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Galen Cassady
David Haskett

MEN'S SOCCER TEAM REMAINS UNDEFEATED IN SUMMIT, KNOCKS OFF OAKLAND 2-1

Jaguars knock off Oakland for first-time since 2002

10/2/2010 10:28:22 PM

Box Score I Box Score (.pdf)

INDIANAPOLIS - On the same night in which the 2000 IUPUI Men's Soccer team was recognized at halftime, the 2010 bunch picked up a critical 2-1 win over heated Summit League rival Oakland at Kuntz Stadium on a drizzly Saturday night. The win was IUPUI's first over Oakland since the 2002 season and snapped OU's regular season conference unbeaten streak that dated back to 2006.

Juniors Matt Guy and Galen Cassady scored the goals in the win.

"It was reminiscent of 2000. I think it's fantastic that we honored the team of 2000 that won the Mid-Con and beat Oakland for the chance to get into the NCAA Tournament," IUPUI Head Coach Steve Franklin said. "When these two teams play each other, they don't like each other. That's very evident."

It was Oakland (3-6, 1-1 Summit) that struck first, scoring in the first three minutes on a Tom Catalano penalty kick after an IUPUI (5-4, 2-0 Summit) defender was whistled for a hand ball in the box. However, IUPUI didn't take long to knot the match up.

In the ninth minute, Guy netted his first goal of the year to tie the score at 1-1. Junior goalkeeper Tyler Keever used a strong tailwind to punt the ball nearly the entire length of the field to set up the play. IUPUI junior forward Perez Agaba and OU goalkeeper Mitch Hildebrandt were converging on the first bounce with the Golden Grizzlies' netminder winning the race. Hildebrandt swatted the ball to his right, only to see it land right at Guy's feet. Guy slotted a shot past one last defender for his fifth career score.

OU nearly had an immediate answer in the 10th minute when Vuk Popovic lined a shot off the left post after finding a seam in the defense.

IUPUI, which came in ranked No. 7 in the region and No. 48 in the nation, had the better chances for much of the first half though as Agaba just missed putting home a goal in the 25th minute. Sophomore Kyle Hyland also had a quality strike on frame in the 38th minute that Hildebrandt gobbled up.

IUPUI got the eventual game-winner in the 57th minute when Cassady scored for the first time since his senior year of high school. Junior Tyler Fritcha drove a low cross from the left side into the six-yard box, hitting Cassady in stride. The junior defender got a sliding toe poke on the ball and saw the ball ping off the post before crossing the endline.

"I went up in the beginning and the ball kind of got played around," Cassady said. "When we were recycling and making our runs again, I saw the near post was open and Fritcha played a really good ball in. I'm glad he saw me.

"It's been awhile so when I scored, I got a little excited."

"I credit Coach Chalkley," Franklin said. "I was close to taking (Cassady) out and he's the one that told me to stick with him. Then the kid goes out and scores a game-winner, so I have to give credit where credit is due."

Oakland upped the offensive pressure throughout the second half, but was unable to solve the Jaguars' defense.

"The back four we have right now are really gelling - we talk a lot," Cassady said. "Communication and organization is really key and we're just telling each other where our marks are. The rest is physical and we have great athletes back there."

"What we wanted to do was not break. We knew they were going to come with three front runners at us. Our back line had to play a bit tighter. We wanted to try and stop the initial balls into them and at the same time, win the second balls," Franklin added. "I was really impressed in the second half. We really kind of came together in the second half."

Keever anchored the defense with three saves as Oakland outshot the Jaguars 13-11.

Franklin was quick to credit his midfield, specifically Yogi Snider, for sending the Jags to its third win in four games.

"Yogi Snider really stepped up. Yogi was benched last week because of his athleticism. Moreso his performance and he had two choices to make. He could sulk about it or he could lick his wounds and get after it. He got after it this week in practice," Franklin said. "Call it a coach's intuition, but about 40 minutes before the game I had a feeling because Yogi comes up in big games. He had a big time game tonight. He was the difference, I thought."

IUPUI will return to non-conference action on Tuesday when it hosts Xavier at Kuntz Stadium at 7:00 p.m.. That game will be webstreamed live as part of IUPUI LIVE! on IUPUIJags.com as Greg Rakestraw (play-by-play) and former IUPUI standout Rob Hofinger (analyst) call the action. That contest will also be rebroadcast throughout Central Indiana on HomeTown Sports Indiana.
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