Team downs Cavs, tie Cats in preseason

After being tabbed No. 1 in two different preseason college soccer rankings, the IU men's soccer team traveled to the Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne Soccer Showcase in Fort Wayne last weekend to take on Kentucky and Virginia in a pair of exhibition games.\nIU was ranked No. 1 by both the College Soccer News and the National Soccer Coaches' Association of America in their rankings released earlier this month.\nThe Hoosiers came away from the games with a 1-1 tie against No. 20 Kentucky and a 3-2 win against No. 4 Virginia.\nJunior midfielder Vijay Dias netted the lone IU goal in the tie against the Wildcats. Kentucky scored an early goal just 6:15 into the match, but All-American senior forward Pat Noonan fed Dias the ball for a goal at the 71:54 mark of the match.\n"We got off to a sluggish start, as you might have expected," Hoosier coach Jerry Yeagley said in a press release. "I thought we got stronger as the game went on. We can't be satisfied with playing well and not winning, but our performance will yield results."\nThe Hoosiers outshot the Wildcats 19-7 in the game, as Kentucky only forced Hoosier goalkeeper sophomore Jay Nolly, to make one save on the evening. Nolly was making his first career start as the Hoosier keeper, after senior standout Colin Rogers graduated last season.\nNoonan showed why he is a leading candidate for Player of the Year honors this year in the showdown with Virginia. Noonan opened the scoring early, netting a goal off a pass from senior All-American midfielder Ryan Mack just 21:11 into the match. The exhibition games were Mack's first games back since missing all of last season with an torn ACL in his knee.\nEarly in the second half, Virginia responded with a pair of goals in less than a minute. The Cavaliers scored goals at the 50:28 and 51:00 mark off the feet of sophomore Kirk Dinnal and junior Alecko Eskandarian respectively.\nHowever, Noonan responded with two goals himself in a minute and a half span, to give him a hat trick for the match. Senior midfielder Phil Presser recorded the assist on Noonan's goal at 72:05, while freshman back/midfielder Jordan Chirico aided Noonan in his goal at 73:33 to put the Hoosiers ahead for good.\nThe Hoosiers played both games without the services of sophomores Mike Ambersley and Ned Grabavoy who were in Spain competing in an international Under-20 tournament for the United States. Noonan was impressed with the team's play, despite playing without two key players.\n"I've been very pleased with the way we've played, especially without Mike Ambersley and Ned Grabavoy," Noonan said in a press release. "(Freshman Brian Plotkin) and Jordan (Chirico) have really stepped up and are going to be good additions to the team."\nThe No. 1 Hoosiers return home to begin their regular season play with the Adidas/IU Credit Union Classic at Bill Armstrong Stadium. IU plays host to No. 7 Rutgers at 7:30 p.m. Friday and will also take on No. 9 Clemson at 8 p.m. Saturday.