IU men’s soccer has won 14 Big Ten Championships. Saturday, it begins its pursuit of another with a game against Penn State.
IU was picked to finish fifth in the Big Ten, while sophomore Tanner Thompson, junior Femi Hollinger-Janzen and senior Jamie Vollmer were named as players to watch.
Here is a study guide for the eight Big Ten teams IU will play this season, starting with its first opponent, Penn State.
Penn State
Penn State at Indiana: 7:30 p.m. Saturday
2013 Record: 13-6-2
Postseason: 2-0 loss in the Sweet 16 against New Mexico
2014 Record: 3-0-1
Coaches Poll Projection: 3
Formation: 3-5-2
Key Players:
Andrew Wolverton , senior, goalkeeper
Wolverton is the reigning Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year thanks to a goals allowed average of 0.81 and a save percentage of 0.801. He was also named First Team All-Big Ten in 2013 and Second Team All-Big Ten in 2012. Wolverton, however, will be suspended against IU due to a red card he picked up in his previous match.
Connor Maloney , sophomore, forward
Maloney has scored four goals in four matches started already in 2014. In high school Maloney was a member of the Philadelphia Union Academy team, which won the Generation Adidas Cup in 2012 and set school records for goals with 110 and assists with 68 in his three-year career. Maloney started all 21 games his freshman season, scoring two goals and recording a team-high seven assists. Those numbers earned him a spot on the All-Big Ten Freshman Team.
Mark Wadid, sophomore, midfielder
Wadid has a team-high three assists in four appearances off the bench in 2014. Wadid played for the Canadian U-18 national team as a striker, scoring twice against Costa Rica.
Rutgers
Indiana at Rutgers: 7 p.m. Sept. 20
2013 Record: 7-11-2 (2-5-1)
Postseason: None
2014 record: 2-2
Coaches Poll Projection: 8
Formation: 3-4-3
Key Players:
Jason Wright , freshman, forward
Wright has already scored three times in his freshman campaign with an assist in four starts. All three goals came in his first weekend of college soccer in a 1-0 win against UMKC and a 2-1 win against Lafayette. Wright was a member of both the Jamaican U-17 and U-20 national teams and won the golden boot at the U-17 Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football Championships in 2011.
David Greczek , sophomore, goalkeeper
Greczek started in all 20 games his freshman campaign. He posted a goals allowed average of 1.23 and a save percentage of .812. Those stats garnered him spots on the Second Team All-American Athletic Conference and American Athletic Conference All-Rookie Team. Greckzek has posted a GAA of 1.25 and a save percentage of .800 so far in 2014.
Ross Tetro , junior, defender
Tetro has started in 37 straight matches for the Scarlet Knights in defense. The junior also assisted on Jason Wright’s game winner in the season opening 1-0 win against University of Missouri-Kansas City this season.
Northwestern
Northwestern at Indiana: 2:30 p.m Sept. 28
2013 Record: 10-8-3 (1-4-1)
2013 Postseason: 3-2 overtime loss against Bradley
2014 Record: 2-0-2
Coaches Poll Projection: 6
Formation: 4-4-2
Key Players:
Tyler Miller , senior, goalkeeper
Miller has a career GAA of 0.87 with a career save percentage of .755. So far in 2014 he is making those numbers look rather pedestrian with a GAA of 0.22 and a save percentage of .917 in four games.
Joey Calistri , junior, forward
Calistri led the Big Ten in both scoring with 12 goals and points with 28 in 2013. He has made First Team All-Big Ten twice and was a unanimous selection for Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2012. The Chicago Fire Academy member has already tallied three goals in his 2014 campaign.
Nikko Boxall , senior, defender
The central defender who also has the capacity to play up top has already tallied a goal and two assists in 2014. Boxall played for the New Zealand U-20 National Team at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2011. He was named First Team All-Big Ten in 2012 and Third Team All-Big Ten in 2013.
Ohio State
Indiana at Ohio State: 2 p.m. Oct. 10
2013 Record: 5-8-4 (1-3-2)
Postseason: None
2014 Record: 1-0-3
Coaches Poll Projection: 9
Formation: 3-5-2
Key Players:
Alex Ivanov , senior, goalkeeper
In his first year as the starting goalie, Ivanov made 110 saves, good for fifth nationally. He also posted the sixth-highest save percentage in the country with .880 and averaged the second-most saves per game with 6.47. Those stats earned him a Second Team All-Big Ten Selection in 2013.
Yianni Sarris , senior, midfielder
Sarris has scored twice for the Buckeyes in four appearances and two starts in 2014. Coming into the season, the Florida Gulf Coast transfer had two goals and four assists in his Buckeye career.
Joao Ehlers , junior, forward
Ehlers has only played 13 minutes this year but scored the game-winning goal in Ohio State’s overtime win against Elon. The game-winner earned him the honor of Co-Offensive Big Ten Player of the Week. The Brazilian played his freshman and sophomore campaigns at NAIA school Cumberland University.
Maryland
Maryland at Indiana: 1 p.m. Oct. 19
2013 Record: 17-4-5 (7-1-3)
Postseason: Lost in the NCAA Title game to Notre Dame 2-1
2014 Record: 1-2-1
Coaches Poll Projection: 1
Formation: 4-4-2
Key Players:
Zack Steffen , sophomore, goalkeeper
Steffen has been the uncontested starter in goal for the Terrapins since he arrived as a freshman. He posted a GAA of 1.14 and a save percentage of .710 his freshman year. In 2014 he has a GAA of 1.18 and a save percentage of .667. He has started for the U.S. U-14s, U-18s and U-20s and was rated as the top goalkeeper in the country in 2014 by Top Drawer Soccer. He was also named to Top Drawer Soccer’s Preseason Best XI for 2014, the only Big Ten player to make the team.
Dan Metzger , senior, midfielder
Metzger is the returning captain from the team that went to the title game last year. Also in that campaign he was named First Team All-ACC and played the third-most minutes of any position player for Maryland. He is one of four Terrapins to score a goal so far this season and was a member of both the U-18 U.S. National Team and the New York Red Bull Academy.
Mael Corboz , junior, midfielder
Corboz has played his last two seasons with Rutgers, where in 2013 he scored seven goals, had a team high six assists to earn a team high 20 points. He was named to the First Team All-Athletic Conference for his efforts. Corboz has notched an assist with his new side in 2014 and taken a team high 10 shots.
Michigan
Indiana at Michigan: 12 p.m. Oct. 26
2013 Record: 8-7-3 (3-3-0)
Postseason: None
2014 Record: 1-2-0
Coaches Poll Projection: 3
Formation: 4-3-3
Key Players:
Tyler Arnone , senior, midfielder
Arnone won Big Ten Midfielder of the Year in 2013 in a season in which he tallied a team high five assists. Arnone is a two-time First Team All-Big Ten Member in 2012 and 2013 and was also a member of the Big Ten All-Freshman Team in 2011. Arnone has recorded one assist thus far in 2014.
Marcos Ugarte , senior, midfielder
Ugarte is in his second year as a Wolverine after spending his freshman and sophomore campaigns playing for Providence. Ugarte was named to the Big East All-Rookie team after his freshman year at Providence, a season in which he scored six goals and tallied three assists. He already has a goal and an assist in 2014 to go along with three shots.
Colin McAtee , junior, midfielder
Last season McAtee had four assists, the second-most on the Wolverines to go along with one goal. He has already surpassed last season’s goal total in 2014 thanks to his performance in Michigan’s 3-0 win against SMU where he scored twice.
Wisconsin
Indiana at Wisconsin: 7 p.m. Nov. 1
2013 Record: 14-5-2 (4-2-0)
Postseason: Lost 4-0 in the second round to eventual champions Notre Dame.
2014 Record: 1-3-0
Coaches Poll Projection: 7
Formation: 3-4-3
Key Players:
Drew Conner , junior, midfielder
The Chicago Fire Academy player was ranked as the top player in the Midwest out of high school. After a freshman season where he started 18 games, scored twice and added an assist, he earned Big Ten All-Freshman Team honors. In his sophomore campaign he scored once with seven assists, good enough for second on the team, and he earned Second Team All-Big Ten honors. This season he has already tallied a goal and an assist.
Mark Segbers , freshman, forward
Segbers has already scored three goals in his first four collegiate games at Wisconsin. He scored a brace in Wisconsin’s 4-0 win against Xavier and scored a goal in his lone start of the season in a 2-1 loss against George Mason.
Jacob Brindle , senior, midfielder
Brindle was a two-year Chicago Fire Academy member but did not start making a significant contribution in college until last season. In 2013, Brindle found the back of the net eight times in addition to one assist. His eight goals and 17 points were both second on the team. In 2014, he has already scored and assisted once, both in a bench appearance in Wisconsin’s 4-0 win against Xavier.
Michigan State
Michigan State at Indiana: 7 p.m. Nov. 5
2013 Record: 10-4-3
Postseason: Lost 2-1 in the Elite Eight to eventual champion Notre Dame
2014 Record: 2-0-1
Coaches Poll Projection: 2
Formation: 3-5-2
Key Players:
Fatai Alashe , senior, midfielder
The senior has scored seven goals and tallied seven assists coming into the 2014 season in his career. So far in 2014 Alashe has scored once off of five shots on goal.
Jason Stacy , junior, midfielder
This junior will be playing his first season in Spartan green this year after transferring from Michigan. The high school standout struggled to find playing time at Michigan, playing only 101 minutes during his first and only season in Ann Arbor. He has tallied two assists in three games since arriving in East Lansing.
Tim Kreutz , senior, forward
Kreutz had a breakout season in his junior campaign, scoring nine goals and assisting on five. He also finished tied for first in the Big Ten with 66 shots and four game-winning goals in 2013. All that helped Kreutz win First Team All-Big Ten honors for the first time of his career. The senior has yet to score a goal or assist on one in 2014.
