IU embarks on quest for Cup

After earning a first-round bye in the NCAA tournament by capturing the Big Ten Tournament Title, the Hoosiers' road to the College Cup begins Wednesday when border rival Kentucky arrives in Bloomington for a second-round matchup. \nKentucky (12-6-1) heads to Bloomington after beating Cincinnati Saturday in penalty kicks (4-2) following a scoreless regulation and overtime.\nThe No. 8 seed Hoosiers are riding a 13-game unbeaten streak, last losing Sept. 18 at Notre Dame, but will play for the first time without points leader Ned Grabavoy and sophomore defenseman Drew Moor, who have joined the U.S. U20 National team. \nThe Hoosiers beat Kentucky 1-0 Nov. 2 in Bloomington on a Vijay Dias game winner in the 45th minute of the match.\n"From past experience, it's difficult beating the same good team twice. On the other hand, it would be the rubber match (one preseason game), but psychologically I think the fact that we beat them and played well last time might be a little bit in their favor," IU coach Jerry Yeagley said. "They will see a different IU team, and what we hope is that our players notch it up, and some of the their players say 'Hey without Grabavoy and Moor, they are not as good.' Maybe they will psychologically take their foot off the pedal."\nSince the inception of a varsity program in 1973, IU has made 28 tournament appearances while posting a dominating 63-22 mark. While the Hoosiers are in the midst of a 24-game home unbeaten streak, in tournament play, they are 40-3 at Armstrong Stadium. \n"Last time we played Kentucky, it was a good match. They fought hard," freshman Josh Tudela said. "Without Grabavoy up top, we don't have someone that can hold the ball like he does, so we'll need someone to go in and be able to hold the ball and keep possession while we get up and make good transition with the ball. We still are just as confident as a team with or without Ned and Drew." \nWith Grabavoy out, IU loses nearly a third of its scoring, forcing the likes of sophomore Brian Plotkin and freshmen Jacob Peterson and Tudela to fill the void. Yet all season IU has relied on fresh faces to step up and play significant roles in the team's success. \nThe Hoosiers own a 16-1-0 all-time record against their neighbors from the South including a 9-1 mark at home. \n"We're going to miss them (Grabavoy and Moor), but we have to cope with it, so I think a lot of guys are starting to step it up in practice. I think the confidence level is about the same," junior midfielder Danny O'Rourke said. "My game does not change that much. I may have to be more attacking once in a while, but a lot of people will have to change the way they play. I think it's hard to beat a team twice in one year. It's very tough to beat a team like Kentucky twice in one season."\nThe winner of IU/Kentucky will face the winner of the No. 9 Virginia Commonwealth/Virginia Tech game Sunday. Tech played a scoreless game with Clemson in the opening round but pulled the victory out 6-5 in a shootout. If IU wins, Sunday's third round match will be played in Bloomington. \nIf the seeds hold true, IU is guaranteed a home game until the quarterfinals. \n"We have good people. We are not as deep, of course, because Ned and Drew are in the special category," Yeagley said. "But we will not be playing guys that are not Division I top-caliber players. We will have good players out there."\n-- Contact staff writer Daniel Cohen at djcohen@indiana.edu.