Zipped up: Hoosiers shut out Akron 2-0, Yeagle scores 4th of year

When they arrive back in Bloomington, members of the IU men's soccer team might have a little more swagger in their step. Their confidence is back.\nThe Hoosiers blanked the No. 21 Akron Zips 2-0 Wednesday night, giving IU its first win against a ranked opponent since it beat then-No. 8 Creighton University in August.\n"The guys should have never doubted themselves," IU coach Mike Freitag said. "We played tough against some quality opponents."\nThe cream and crimson entered Akron having lost three of its last four games and dropped out of the national rankings.\nFreitag said he was impressed with the way his team played.\n"Besides the goals, I thought we played a focused game," Freitag said. "Yeah, you win 2-0 and you should be proud of your offense. What I'm proud of more is the shutout."\nThe win was IU's first victory by more than a one-goal margin, and it came in front of a raucous Akron crowd at Lee Jackson Field. The Zips offered discounted ticket prices in an attempt to "Pack the Jack" for the game against the Hoosiers.\n"I love playing in front of a lot of people," junior defender Greg Stevning said. "It gets me fired up."\nThe Hoosiers quieted the crowd early. In the 18th minute, sophomore midfielder Brad Ring took a pass from freshman Eric Alexander, and Ring sent the ball into the upper-right corner of the net to give the Hoosiers a 1-0 lead.\n"I was pretty lucky," Ring said. "I was just in the right place at the right time."\nLucky or not, the early goal settled a team that needed a victory to enter Big Ten play with a winning record.\n"I think everybody relaxed once we got that first goal," Stevning said.\nStevning said the Hoosiers dominated play from that point. \nIn the 75th minute, less than a minute after he subbed back in the game, freshman forward Darren Yeagle stole the ball from an Akron defender and netted his fourth goal of the season and the Hoosiers' second of the night.\nThe win against Akron was the first game the Hoosiers played against former IU player and assistant coach Caleb Porter, who is in his first year as head coach for the Zips.\n"We had a lot of motivation, playing against our former coach," Stevning said.\nRing said he just hopes the team can build on the momentum.\n"We're always confident," Ring said. "We always think we can play with any team in the country. We just weren't playing up to our potential (in previous games). Hopefully this is a turning point"