No. 4 Indiana Heads to Rutgers for B1G Match on Friday Night / 0-0 draw

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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The No. 4-ranked Indiana University men's soccer team will head out east to face the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Friday night in Piscataway, N.J.

Kickoff is slated for 8 p.m. ET, with the match being streamed live on BTN Plus. Live stats for the game can be found at IUHoosiers.com.

SETTING THE SCENE
• The No. 4-ranked Indiana Hoosiers enter Friday's match with Rutgers with an overall record of 5-0-3 and a mark of 1-0-2 in Big Ten play.
• The Hoosiers dominated IUPUI on Tuesday, 2-0, out-shooting the Jaguars 36-2 in the match. The 36 shots are the most for the team since 2006.
• Richard Ballard leads the Hoosiers with four goals and 10 points on the season, while Tanner Thompson has netted three goals to go with two assists.
• The Hoosiers are looking to record their fourth-straight shutout on Friday - the longest stretch for the team since 2007.
• IU is looking to remain unbeaten in the team's first nine games for the first time since 1997 and for the 10th time in program history.
• The Hoosiers come in to the 2016 season coming off another terrific season in 2015, reaching the NCAA Tournament for a record 29-straight season and 40th overall in program history.

SCOUTING THE SCARLET KNIGHTS
• The Rutgers Scarlet Knights enter Friday's match with the Hoosiers with an overall record of 0-6-0 and an 0-3-0 mark in Big Ten play.
• The Jaguars have been out-scored, 17-2, on the young season so far, but both the Scarlet Knights' goals have come in league action.
• In B1G play, Rutgers dropped an overtime, 2-1 decision at home to then-ranked No. 4 Maryland before falling at Ohio State. RU opened league play with a 4-0 loss at Michigan State.
• In a preseason poll conducted of the league's coaches, the Scarlet Knight were tabbed to finish fourth in the Big Ten, behind just Maryland, IU and Ohio State.
• In the preseason NSCAA Coaches Poll, Rutgers was No. 25 in the nation following a 2015 campaign that saw RU advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and collect a 12-7-2 overall mark and a third-place finish in the Big Ten.

SERIES HISTORY
• In the overall history between Indiana and Rutgers dating back to 1993, the Hoosiers hold a record of 6-2-1 over the Scarlet Knights.
• In the series, the Hoosiers have had more success against Rutgers in Piscataway, posting a mark of 4-0-0 on the road.
• In last year's contest, the Scarlet Knights came to Bloomington and handed the Hoosiers the team's worst loss of the season, a 4-1 defeat at Armstrong Stadium.

HOOSIERS IN THE NATIONAL POLLS
• The Hoosiers are ranked No. 4 in the nation in the National Soccer Coaches of America Association (NSCAA) National Poll.
• Indiana is ranked No. 6 in the country by College Soccer News, No. 8 by Soccer America and No. 14 by Top Drawer Soccer.

IU IN THE STATISTICAL RANKINGS
• In the NCAA statistical rankings released on Wednesday, the Hoosiers rank fifth in shots (18.00), sixth in the nation in team goals against average (0.35), tied for ninth in save percentage (0.875) and tied for 10th in shutout percentage (0.63).
• GK Colin Webb ranks fifth in the nation in goals against average (0.346) and 10th in save percentage (0.870), while Tanner Thompson ranks 20th in game-winning goals (2).
• As a team in the Big Ten, IU leads the league in save percentage, shutout percentage (0.57) and team goals against average.
• Individually in the Big Ten, Colin Webb leads in shutouts (5), goals against average and save percentage.

UP NEXT
• The Indiana Hoosiers will return to Bloomington to host in-state rival and No. 10-ranked Butler on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at Armstrong Stadium.
• The two programs have met 28 times dating back to the 1991 season, with the Hoosiers holding a record of 21-4-3 against the Bulldogs.
• Last season, Indiana played Butler to a 2-2 draw in Indianapolis.

Live stats and game notes within:
http://iuhoosiers.com/news/2016/9/2...to-rutgers-for-b1g-match-on-friday-night.aspx

Go Hoosiers!

 

[GeddyHoosier]

Thanks for all the updates Snowling, as usual!

 

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Go Hoosiers!

 

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#4 Hoosiers Post Fourth-Straight Shutout in 0-0 Draw at Rutgers

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The No. 4-ranked Indiana University men's soccer team traveled to Piscataway, N.J. and played the Rutgers Scarlet Knights to a 0-0 draw on Friday night.

With the draw, Indiana remains unbeaten on the season through the team's first nine games for the first time since 1997. IU is 5-0-4 on the season overall and 1-0-3 in Big Ten conference play. Rutgers improves to 0-6-1 on the year and to 0-3-1 in league action.

"I thought we created a lot of great chances," IU head coach Todd Yeagley said following the match. "Rutgers fought hard and played maybe their best game of the year. They gave us a couple of difficult looks, but I thought overall we had control of the game. In the end, it's disappointing we didn't get the win, but our team defending and overall play has been very good and, hopefully, we will be able to pick up some points heading in to these next Big Ten games."

IU goalkeeper Colin Webb continued his great play on the season, posting his Big Ten-leading sixth shutout of the season, making five saves. The Hoosiers' four-straight shutouts is the longest such streak since 2007.

Offensively, Tanner Thompson and Richard Ballard led the way for Indiana. Ballard had a game-high six shots, getting five on frame, while Thompson got three of his four shots on goal. Phil Fives had four shots for IU, while Cory Thomas had three.

In a scoreless first half, the Hoosiers dominated possession, out-shooting the Scarlet Knights, 10-3. IU had four shots on goal in the first 45 minutes to just one for RU.

IU had some nice looks at goal in the first half, but the best effort came in the 42nd minute. Working on the left side of the pitch and coming back to midfield, Thompson drew a foul on Rutgers from 23 yards out, just left of center.

The senior struck a beautiful shot on the ensuing free kick, but a diving effort from the RU goalkeeper to the far left post was good enough to make the save and send the two teams to the half 0-0.

In the second half and in to the extra sessions, the Hoosiers had the best of the chances. Thompson nearly scored twice off two free kicks – one in the second half and one in the second overtime – from nearly the same spot. Both times Thompson's great efforts were thwarted by diving saves by the Rutgers' goalkeeper.

In the first overtime, Cory Thomas nearly won the game twice for the Hoosiers in a matter of seconds. In a scrum in the middle of the 18-yard box, the RU goalie got off his line, allowing Thomas a clean look at goal. His shot was cleared away at the last second, however, by a defender.

Seconds later, Thomas' header at the right post missed by just inches, clanging off the inside of the woodwork, back in to play to get cleared.

In the final 10 minutes, Webb came up with two huge saves for the Hoosiers, preserving the 0-0 draw.

The No. 4 Hoosiers will return to Bloomington to host No. 10-ranked Butler on Wednesday at Jerry Yeagley Field at Bill Armstrong Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET.

For all the latest on Indiana University men's soccer, be sure to follow the team at @IUMensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat.

Boxscore within:
http://iuhoosiers.com/news/2016/9/2...-straight-shutout-in-0-0-draw-at-rutgers.aspx

Go Hoosiers!

 

[GeddyHoosier]

These 0-0 ties against weaker teams are concerning. Gotta find some offense to complement what looks like a great D and GK.

 

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Offensive woes continue for IU men's soccer in scoreless draw

by Zain Pyarali

The IU offense has some serious issues.

After ending in a scoreless draw against one-win Northwestern last Sunday, the Hoosiers played the same to another Big Ten bottom feeder Friday night on the road.

No. 4 IU traveled east to face a winless Rutgers team in its fourth conference game of the year. For the second straight time in Big Ten play, the Hoosiers remained scoreless after 110 minutes of play pushing their overall record to 5-0-4 and conference record to 1-0-3.

The Hoosiers had opportunities to put the game away late, but a couple of key saves made by the Rutgers defense and senior goalkeeper David Greczeck kept the game scoreless.

It was sophomore midfielder Cory Thomas who had the best chance of the night to put the Hoosiers in the win column. With three minutes remaining in the first overtime, Thomas got a foot on a loose ball inside of the box and touched it past the goalkeeper.

What looked like an IU win was shut down quick, as a Rutgers defender charged in and cleared the ball out on the goal line. Seconds later Thomas was facing another quality chance sending a header directly off the crossbar to squander the scoring opportunity for the Hoosiers.

IU continued the trend of outshooting its opponents by firing off 23 shots compared to just 16 for Rutgers, but still had no goals to show for.

At the end of the Northwestern game on Sept. 18, IU Coach Todd Yeagley voiced his displeasure about the offense taking non-quality shots. Postgame against the Hoosiers 2-0 victory against IUPUI he said the shot decisions were improving and Friday night the shots were there but just a little off.

The positive side for IU is that the defense has stood incredibly strong all year. As a team, IU hasn’t allowed a goal in the last 423 minutes and just three all season.

The Hoosiers were once again without their top defender, junior Grant Lillard, tonight marking the second consecutive game he’s missed and third game this year.

Senior defender Billy McConnell hasn’t returned to the lineup either since his injury on Sept. 14 against Michigan, but the younger players off the pine have stepped up in the absence.

Sophomore defender Timmy Mehl made his second straight start against Rutgers while fellow sophomore defender Austin Panchot was inserted into the starting lineup for the first time of his career.

Senior goalkeeper Colin Webb came in clutch for the Hoosiers on the backline also, turning away five shots on goal including two large saves near the end of double overtime to keep the game scoreless.

Webb posted his sixth shutout of the season and the 26th of his career.

The Hoosiers need to turn the offensive woes around quick if they want to compete with the upcoming high-quality competition. IU has scored just three goals in the first four Big Ten games.

Two non-conference in-state rivals test IU next as No. 10 Butler travels to Bloomington Wednesday Sept. 28 and then the Hoosiers head north to South Bend, Indiana to face No. 3 Notre Dame Tuesday Oct. 4.

http://www.idsnews.com/article/2016/09/offensive-woes-continue-in-scoreless-draw

Go Hoosiers!