Big Ten Title on the Line Sunday

Seniors Rich Balchan, Daniel Kelly, Andy Adlard and Cameron Jordan will be honored prior to the match on Sunday.

10/29/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer

Oct. 29, 2010

No. 25/12 Indiana vs. Northwestern - Match Notes

NO. 25/12 INDIANA (8-5-2, 3-0-1) vs. NORTHWESTERN (8-5-2, 2-1-1)

October 31  5 p.m. ET
Jerry Yeagley Field at Bill Armstrong Stadium
Bloomington, Ind.

All-Time Series: Indiana leads, 23-2-1
Last Meeting: 2-0 win by Northwestern on Oct. 25, 2009 in Evanston.
Last Meeting in Bloomington: 2-0 win by Indiana on Nov. 7, 2008.

Television: Big Ten Network (Live)
Play-By-Play: Dan Kelly
Color: Darryl Shore

SETTING THE SCENE
 A Big Ten title is on the line tonight for Indiana as it plays host to Northwestern in its second-to-last match of the regular season.
 Indiana needs the win to finish above .500 at home for the regular season as it is currently 3-3-1 in matches played at Armstrong Stadium.
 Indiana has won three of the last four meetings with the Wildcats, but both of NU's wins in the series have come within the last six seasons.
 This is the fourth of Indiana's five appearances on the Big Ten Network during the regular season.
 A win tonight will give the Hoosiers their 14th Big Ten regular season crown. Indiana's last regular season title came in 2007.

NEWS AND NOTES
 Junior Will Bruin's team-leading 13th goal of the season was not enough in a 4-1 loss to No. 8 Butler at Armstrong Stadium on Oct. 27.
 Bruin's goal was set up by sophomore Joe Tolen, giving him his second assist in as many matches.
 It was just the second time in eight meetings that Indiana has lost to a ranked opponent this season.
 Butler struck first in the 15th minute, making IU 0-4-2 this year when its opponent scores first.
 Indiana is also now 1-4-2 when scoring just one goal.
 Indiana picked up its sixth win of the season vs. a ranked opponent with a 3-0 victory at No. 10 Michigan State on Oct. 24.
 Bruin celebrated his 21st birthday in style with two goals, including the game winner, while assisting on the third.
 Bruin was named to the Top Drawer Soccer and College Soccer News Teams of the Week.
 Tolen had the other goal, the first of his career, and assisted on Bruin's second goal of the match.
 Goalkeeper Luis Soffner recorded his third shutout of the season, two of which have come against ranked opponents.
 Soffner was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week for the first time in his career.
 Indiana put up 21 shots but came away with just one goal in a 1-1 tie at Kentucky on Oct. 20.
 Senior midfielder Andy Adlard scored for the Hoosiers with his third penalty kick of the year. It was his fifth goal of the year, second on the team.
 Adlard is 3-for-3 on penalty kicks this season.
 Coming in off the bench, junior midfielder/defender Chris Estridge has a season-high six shot attempts.
 Indiana was held scoreless in the first half for just the fourth time this season. IU is 1-1-2 in those games.
 The Hoosiers are 5-1 against ranked teams this year.
 The Hoosiers took over sole possession of first place in the Big Ten with a 2-1 win over No. 25 Michigan on Oct. 16.
 Junior midfielder Alec Purdie got the scoring started in the 29th minute, his third goal of the season.
 The score came off a corner kick from Adlard, IU's first set piece score this season.
 Purdie has tallied a goal in two of the last three matches.
 Adlard is tied for the team lead with five assists.
 Sophomore defender Caleb Konstanski tallied his first career goal, and it was the game winner, with a header in the 32nd minute.
 Freshman midfielder Harrison Petts had the assist on the play, his fifth of the season.
 Konstanski nearly had his second career score  in the second half when his header bounced off the crossbar.
 It was the second time in as many matches that Indiana jumped out to a 2-0 first-half lead on its opponent.
 Indiana improved to 14-1-1 vs. Michigan and tallied its 85th Big Ten victory.
 Indiana came away with a big road win on Oct. 9 with a 3-2 victory at No. 11 Creighton, 3-2.
 Bruin jumped all over the BlueJays with two goals within a two-minute span to give the Hoosiers a 2-0 lead.
 Bruin was named the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Player of the Week for the first time in his career on Oct. 12.
 Purdie scored the game-winning goal in the 67th minute, his second goal of the year and first game winner.

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
 Northwestern's season record is identical to the Hoosiers' at 8-5-2 overall and it comes into the match with a 2-1-1 Big Ten record.
 The Wildcats bring a two-game win streak into Bloomington with wins over Loyola (1-0) and Wisconsin (4-3, OT).
 Against common opponents Michigan State, Notre Dame, Penn State and Wisconsin, Northwestern has a 1-1-2 record. The Hoosiers are 2-1-1 against those teams.
 Oliver Kupe leads the NU offense with seven goals and 1 assist for 15 points. Matt Eliason has three goals and four assists, while Piero Bellizzi is the team's assist leader with five.
 Northwestern is outscoring its opponents 25-18, but has a 9-6 scoring deficit in the first half. Eighteen of its 25 goals have come in the second half of play.
 Drew Kotler has seen most of the action between the pipes, appearing in 14 matches and allowing 11 goals for a 0.84 GAA. He is 7-3-2 on the season with 43 saves and four shutouts.
 Northwestern is led by head coach Tim Lenahan. He is assisted by Neil Jones and Rich Nassif.

SERIES HISTORY
 Indiana holds a commanding 23-2-1 advantage in the series with the Wildcats. NU's first win came in 2004, a 1-0 victory in Bloomington. IU has gone 3-1-1 in matches since that game.
 In each of the last four meetings, the losing team has not scored a goal. The Hoosiers have scored five or more goals eight times in the series.
 Will Bruin and John Mellencamp had the goals for Indiana in its last win, a 2-0 shutout in 2008 in Bloomington. Andy Adlard also had a pair of assists in the game.

HIT THE ROAD, JACK
 For Indiana, the road has been a much kinder place to play in 2010.
 The Hoosiers are 4-1-1 in true road matches and 5-2-1 in all matches played away from Armstrong Stadium.
 Indiana is 4-0-1 in its last five games away from Bloomington, including wins at Penn State, Creighton and Michigan State.
 In contrast, the Hoosiers have won just three of seven home matches, going 3-3-1 entering tonight's home regular season finale with Northwestern.

SOFFNER NAMED BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK
 For the first time in his Indiana career, sophomore goalkeeper Luis Soffner is the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, the conference office announced Oct. 25.
 Soffner picked up the honor after helping the Hoosiers shut out No. 10 Michigan State in a 3-0 victory Sunday in East Lansing. Soffner and his defensive counterparts limited the high-scoring Spartans to just six shots, only one of which was on goal. Michigan State managed just two shots in the second half of play and was unable to add to its league-leading goal total of 33. It was Soffner's third shutout of the season, two of which have come against ranked opponents. Soffner also tallied a pair of saves in a 1-1 draw at Kentucky last Wednesday night.

BRUIN NAMED TO TOP DRAWER SOCCER, COLLEGE SOCCER NEWS TEAMS OF THE WEEK
 After tallying his third multiple-goal match of the season in a 3-0 win at No. 10 Michigan State on Oct. 24, junior striker Will Bruin was named to the Top Drawer Soccer and College Soccer News Teams of the Week on Oct. 25.
 Bruin netted his third game-winning goal of the season with his strike in the 38th minute against the Spartans, his 11th of the season. He then added his second goal of the match and 12th of the year with a header in the 64th minute.
 Bruin also added an assist, his second of the year, on Joe Tolen's score to make it a 2-0 Indiana lead.

BRUIN HITS DOUBLE DIGITS
 Will Bruin continues to be a scoring machine for Indiana, recording his 13th goal of the season vs. Butler on Oct. 27.
 Bruin's 13 goals is the most by a Hoosier in a season since Pat Noonan scored 14 in 2002.
 Noonan has the top single-season goal performance of the 2000s for Indiana with 16 in 2001. Indiana's last 20-goal scorer was Aleksey Korol in 1999.
 Bruin's 11th and 12th goals of the season came in a 3-0 win at No. 10 Michigan State.
 Bruin tallied his ninth and 10th goals of the season in a 3-2 win at No. 11 Creighton on Oct. 9.
 Bruin's previous best was nine goals scored in 2009.
 Bruin now has 28 career goals in 61 games played. He has started every match played in his career.

DID YOU KNOW?
 Indiana currently ranks seventh in the nation in average attendance.
 Ten of Will Bruin's 13 goals this season have come vs. ranked opponents.
 Indiana was the first team to win on Michigan State's home field in 2010.
 The Hoosier defense was just the second team to hold the high-scoring Spartans scoreless this season.
 Joe Tolen has four points in the last two games. He entered the 2010 season with just one career point.
 Indiana's defense held Michigan to just 12 shots, only two of which were on frame. That was well below the Wolverine's average of 21.5 shots per game and 8.0 shots on-goal per game.
 Nine of Indiana's 17 regular-season opponents are currently ranked in the RPI top 20, with three of the nine in the top 10.
 In 15 games this season, Indiana has scored 13 first-half goals. The Hoosiers tallied just four first-half goals in all of 2009.
 Twelve different Hoosiers have put points on the board this year with Will Bruin, Andy Adlard, Alec Purdie, Nikita Kotlov, Caleb Konstanski, Tommy Meyer, Jacob Bushue, Tim Wylie, Harrison Petts, Chris Estridge, Joe Tolen and Daniel Kelly each putting up at least a point.
 Head Coach Todd Yeagley's first victory at the helm of the Hoosier program was a big one as the Hoosiers posted a 5-1 victory over No. 5 UCLA on Sept. 5.
 Sixteen of the 30 players on the roster hail from the state of Indiana, including two from right here in Bloomington.
 Ten of Andy Adlard's 17 career goals have been game winners.
 Adlard has three game-winning goals this season.
 Head coach Todd Yeagley and assistant coaches Brian Maisonneuve, Ernie Yarborough and Chris Munroe all played collegiately at Indiana.
 Yeagley, Maisonneuve and Yarborough were in fact all teammates from 1992-94.
 Junior Tommy Meyer and his father, Keith Meyer, are the first father-son combination to play soccer at Indiana. Meyer played for the Hoosiers in 1980 and 1982-84, winning NCAA titles in 1982 and 1983.
 Indiana played its 100th Big Ten regular season match on Sept. 25, 2009 a 1-0 win at Wisconsin. The Hoosiers have won 83 percent (84-13-9) of their Big Ten regular season matches.

BUTLER RECAP
 Junior striker Will Bruin scored his team-leading 13th goal of the season but it was not enough to dig Indiana (8-5-2) out of the first-half hole it had created in a 4-1 loss to Butler (14-0-1) Wednesday night on Jerry Yeagley Field at Armstrong Stadium.
 An early miscue by the Hoosiers gifted a goal to the Bulldogs in the 15th minute for the 1-0 lead. Indiana goalkeeper Luis Soffner had collected the ball and looked to sidearm it up the field. At the last minute he made the decision to pull back, however the ball slipped out of his hand and dribbled to the foot of Austin Oldham who knocked in the put back for his fourth goal of the season.
 "I think we somewhat spiraled after that first goal," said head coach Todd Yeagley. "Tonight we made some decisions that were not the best. But this group is still learning. Our guys are ready to move on."
 After that early surprise the Hoosiers took control of the match, maintaining possession and making noise around Fabian Knopfler in the Butler goal. Indiana's best chance came with just over 17 minutes to play as a diving header from Bruin was tipped out by Knopfler, setting up an IU corner kick. Senior Andy Adlard played the ball into the box, right onto the head of sophomore Caleb Konstanski who had been left unmarked. Konstanski turned his shot wide, leaving the Hoosiers scoreless.
 It looked as though Indiana would go into the halftime break down just a goal but scores from Jacob Capito and Tyler Pollock within 41 seconds of each other saw IU needing to climb out of a 3-0 deficit at the break. Capito's goal was an unassisted shot from 30 yards out that rocketed into the top left corner at 42:45. Pollock scored the first of his two goals on the night by chesting a ball from Adekunle Oluyedun before one-timing it from the 15-yard spot.
 "They made plays and capitalized on the chances they were given," Yeagley said. "They are a nice team and a very confident group. They were well organized tonight."
 Down but not out, the Hoosiers came out of the lockerroom on the offensive and nearly had their first goal when Bruin's header off an Adlard corner kick was just high. Four minutes later in the 53rd minute junior Chris Estridge had a nice idea with a thru ball up the middle to senior Daniel Kelly, but the ball had just a tad too much juice on it and Knopfler was able to scoop it up.
 Indiana's offensive-minded play finally paid off when Bruin powered home his 13th goal of the season at 53:34. Sophomore Joe Tolen, who now has a goal and two assists in his last two matches, played the ball up to Bruin who was making his run up the middle. His shot from the 18-yard line froze Knopfler and brought the Hoosiers back to within two scores.
 With 23 minutes to play Indiana had a chance to capitalize on a free kick as junior Tommy Meyer served the ball into a crowded penalty area. The ball ping-ponged off a few players before making its way to Konstanski, who sent his show high over the cross bar.
 Junior Nate Mitchell, who came on in goal at the start of the second half for IU, kept it a two-goal match with a brilliant save on a shot from Ben Sippola, laying out to his right for a fingertip save that redirected the ball out of harms way.
 Butler left no doubt as to the outcome of the match as Pollock put an exclamation point on the Bulldogs win with some nifty footwork on the ball before slamming it home from 20 yards out in the 77th minute.
 The Bulldogs finished with a slim 13-11 edge in shot attempts, but nine of their 13 looks were on frame. Indiana had four on-net looks, with three of Bruin's team-high six shot attempts hitting the target area.
 Indiana must bounce back quickly as it plays host to Northwestern Sunday at 5 p.m. in a match with Big Ten title implications. With a victory Sunday the Hoosiers will clinch the 2010 regular season title outright. Kids are encouraged to come dressed in costume with candy and prize giveaways. In addition, IU's senior class of Adlard, Kelly, Rich Balchan and Cameron Jordan will be honored prior to the start of the match.
 
BIG TEN DOMINATION
 Since the Big Ten began sponsoring men's soccer in 1991, the Hoosier have dominated the league.
 The Hoosiers are 86-12-10 in regular season matches, tallying nearly 30 more victories than second-place team Penn State (57).
 Indiana has never lost in its Big Ten opener, going 17-0-3 in those matches.
 IU has won 11 Big Ten tournament titles, sharing the 1995 crown with Wisconsin.
 Indiana has also been crowned regular season champion 13 times, including nine-straight seasons from 1996-2004. IU won back-to-back regular season titles in 2006 and 2007.
 Indiana has been the league's goals-against average leader in 15 of 18 seasons, including 2007 when the Hoosiers allowed just two goals in six matches for a 0.31 GAA.
 IU had a league-record 10 Big Ten Players of the Year, including two of the last four seasons.
 The Hoosiers have also boasted the Freshman of the Year three of the last four years, with Will Bruin taking the award in 2008.

RPI RELEASED-WEEK 3
 In the second release of the RPI, Indiana jumped up another six spots to No. 8
 The Hoosiers are the top team in the Big Ten, followed by No. 9 Michigan State, No. 11 Ohio State, No. 12 Penn State, No. 42 Michigan, No. 94 Northwestern and No. 138 Wisconsin.
 In addition to the Big Ten teams, IU's opponents are No. 7 California, No. 10 UCLA, No. 13 Notre Dame, No. 14 Creighton, No. 17 Butler, No. 20 Brown, No. 53 Cal Poly, No 80 Drake, No. 86 Kentucky, No. 98 UMass, and No. 104 Evansville.
 The Hoosiers were No. 22 in the initial rankings released on Oct. 12, and 14th in the second release on Oct. 19.
 The RPI will be released every Tuesday through the end of the regular season.

HOOSIERS IN THE NATIONAL POLLS
 Indiana jumps up four spots to No. 12 in the Soccer America poll.
 The Hoosiers are back in the NSCAA/HendricksCars.com National Coaches Poll at No. 25. Michigan State, whom Indiana beat 3-0 in East Lansing, is the higest-ranked Big Ten team at No. 23.
  Indiana moved up two spots to No. 18 in the College Soccer News poll.
 Indiana moved up four spots to No. 18  in the Soccer Times poll and is the highest-ranked Big Ten team.

FRESHMEN TO THE RESCUE
 The freshmen duo of Harrison Petts and Nikita Kotlov have been key to the Hoosiers' success this season.
 The two have accounted for four goals and nine assists this season.
 Petts had a goal and an assist in a thrilling 3-2 win at Penn State on Sept. 24, accounting for his first career score.
 Against Evansville on Sept. 29 he assisted on Will Bruin's game-winning goal in the 30th minute.
 It was Petts' goal in the 52nd minute that salvaged a 1-1 tie for Indiana vs. Wisconsin on Oct. 3.
 He also assisted on Caleb Konstanski's game-winning goal vs. Michigan on Oct. 16.
 Petts has started all 15 matches and is fourth on the team in scoring with nine points (2g, 5a). He has 31 shots, 13 of which are on frame.
 Fellow freshman Nikita Kotlov has also come through for IU and is fifth in scoring with eight points (2g, 4a).
 Kotlov had a goal and two assists in the 3-2 win at Penn State.
 His first career goal came in a 2-0 win over No. 22 Drake on Sept. 12, and his first assist came in a 5-1 win over No. 5 UCLA.

NCAA STATISTICS (as of 10/25)
 Junior forward Will Bruin is ranked among the top-five in several NCAA Division I categories.
 Bruin is tied for fourth in points per game (1.86), tied for 4th in total points (26), tied for third in goals per game (0.86) and tied for third in total goals (12).
 In addition, senior midfielder Andy Adlard is tied for 29th in total assists with six.

EVEN STEVEN
 The Hoosiers have posted nearly identical stats in first and second half play this season, showing a consistency not seen in recent years.
 Indiana's 27 goals this season have been split nearly equally with 13 coming in the first half and 14 in the second half.
 The Hoosiers have taken 237 shots: 114 in the first half and 114 in the second half. Five shots have come in the first OT period, and four in the second.
 Of its 85 corner kicks, 42 were taken in the first half and 40 in the second half.
 The Hoosiers are even fairly 50/50 in fouls with 57 in the first half and 72 in the second.

OHIO STATE MATCH PICKED UP BY BIG TEN NETWORK
 The Indiana-Ohio State match on Nov. 7 at 1 p.m. ET in Columbus, Ohio has been selected by the Big Ten Network as its wildcard match for that weekend.
 The game will air on a tape-delay basis Sunday, Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. ET.

SUNDAY IS FUNDAY
 Perhaps head coach Todd Yeagley should look into rearranging the schedule to make all games Sunday affairs as Indiana is 4-0-1 when playing on Sunday this season.
 IU put a 5-1 victory up against No. 5 UCLA on Sunday, Sept. 5, and came back the next week with a 2-0 victory over No. 22 Drake on Sunday, Sept. 12. The Hoosiers also recorded a 2-1 win at UMass on Sunday, Sept. 19 and a 3-0 win over No. 10 Michigan State on Oct. 24.
 The only Sunday blemish is a 1-1 tie with Wisconsin on Oct. 3.
 The Hoosiers finally broke through with a Friday night win at Penn State on Sept. 24, taking a 3-2 victory over the No. 20 Nittany Lions.