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JAGS RIDING CONSECUTIVE DRAWS TO BLOOMINGTON

Back-to-Back Draws with Ranked Opponents has IUPUI ready for IU

10/5/2015 2:09:00 PM

By: Jeff Yoder (@jyode8), IUPUI Sports Information

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The IUPUI men's soccer team travels down IN-37 on Wednesday (Oct. 7) for a mid-week battle against Indiana University. 

Despite IUPUI's record of 0-5-4, they've seen six out of nine games go into extra time and their five losses have come by a total of five goals. The Jags were victims of late-game heroics in four of those five losses, as four game-winners occurred in the second half or overtime.

The Jags are still searching for their first win of the season, but they've reeled off consecutive 1-1 draws against nationally-ranked opponents in the past two weekends. 

Jaguars Stonewalling Ranked Teams 
Falling behind in the first half to then-No. 23 Omaha (Sept. 26), IUPUI responded with an equalizer from sophomore Jacob Singer in the 78th minute. Senior keeper Eduardo Cortes preserved the draw with 13 saves in the match, earning Co-Defensive Player of the Week honors in the Summit League.  

IUPUI traveled to No. 8 Denver last weekend for a similar result. The Pioneers took a 1-0 lead early in the second half before senior Clint Hoffar knotted things up in the 74th minute. Cortes (nine saves) stepped up late in the game, saving a Denver penalty kick and preserving another 1-1 draw through the overtime periods. 

"Sometimes a tie like that, on the road, in Denver, with the altitude, is a great result for the guys," Head Coach Isang Jacob said. "When you have a team who is very disciplined and follows the game plan, you can accomplish what you want to accomplish, and we did that." 



"Eduardo was big again," Coach Jacob said. "Saving a PK in a crucial time and the one-on-one breakaways. I think this past weekend, his saves were critical saves that kept us in the game."

Rising Rookies
Injuries and lineup changes have caused Coach Jacob to play a significant number of freshmen recently, even starting seven rookies in the last two matches. 

"We're playing with limited subs but our freshmen are continuing to rise," Coach Jacob said. "We believe in them. They've all worked very hard and it's starting to show." 

IUPUI freshmen Jack Zemanski, Austin Sandel, Kristian Martinez, and Trevor Semakula have stepped into roles with significant minutes as the season progresses. 

The IUPUI back line consists of rising rookies who have all played key roles in the Jags' recent defensive stands, including Ryan Machonga and Nick Anderson. Freshman Ben Thornton has become the staple of consistency in the IUPUI defense as the Linden, Mich. native has played a team-high 905 minutes (other than Cortes – 908) in nine contests. 

Senior Leadership
With the draw against Denver, seniors Cortes and Hoffar proved once again to be the leaders of this squad. Cortes' last two games–22 saves–boosts his season total to 60, the third-most among NCAA keepers. His 6.67 saves per game is the second-highest in the nation. 

Hoffar's equalizer against Denver was his third goal of the season, a team-high, on only eight shots, giving him a shooting percentage of .375. Primarily a defender, Hoffar has been a hybrid player as of late, filling in wherever Coach Jacob needs him most. 

Looking to IU
The Hoosiers began the season as the nation's No. 14 team but slowly slipped. Notre Dame blanked IU in Bloomington, Ind. by a 1-0 score to give the Hoosiers their only loss through four games. 

After the 3-1 start, IU hit a rough patch as they went Loss-Draw-Loss to Penn State, Butler and Rutgers in that order, bringing the highly-regarded Hoosiers to a 3-3-1 record and dropping them out of the top 25. 

Now 6-3-1, IU has put together a three-game win streak coming into Wednesday's match. 

The Hoosiers have gotten a lot of goal support from all over the field, but the keys to their offense are juniors Femi Hollinger-Janzen and Tanner Thompson. Hollinger-Janzen has netted five goals and tallied two assists while Thompson has been a regular in the assist category with six. 

"(Hollinger-Janzen) is undoubtedly one of the most dynamic players in the country," Coach Jacob said. "He's going to be a handful but we're just going to need someone to match his energy." 

Both squads are very familiar with each other. Both coaches and players have friends on the opposing side, making this game mean just a little bit more than a regular non-conference battle. 

"I'm honored to be going to coach a game at IU, in the house that Jerry Yeagley built," Coach Jacob said. "I respect Todd Yeagley and Brian Maisonneuve and what they're doing there. It's a special place."

Game Time
Wednesday's match is slated for 7:30 p.m. at Yeagley Field in Bloomington, Ind. 


 
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