Zips take home Classic crown; men's soccer wins, ties

Having won its two exhibition games by a combined score of 6-1, the IU men’s soccer team entered the Adidas/IU Credit Union Classic this past weekend with high expectations for its offense. But it was the defense, allowing only one total goal for the tournament, that enabled the No. 7 Hoosiers to start the regular season undefeated.

IU tied No. 12 Akron 0-0 on Sunday afternoon after defeating Duke 2-1 on Friday night. Both IU and Akron had a win and tie apiece, but the Zips took the title based on goal differential.

Despite being named runners-up, IU coach Mike Freitag said he was pleased with his team’s effort.

“It’s tough playing two games in a weekend,” Freitag said. “I think we showed our depth. At this stage, we will take a tie, move on and have things to get better at. It’s early in the season.”

Offensively, the Hoosiers, now 1-0-1, started Friday night’s game slowly, not recording a shot on goal until nearly 15 minutes into the game. The deadlocked score was broken in the 58th minute when junior defender Kevin Alston took a shot outside the goalie box that deflected off a Duke player and sailed over the head of Blue Devil goalie Brendan Fitzgerald. Duke, now 0-2-0, responded moments later in the 61st minute when forward Mike Grella drove into the IU box before passing to an oncoming Kyle Bethel, who put the ball in the back of the net.

It wasn’t until the 84th minute that the Hoosiers fully took control of the game. Senior midfielder John Mellencamp one-timed a pass 12 yards out from senior midfielder Brad Ring into the goal, securing the victory.

“As the intensity picked up, I was hoping we would get one in,” Mellencamp said. “Ring played a perfect ball that allowed me to either slot a ball or hit it. It was just set up right, and I hit the luckiest shot of my life.”

But while the IU offense may have started sluggish against Duke, the beginning of Sunday’s game against Akron had a different, more aggressive feel. It only took three minutes for IU to record a shot on goal and the team had multiple chances to score but failed to capitalize the remainder of the half.

In the 70th minute, freshman forward Will Bruin had a scoring opportunity when he made a nice move to the goal, but sprawling Akron goalkeeper Evan Bush blocked his shot. The rest of the second half was a defensive stalemate, resulting in two sudden-death overtime periods. In extra play, Alston, Ring and senior forward Kevin Noschang each had quality shots on goal but were unable to score.

“The toughest thing to do in the game is score goals,” Freitag said. “Sometimes when you’re tired, your lack of concentration and lack of technique fails you. That happened several times – too many balls over the bar.”

Ring agreed with his coach, and said his team needs to improve accuracy when scoring opportunities are available.

“I think we created some good chances, but we need to be more precise on finishing,” he said. “Nineteen shots (against Akron) is a lot without a goal, so we need to take our chances better.”

IU players Ring, Alston and junior forward Neil Wilmarth made the All-Tournament team with Alston taking home defensive MVP honors.

Zips coach Caleb Porter, a former IU player and assistant coach, said he tried to avoid getting nostalgic about being back at IU, but added the result was bittersweet.

“This was the only game where I couldn’t cheer for IU,” Porter said. “I wouldn’t be the coach I am if it wasn’t for (IU soccer).”

The weekend may have been more bitter than sweet for IU, but junior defensive back Ofori Sarkodie said it was still worthwhile playing two quality opponents.

“It’s crucial because you have an understanding on where your team is at mentally, physically, where the depth is,” Sarkodie said. “It will help build the momentum for the season. If we continue to focus and keep each other accountable, we will be successful.”