Senior, freshman pick up where Bruin left off

When the Houston Dynamo drafted Will Bruin in January, the IU men’s soccer team lost its heavyweight offensive threat. But this loss may have made it a more dangerous team.

After coming to a scoreless tie with Notre Dame, the No. 10 Hoosiers have won four games in a row and have scored 14 goals in that span. Half of those goals came from senior Alec Purdie and freshman Eriq Zavaleta.

Purdie, a fifth-year senior, has seen his role on the team expand with the exit of Bruin and has taken full advantage. Purdie scored three goals in two games last weekend in South Bend to help the Hoosiers take the Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament. 

The senior midfielder has four goals and leads the team with 10 points this season. He also earned Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors.

“I’m taking on more of a leadership role. Being a fifth-year senior and being captain, there is a little more weight put on me now,” Purdie said.

Bruin’s exit has been evident to none more than Purdie, who said the team needed to come together and equally shoulder the scoring load.

“We need to find the goals amongst the team,” Purdie said. “I’ve said all spring and all summer you’re going to see goals coming in from different places. I think five games in we already have six, seven, eight different goal scorers.”

While Purdie may have scored only three goals last season, IU Coach Todd Yeagley had high expectations for the senior coming into this season.

“Last year he was very dangerous,” Yeagley said. “This spring — from a standpoint of goal scoring, production and training — was as good as I have seen in a lot of years.”
Right behind Purdie in offensive production is Zavaleta. The freshman from Westfield, Ind. has three goals and eight points to rank him second on the team.

Zavaleta made his presence felt on the field early in the season.

“I definitely wanted to come in and help the team, not necessarily scoring goals or assists — it didn’t matter. But I knew I could come in and make an impact,” Zavaleta said. “Right now, goals and assists are the way the impact is coming.”

Zavaleta has fit in well with the Hoosiers’ offensive scheme. Purdie said all the pieces seem to be fitting nicely.

“He’s a point man,” Purdie said of Zavaleta. “He’s a big boy. He can hold the ball up. I like to get in behind and make the runs in. We complement each other well. We’re always looking to play off each other. So far it has worked, and hopefully it can continue.”

Zavaleta and Purdie have utilized their scoring talents to produce opportunities at the right time in the first five games.

“We’ve found ourselves in good spots and guys have found us in good spots to finish balls, and it’s a testament to the runs we have made off the ball,” Zavaleta said.