Hoosiers head into weekend with confidence

For the second time this season, the men's soccer team will travel to Indianapolis. This time the Hoosiers will get a chance to continue their dominance over in-state rival Butler.\nIU (6-1-2) will take on the Bulldogs (3-6-1) tonight at 7:30 at Kuntz Stadium.\nThe Hoosiers won two games versus Air Force and Hartwick College earlier in the season at the Butler University SoccerFest posting a couple of shutouts, 2-0 and 1-0 respectively.\nNo. 4 IU has reigned over the Bulldogs with their only loss in 13 meetings coming in a heartbreaking 1-0 decision at home in the opening round of the 1995 NCAA Tournament. The Hoosiers have outscored Butler 39-6 in these matches.\nThe Hoosier defense has been stifling in the series, and tonight should be no different considering how well the defense has been performing lately.\n"He [Phil Presser], Jay Nolly in goal, and Danny O'Rourke have been the spine of this team, and it's been really getting stronger," coach Jerry Yeagley said. \nIU has shutout four of its last five opponents, including a double overtime 1-0 victory over perennial powerhouse Penn State.\nBecause of his performance in goal against Penn State, sophomore Jay Nolly earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors. Nolly has notched five shutouts this season lowering his goals-against average to 0.63.\nBut the entire IU defense deserves credit for Nolly's success.\n"It gives me more confidence," Nolly said. "If we're not giving up any goals, then we're going into any game with a high."\nNolly said he does not go into the game looking for a shutout, but he wants one.\n"With the weapons we have, we should be able to cut through them fairly easily," Nolly said.\nYeagley warned against the team's confidence stating Butler should not be taken lightly. Yeagley said records do not matter and both teams know each other very well.\n"They've knocked us off in the past unexpectedly, and anything can happen," Yeagley said. "Butler has been a Dr. Jekyll team because they've played really well against good teams, but they've self-destructed against some teams they shouldn't have. We can't look past Butler. I'd like to think this team could start to get that killer instinct and go for the jugular."\nYeagley also hopes that his offense can get back on track.\n"We missed opportunities that we shouldn't have against Penn State," Yeagley said. "I'd like to see us be more consistent with how we take advantage of the situations we create."\nButler possesses two potential scoring threats in seniors Nick Pantazi and Michael Mariscalco. The Hoosier backs may have their hands full, especially without senior sweeper Phil Presser, who must sit out after receiving a red card in the Penn State game.\n"This is probably their biggest game in the year, and they want to beat us, so we're going to have to play really hard to get a 'W'," sophomore Mike Ambersley said.