No. 5 Hoosiers head to Connecticut for first road trip

Fresh off their first adidas/IU Credit Union Classic tournament victory in four years, the No. 5 Hoosiers head to Storrs, Conn., for their first road test of the season as IU battles two Big East opponents in Georgetown today and No. 22 Connecticut Saturday as part of the UConn Classic. \nThe Hoosiers, (1-0-1) jumped up two spots from No. 7 in the latest NSCAA poll after beating California and finishing in a draw with Alabama-Birmingham last weekend in Bloomington, but face two more dangerous opponents this weekend.\n"We haven't really been watching the rankings at all this early in the season," sophomore Brian Plotkin said. "We are going out to another big conference and are hoping to represent the Big Ten very well." \nThe Hoyas enter today's matchup with a 1-0-1 mark, including a win over Howard and a 1-1 tie against American University. Freshman Ricky Schramm heads into today's tilt as the Big East's player of the week. The Hoosiers and Hoyas are meeting for the first time in school history.\n"They feel this is the best Georgetown team they have had in years," Coach Jerry Yeagley said. "They have the same record as we do and the style they play will be a change from the teams we played this past weekend."\nSaturday, IU will faceoff with the host Huskies to conclude the UConn Classic in a rematch of last year's third round game of the NCAA tournament, which saw the Huskies send the Hoosiers home for the season with a 1-0 win.\nThe No. 22 UConn Huskies began the season ranked No. 10, but after loses to No. 9 North Carolina and No. 4 Wake Forest in Winstom-Salem last weekend, they open their home season at 0-0-2.\n"A lot of teams play better at home and UConn is a good example of that," Yeagley said. "They will be very different at home so we will have to be at our best. And even though they are a different team then last year, they will still be tough."\nTough is what junior goalkeeper Jay Nolly has been thus far for IU, having not allowed a goal in two games this season. He finished last year with a .78 goals against average and won last week's Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week award. \nSaturday's matchup with UConn will be IU's third ranked opponent in four games, as Yeagley feels the strong schedule, especially on the road helps his team.\n"We schedule tough on the road as we work on the psychological aspect of it," Yeagley said. "We try to generate energy from a tough environment and from the hostile crowds rather then let it intimidate us."\nEven though IU has yet to allow a goal, senior Vijay Dias believes working and improving on the team's defense was one of a couple important things worked on in practice this week.\n"We worked on our finishing and sharpening that up for this weekend as well as staying organized on defense," Dias said. "Like always our goal is to go into the tournament and come out with two victories."\n-- Contact staff writer Daniel Cohen at djcohen@indiana.edu.