Midfielder comes to forefront

Pat Noonan carries himself like a veteran now, after one season with the men's soccer team.\nHis demeanor reeks of leadership.\nAnd his play shows he's come a long way since joining the team.\nNoonan, a sophomore, began his first season as a timid, skinny midfielder. He ended it as a key figure in IU's attack.\n "I think I just got more confidence as the year went on," said Noonan, a Ballwin, Mo., native. "And playing with the older players, them helping me out towards the end of the year, it gave me the confidence to play like I wasn't a freshman, like I wasn't out there trying to prove something.\n "I just had to go out there and play, and with them helping me, it really made a big difference towards the end of the year."\nThe difference?\n• In his first five games, Noonan managed two shots and one assist.\n• In IU's final three games of the NCAA tournament, he scored two goals and had two assists, including a goal in IU's 3-2 four-overtime victory against UCLA in the semifinal game.\nNoonan's play in the two Final Four matches convinced coach Jerry Yeagley that his young midfielder was over his freshman jitters. It also earned Noonan Soccer America Freshman All-American honors.\n"He had that freshman anxiety," Yeagley said. "But he finished on a very high note, and I think it was about near the end of the season when he really started to play with more confidence. Especially in the Final Four last year, he was one of our key players.\n"I think he was recognized as one of the top freshmen last year. So I think in the Final Four in the College Cup, he put his mark on that."\nNoonan has continued to put his mark on IU soccer this season.\nHe leads the team in goals with four -- three of them game-winners. His two assists give him 10 total points, which ties him with junior forward Ryan Mack for the team lead.\nBut stats alone don't tell Noonan's story.\nHis swagger shows he wants the ball. Once he gets it, he goes to goal. That confidence led Yeagley to make a change six games into the season.\n After a 4-1 loss to Creighton at the Butler Classic, Yeagley named Noonan tri-captain. With the promotion, Noonan joined seniors Justin Tauber and T.J. Hannig as current captains. He also became only the fourth sophomore captain in IU history.\nYeagley is not the only coach who has noticed Noonan this season.\nEarlier this week, Noonan was named one of 15 finalists for the Missouri Athletic Club Collegiate Player of the Year award. Only three sophomores were nominated for the award, which is voted on by coaches.\nNoonan said he's honored to be recognized by other coaches. He also said he figured he'd have a leadership role this season -- even before he was named captain.\n"I kind of knew I'd take a bit of a leadership role along with Tauber and T.J. and Macker and them," he said. "(Yeagley) talked about it at the beginning, that maybe it would come about. Just in the beginning of the year they thought, I guess, it was time for me to step up a little bit and take on that role. I'm glad to have that role.\n"I just wanted to make (younger players) feel comfortable the way I felt comfortable and hopefully get them, you know, involved as quickly as I was able to."\nNoonan has gotten his teammates involved, thus far, by drawing defenders' attention.\n"As you get older you're just going to get more confident as you go," sophomore midfielder Phil Presser said. "He has the ability to attack and create options for us. His one-versus-one abilities and his finishing abilities are pretty good."\n"I think defenders on other teams are more focused on marking him, and it opens our other players up, too."\nDon't look for Noonan to shy away from the ball, even if he is marked.\nAfter all, he's not a timid freshman anymore. He's a captain, and he's got both the armband and the swagger to show it.