Penalty kick payoff

The men's soccer team advanced to the third round of the NCAA tournament Sunday afternoon, defeating their conference foe, the Michigan State Spartans, 1-0 at Bill Armstrong Stadium.\nIt was the No.4 Hoosiers third meeting, as well as third shutout, against the Spartans this year. The teams last met in the Big Ten Championship game at the University of Wisconsin Nov. 11. In 27 meetings against Michigan State IU is undefeated, outscoring the Spartans 101-6. \nSunday's game did not dictate the dominance the Hoosiers have become accustomed to against MSU. It was a hard fought physical match for the entire 90 minutes, with the only score coming on a penalty kick by senior midfielder Tyler Hawley in the first half.\nThe penalty kick was the result of a fast break threat that was initiated by junior forward Pat Noonan. Noonan dribbled the ball into the corner of the box and passed to a streaking Phil Presser. The junior midfielder was then knocked down from behind by a MSU defender.\nAs IU set up the penalty kick, it did not appear that Hawley would be making the attempt.\n"(Hawley) wasn't the one that was going to take it," head coach Jerry Yeagley said. "(Freshman forward) Mike Ambersley was on the ball. Those two were about tied in terms of who was going to take the penalty kick. At the last minute I yelled 'Tyler'; he's a fifth-year senior and you go with (experience)."\nHawley said he was confident after Yeagley's last-minute decision.\n"I was ready for it," Hawley said. "I thought Mike was going to take it because he was lined up and the referee was about to blow the whistle, then I heard Coach (Yeagley) yell my name from the side and I just decided it was time to show them what I could do and put it in the back of the net." \nHawley did just that, sending the penalty shot past sophomore goalie Mike Robinson at the 11:24 mark.\nIU had some close attempts on the Spartan goal through the rest of the first half, but was unable to capitalize. \nNoonan came through with some big plays which fizzled at the goal line. In one such play, Noonan sent a pass to junior back John Swann deep in the box. Swann sent it towards the net, but it rolled just wide of the near post. \nMSU had some close calls as well. Sophomore forward Thomas Trivelloni sent a header toward IU's goal, but senior goalie Colin Rogers deflected the ball before it hit the back of the net. Soon after that play, sophomore midfielder John Minagawa-Webster blasted a shot at Rogers, who fell on the ball, maintaining the 1-0 advantage for the Hoosiers.\nMinagawa-Webster said he thought the Spartans played well, but had trouble completing their offensive attacks.\n"We know (IU is) a good team all around the field," he said. "We figured as long as we played solid defense we could get something offensively and that's what we did today. We had a few chances but we just couldn't finish them."\nThe Spartans and the Hoosiers both played very physical soccer in the first half, which resulted in a scuffle between Noonan and junior MSU midfielder Nick DeGraw as the first half wound down. Four yellow cards were distributed throughout the game as the referees attempted to curb some of the competitive tension between the two teams.\nYeagley said the aggressive play, though at times excessive, was expected in such a high stakes game.\n"It did get a little nasty a couple times, but we're conference foes playing each other for the third time," he explained. "Ninety-nine percent of it was due to hard competitive play. We're not going to face a team any more physical or more athletic than Michigan State, that's part of their strength."\nThe second half was similar to the first. The hard-nosed play continued, and many scoring attempts by both teams were unsuccessful. Noonan again displayed impressive ball handling and ability to get to the box, but he was unable to score, finishing with 8 of IU's 16 shots on the day.\n"(Noonan) was doing some beautiful things but I thought he pressed a little bit," Yeagley said. "He unbalanced (MSU's defense), drawing two to three defenders and he was trying a little bit too hard, putting too much pressure on himself."\nHawley's goal was enough as the defense came through with their fourth straight shutout. IU has blanked 14 of their 19 opponents on the year.\nWith IU's consistent defensive dominance, one goal can mean trouble for the opposition. Rogers said after Sunday's first half goal, the Hoosiers were confident they would win. \n"It's always a big lift for our defense when (the team) gets a goal," Rogers said. "Our defense is very confident in ourselves. We feel like we can shut down most of the teams in the country. So whenever we get a goal it's a big lift. It kind of energizes us."\nMichigan State head coach Joe Baum said IU's defense was the key to the Hoosier victory.\n"I thought (IU's) keeper, Rogers, was just incredible today," Baum said. "They're a wonderful defensive team, very well coached and they made big plays that they had to make.