Offense becomes soccer team's biggest concern

Men's soccer coach Jerry Yeagley said that if he knew what was causing his team's lack of offense, he'd bottle it and sell it. The trouble is the Hoosiers haven't solved their offensive problems.\nHaving few returning defensive starters caused the team some worries, but the Hoosiers have converted three consecutive shutouts. The defense has improved, but an unexpected problem arose -- IU hasn't scored in a first half this season.\nThe problem has been attributed to a lack of leadership, impatience and overaggressiveness with the ball.\n "We've been hitting them off the posts and off players," junior sweeper Josh Rife said. "We've been playing against keepers that have been on fire. I think our time will come. We're just working through a time right now where we're struggling to put the ball in the back of the net. I think once we do start putting them away, they'll come in multitudes."\nThe Hoosiers have scored only four goals in their three wins despite taking 39 shots. Their opponents made a combined total of 23 shot attempts. The team has drawn 57 corner kicks to opponents' 24.\nStill, Yeagley said his team needs to play with more patience and composure. He said players have often rushed their shots, taken too much time with their shots or played the ball selfishly. Against Michigan State Sunday, the defense was overpowered by the Spartans after the Hoosiers unsuccessfully played the ball on offense.\nOn the other hand, last year's national championship team, boasting Aleksey Korol and Yuri Lavrinenko, who now play in Major League Soccer, scored frequently. \nYeagley said the Hoosiers are still looking for a leader. Senior forward Matt Fundenberger has said the 2000 team, unlike previous teams, is in search of an identity early in the season. \n"Aleksey and Yuri had so many of our points last year that some of the guys might still be not wanting to take on that responsibility," Yeagley said. "They're looking over their shoulders. We've got to say, 'You guys are the ones. You've got to do it.'"\nHe made sophomore midfielder Pat Noonan a tri-captain with seniors goalkeeper T.J. Hannig and defensive midfielder Justin Tauber two weekends ago to bridge the gap between the team veterans and newcomers. Fundenberger is the highest returning scorer and tallied 10 goals and 10 assists last season. This season he is tied with Noonan with three goals to lead the team.\n"I think we're coming along pretty good," said junior midfielder Ryan Mack. "The freshmen are still getting comfortable with the team, and I think the new players that didn't start last year are feeling more comfortable with their starting positions. And I think our offense is pretty productive. We just need to be more solid and work together for each other and in the back."\nThough Hannig and Rife have improved, Yeagley said the defense has been inconsistent overall. The Hoosiers have recently played against weaker teams than earlier losses to top-ranked UCLA, No. 3 Portland and No. 11 Creighton. But while the defense has settled down, the IU offense hasn't broken open.\n"We had a long talk after (the Michigan State) game," Yeagley said. "Results are one thing. Performance is another. The result is a win, but the performance was unacceptable in a number of ways. And we must get better"