dribble out of traffic, he dished off the ball to Billy Weaver. Looking across the field, Weaver saw a wide-open Hagedorn and served the ball across the goal mouth in a perfectly-placed spot where Hagedorn was able to send the ball down past goalkeeper Fabian Knopfler for the score.
"I was doing a one-two touch with Eric and saw Lee open on the back post," Weaver said. "I was just trying to get it on his head.
"Getting the victory today was big. Hopefully it helps put the pieces together now that we are heading into Big Ten play."
After setting up the play that created the first goal, it was Alexander who came up with the second score with Weaver once again picking up the assist. The second goal came off a restart at 68:26. From just outside the top of the right side of the penalty area, Weaver sent the ball into play and Alexander was able to get a light touch on it with his head, sending the ball past Knopfler for the score.
Alexander, who had a solid night with aggressive play that resulted in balls won in the midfield, had the first good look of the night when his shot bounced off a Butler defender and forced Knopfler to make a leaping save. Alexander finished with three shots on the night, all of which were on-goal.
Getting his first start of the season, redshirt freshman Neil Wilmarth nearly came up with a spectacular bicycle kick score at 19:03. Coming off a restart, a bouncing service came in to Wilmarth who just missed wide from about four yards out.
Continuing to attack the Butler goal, Daniel Kelly came up short on a prime opportunity as a give-and-go with Wilmarth put goalkeeper Knopfler on the ground and out of position. Kelly got a touch on the ball but missed just wide.
Freshman Rich Balchan, making his second-consecutive start, put Kevin Alston in position to score late in the first half with a ball across the goal, but Alston's shot was stopped by Knopfler as quick reflexes allowed the goalie to get his hands up just in time.
The Bulldogs finished with nine shots to the Hoosiers' 16, but IU goalkeeper Chay Cain was forced to make several spectacular saves for his second shutout of the season. Six minutes into the second half of play it was a leaping punch-over from Cain that prevented Ben Sippola's blistering shot from finding the back of the net. Exactly three minutes later it was a nearly identical shot from Sippola which Cain again was able to push over the cross bar. Cain finished with six saves in 90 minutes of action.
With 12 minutes remaining in the match, sophomore Darren Yeagle made his first appearance of the season on the pitch, finishing out the night up top. Yeagle is back on the field just over five months after an ACL injury during spring ball.
"I was at full go, and it felt good to get back out there," Yeagle said. "I still need to get more tackles in, but everything felt good."
BIG TEN ON THE HORIZON
• Saturday marks the start of Big Ten play for the Hoosiers as they travel to No. 10 Michigan.
• The Wolverines enter the game with an 8-0-1 record. Their perfect mark was blemished on Sunday with a 2-2 tie with Wisconsin.
• Indiana has won three-straight Big Ten matches, including last year's Big Ten Tournament, and is 6-1-2 in its last nine league games.
LEAGUE DOMINATION
• Since the Big Ten began recognizing men's soccer in 1991, the Hoosier have dominated the league.
• The Hoosiers are 73-7-7 in regular season matches, tallying nearly 30 more victories than second-place team Penn State (48).
• IU has won 11 Big Ten tournament titles, sharing the 1995 crown with Wisconsin.
• Indiana has also been crowned regular season champion 11 times, including nine-straight seasons from 1996-2004.
• Indiana has been the league's goals-against average leader in 14 of 16 seasons.
• IU had had a league-record 10 Big Ten Players of the Year, including the last two seasons.
• The Hoosiers have also boasted the Freshman of the Year each of the last two years.
EARNING THEIR KEEP
• Looking to inject some life into the Hoosiers play, head coach Mike Freitag has shaken up his lineup, giving some of the younger guys a chance to step up and contribute.
• Taking full advantage of that opportunity has been redshirt freshman Neil Wilmarth.
• A scrappy player who never quits working, Wilmarth earned the respect of the coaches and was given the opportunity to start against Butler on Sept. 26.
• Wilmarth took full advantage, wreaking havoc on the Bulldogs' defense from the first whistle.
• He was constantly in the action around the Butler net, whether creating opportunities for his teammates or taking the shot himself. He finished the night with two attempts.
• On the season Wilmarth has appeared in six games, totaling one assist and six shots.
• Another player whose hustle and grit has earned him a starting spot is freshman Rich Balchan. Balchan made his second-consecutive start on Sept. 26 against Butler.
• Balchan recorded his first career goal on Sept. 21 against UAB.
WEAVING HIS MAGIC
• Junior Billy Weaver has slowly worked himself into an integral part of the Hoosier attack.
• Weaver appeared in just 19 games over his first two seasons, registering two goals in 2005 and none in 2006.
• The Michigan native has appeared in all eight matches so far this season, earning two starts.
• In the starting lineup against Butler on Sept. 26, Weaver assisted on both goals in a 2-0 win over the Bulldogs.
• On the first goal he sent a cross into Lee Hagedorn who headed it home for the score.
• Goal No. 2 came off a restart with Weaver sending service into the box, where Eric Alexander got his head on it.
• Weaver has taken six shots on the season, four of which have been on goal.
CAIN IS ABLE
• Junior goalkeeper Chay Cain has had a solid season between the pipes for the Hoosiers so far, keeping things close in several games.
• In nearly 740 minutes of play, Cain has tallied 41 saves and allowed eight goals for a 0.97 GAA.
• What does not show up on the box scores are several spectacular saves that Cain has come up with to keep opponents at bay.
• While facing just nine shots in a 2-0 win over Butler on Sept. 26, six of those attempts required Cain to make the save, including two spectacular shots in a three-minute span where leaping punch-overs from Cain prevented goals.
• Cain made a diving stop to his right that kept a sure-fire goal from going in against Saint Louis (Sept. 15), one of five saves on the night.
• He also recorded five saves against Creighton on Sept. 13 and leads the Big Ten with an average of 5.00 saves per game.
• After allowing just one goal in a pair of wins over Northern Illinois and Rhode Island, Cain was named Most Outstanding Goalkeeper at the Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament.
WELCOME BACK
• Sophomore forward Darren Yeagle made his first appearance on the pitch in 2007 on Sept. 26, playing the final 12 minutes against Butler.
• Yeagle suffered an ACL injury in April during the spring season, but a dedicated rehabilitation schedule has him back on the field just five months later.
• The reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Yeagle led the Hoosiers with seven goals last season.
• He led the Big Ten in game-winning goals with four, earning second-team All-Big Ten honors.
