AKRON UNZIPPED

Brian Plotkin described it as a dream. \nIn his final regular season home game, IU's co-captain scored the decisive overtime goal versus No. 1 Akron and ended the evening in a sea of cream and crimson as the fans stormed the field.\nOn senior night, in front of 4,884 fans at Bill Armstrong Stadium, Plotkin and Jordan Chirico etched their names in the box score versus the Zips in the game's lone goal. Freshman striker Lee Nguyen played a cross from the right side of the six to Chirico who one-touched the ball to Plotkin. The Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy candidate said he had to get his right foot -- the weaker of the two -- on the ball but struck it hard enough to notch the game winner in overtime.\n"I was almost in a state of euphoria (when I dove on the field to celebrate the goal)," Plotkin said. "I was just happy. Everybody was going nuts and I just wanted to get off my feet so I just kinda dove. I've seen it on TV a few times, so I thought it might be fun to try."\nThe goal was Plotkin's eighth of the season, keeping him on top of the Big Ten with 25 points. Nguyen now has 11 assists, while Chirico is third on the team with five.\nPlotkin's game winner gave the Hoosiers their first overtime win of the season. After the match, IU finished the 2005 regular season 1-1-6 in overtime matches and 11-1-6 overall, with the lone loss to Penn State Sept. 30. Akron suffered its first loss of the season, falling to 16-1-1.\nHeading into the half, IU had three shots to Akron's two. The Hoosiers came out in the second half firing off 13 shots to the Zips' three, but the only shot by either team in the overtime period was the decisive one.\nSophomore goalkeeper Chris Munroe recorded his eighth clean sheet of the season behind what he called, "the whole defense gelling as a unit." Munroe singled out fellow sophomore and North Central alumnus Greg Stevning for increasing his confidence in the left back position.\n"He's done well for us this season, but especially tonight," Munroe said. "I thought he was able to stop a lot of their attack before they got real dangerous. I checked after the game and I only had three saves and none of them were really dangerous and that's just a testament to how great our defense has played."\nRanked No. 5 in the latest National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll, IU now awaits the result of tonight's Big Ten match between Michigan and Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio. That match determines what seed the cream and crimson earn for the Big Ten Tournament next weekend in Evanston, Ill.\nWith a Wolverine win, IU and Michigan would have the same number of points in the Big Ten regular season standings, but the Hoosiers have the edge for the No. 2 seed because they beat Michigan 2-0 Oct. 9. \nIf the Buckeyes win, IU will have the No. 3 seed as Ohio State would then pass IU in the Big Ten points standings.\n"We're rooting for Michigan to do well," Freitag said. "I don't care who we take on. We'll take on whoever comes up"