Men's soccer takes on Louisville

Coach Jerry Yeagley doesn't plan on letting his men's soccer team make the same mistake twice.\nIU defenders lost the ball to opposing strikers and forwards couldn't get the ball past the faster, stronger opposing defenders in a 4-1 loss to Creighton last Friday.\nThe Hoosiers had five games in 10 days. To ease mental and physical strain, they took a day off after the loss. Two days later, the team defeated Florida International 1-0.\nYeagley gave IU (4-3) Monday and Tuesday off in order for the Hoosiers to avoid fatigue when they meet Louisville at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Bill Armstrong Stadium.\nYeagley said Creighton was the smarter team last weekend. IU is Creighton's highest-ranked opponent of the season, and the Bluejays had six days to prepare for the Hoosiers.\n"I think we pretty much dominated the whole game (against Florida International) and kept control of the ball very well," senior forward Matt Fundenberger said after Sunday's win. "I think that was the key. It seemed we were getting every loose ball out there. We had the fight that happened (Sunday) that wasn't there Friday. We kind of gave up the other game. We just did something to let them take control."\nIU enters the game against Louisville (5-2) without having scored a first-half goal in its seven matches. The Hoosiers have outshot opponents 102-62, but have been outscored 11-9. Yeagley said he is pleased with his team's scoring chances, but said he thinks his players are hurrying shots.\nThe Hoosiers will battle their scoring problems against a stingy Louisville team. The Cardinals have recorded five shutouts in its seven games. Louisville junior goalkeeper Jeremy Morales has a season goals-against-average of 0.57 compared to the 1.54 recorded by senior goalkeeper T.J. Hannig. When the Cardinals upset No. 19 Akron 1-0 Friday night, Louisville held Akron to four shots.\n"We watched tape of them," Hannig said. "They're very organized all over the field. They'll put a lot of pressure on us. We have to come in and match their intensity."\nSoccer America ranks the Hoosiers No. 19 while Louisville (5-2) is unranked. The three teams the Hoosiers have lost against are all ranked in Soccer America's top 11.\n"They'll be a very good team," Yeagley said about Louisville. "There are no easy games. My concerns are more about Indiana right now, being better at both ends of the field. I think we made big strides in midfield. With the changes we have there, things are sorting out."\nJunior Josh Rife will start as sweeper against the Cardinals. Rife shared playing time with freshman Matt Ahumada at the sweeper position last weekend, but a medial collateral ligament injury has restricted Ahumada's playing time.