No. 9 IU loses to Penn State, unbeaten streak snaps at 8

The IU men's soccer team fell to conference rival Penn State for the third straight time in Fox Soccer Channel's Game of the Week Friday night.\nThe Nittany Lions needed a lone goal in the first two minutes of the game to snap the No. 9 Hoosiers' eight-game unbeaten streak, defeating them 1-0. \nAlthough the Hoosiers out-shot the Nittany Lions 9-5, the cream and crimson were unable to get the tying goal.\n"It's disappointing," IU coach Mike Freitag said. "The last three times we've outplayed them, but they have found the way to get the victory."\nPenn State scored the only goal of the match two minutes into the game. Nittany Lion senior defender David Gray headed in a cross from fellow senior Jeff Chambers.\n"It just floated over (sophomore goalkeeper) Chay Cain," junior defender Greg Stevning said. "The guy was on the back post, and he headed it past (sophomore forward Kevin) Noschang."\nWith 15 minutes left in the first half, Cain left the game with an injury to the face. Junior goalkeeper Chris Munroe came in for the Hoosiers for the remainder of the game.\nThe Hoosiers had four shots on goal in the first half but were unable to score. Freshman midfielder Eric Alexander had the best chance of the half, but his shot was saved by Penn State goalkeeper Conrad Taylor.\nThe team did not play its best soccer in the first half, Freitag said.\n"The first half wasn't a good game of soccer for either team," Freitag said. "After halftime we came out and did well, but we didn't get the goal."\nThe Hoosiers picked up the intensity coming out of the locker room, though, creating several scoring chances in the early going of the second half. Senior midfielder John Michael Hayden's shot just over the goal was the best chance for the Hoosiers early in the half.\nIU received a boost when freshman forward Darren Yeagle re-entered the Hoosier lineup after missing the last four games with mononucleosis. Yeagle wasted little time making an impact by getting taken down by a Nittany Lion defender after driving into the Penn State box, but the referee did not call a foul.\nIn the last 10 minutes of the game, the Hoosiers sent more players forward to try to get the tying goal. Several Hoosiers created dangerous opportunities, but Conrad kept the Hoosiers from tying the contest. It was the second straight shutout against the cream and crimson.\n"We couldn't find the net," senior forward Josh Tudela said. "We knew we were down so we had to throw more guys in attack, but we just couldn't get the goal."\nThe loss means the Big Ten regular season title will awarded to the winner of Friday's game between the Hoosiers and Wisconsin. The Nittany Lions can win the regular season crown if they defeat Michigan State and the Hoosiers and Badgers tie.\nFreitag said he wants to see a complete game when they face Wisconsin and during Tuesday's game against in-state rival Butler.\n"We are a team that is different than some of our recent teams because we can't coast in games," Freitag said. "We have to get at it the whole game. Hopefully, these lessons will be learned"