Hoosiers deadlock in two weekend exhibition games

The men's soccer team found itself deadlocked in two exhibition games last weekend at IU-Purdue University at Fort Wayne's Soccer Showcase.\nThe Hoosiers matched up with No. 17 University of South Carolina on Friday. The first of four yellow cards was handed out 14 minutes into the game, setting the tone for the match. The teams combined for a mere eight shots and both were held scoreless for all 90 minutes. \nSenior midfielder Bobby de St Aubin took the Hoosiers' first shot. It bounced off the crossbar and set the tone for what would be a game-long offensive drought for IU. Later, de St. Aubin would record one more shot. Junior forward Pat Noonan made two failed attempts as well and freshman Cliff Ellsworth took the last of the five shots. Although the Hoosiers' offense left something to be desired, coach Jerry Yeagley was encouraged by what he saw.\n"Defensivley both teams played very well," Yeagley said. "South Carolina is a very experienced team; they return most of their team from last year. We're trying a lot of new things. We had four freshmen in the game. (Freshmen) Danny O'Rourke and J.D. Johnston did a great job in the midfield and out wide. We need to keep on finding ways to score because offensively we struggled a bit." \nIU's second game of the weekend put them against the No. 19 University of Alabama-Birmingham Blazers on Saturday. Once again IU played an even match with their opponent ending in a 3-3 tie.\nThe Hoosiers finally found their offense in the game thanks in large part to the play of their freshmen. Freshman midfielder Mike Ambersley got rolling in the first half with a shot past the Blazers goalkeeper into the opposite corner of the net. The game remained 1-0 until midway through the first half when another new face for the Hoosiers scored. Redshirt freshman Josh Reiher took a shot off a goalkeeper save that richocheted off the far crossbar and into the goal.\n"(The shot) deflected off the (goalkeepers) hip and went in," Reiher said. "In my second game I'll definitely take that."\nIU kept up its agressive offensive play with eight shots in the early period --three more than they had in the entire South Carolina game. One of UAB's three shots in the first period got past senior goalkeeper Colin Rogers on a shot from junior Martin Rey that pulled the Blazers wihin one. With two minutes remaining before the break, yet another freshman came through for the Hoosiers. This time it was redshirt freshman Greg Badger's time to shine as he put the Hoosiers back up by two with a goal off an Indiana corner kick.\nRogers was impressed with what he saw from the teams young talent.\n"It's a big positive for us everytime you get one freshman to step up, let alone three or four to step up and play well right away," Rogers said. "It really helps."\nBoth IU and UAB opted for new goalkeepers in the second half, and they both had some hard work ahead of them. Indiana racked up another seven shots but was unable to capitalize on any of them. UAB goalie Clint Baumstmark posted five saves in the final period. UAB's offense also came alive as the team got off eight shots. IU freshman goalie Jay Nolly posted three saves in the second period. UAB midfielder Jose Rayo sent a shot past Nolly at the 74-minute mark to bring the Blazers within a goal. Both teams showed signs of fatigue as the game wore on. With less than 10 minutes to go in the game, UAB junior Bubba Garcia deflected a shot off a Hoosier which hit the back of the IU net for the 3-3 tie. Neither team could rally for another score and the game ended in another draw for the Hoosiers.\nRogers said fatigue was a factor against UAB after a physically challenging contest against South Carolina.\n"Defensively we weren't as sharp as we were Friday," Rogers said. "We were mentally and physically fatigued from playing such a hard game Friday night. We'll have to have good hard training sessions this week to prepare for next weekend's games."\nNext weekend marks the beginning of the regular season for IU as they play St. Johns and Kentucky in the IU Credit Union Classic in Bloomington.