After season ending injury, Mack is back

Last season, the men's soccer team ended their season one game away from the NCAA championships playing without one of their stars.\nNow, senior Ryan Mack is back, and wants to help lead the Hoosiers back to the title game.\nMack's season ended prematurely last year due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament, leaving a hole in the midfield. Mack's return could complete the puzzle for the Hoosiers to return to championship glory from 1998 and 1999 in Mack's freshman and sophomore years. Already this season, following the Hoosier's defeat of Hartwick and Air Force in the Butler Classic last weekend, Mack was named to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week. \nMack earned third-team All-America honors and was named Big Ten MVP in 2000, the year before his injury.\nCoach Jerry Yeagley said Mack's complete recovery will be incredibly important to helping the squad.\n"He is one of the 'X' factors as to how effective our offense can be and will hopefully prove to be a National Player of the Year Candidate," Yeagley said.\nMack's presence will not only help the team as a whole, but should also take some of the pressure off First-team All-American, senior Pat Noonan.\nNoonan almost single-handedly sparked IU's offense last season scoring 44 points, and with Mack's return to balance the attack, IU will be one of the favorites to win the College Cup. \nMack, a second-team preseason All-American, will draw attention away from Noonan, creating more scoring opportunities. Mack's constant threat on offense helped Noonan earn Big Ten Player of the Week honors last week after scoring two goals and an assist.\n"Always having him in the lineup is going to take the pressure off everybody because defenders and teams are going to look to shut him down because he's a top player in the lineup," Noonan said. "Of course that is going to add a lot of strength offensively, and it's going to open things up, and we'll get more chances with him in there."\nIU (4-1-2) was ranked the preseason No. 1 for good reason, despite getting off to a slow start and slipping down to No. 9 in the nation. Yeagley said the two tied scores should have been wins and once Mack and the others return to full strength and settle into their roles, opponents will not know what hit them.\n"We've always said that Mack is like the Eveready [Energizer] bunny," Yeagley said. "He doesn't quite have it back all the way because with the year layoff, he's still not at what he's capable of doing."\nOpponents should be weary of Mack when he's at full potential. Mack is already leading the Hoosiers with nine points (3 goals, 3 assists) through seven games, despite not being at full strength.\n"So far this season I've felt pretty much 100 percent," Mack said. "My knee has felt a little bit sore at times, but it hasn't really bothered me, and I feel really good about it."\nMack is eager to start dominating opponents on the scoreboard.\n"We're getting the chances, and that's the hardest part," Mack said. "We just have to put the ball in the net, and we should have three or four goals a game. I think we have our defense sorted out, and that's the most important thing. Goals will come"