Dartmouth Stuns and Shuts Out #3/#6 Indiana, 4-0

Sunday, September 7

South Bend, Ind.

11:30 AM

Dartmouth College

Indiana University

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Dartmouth Stuns and Shuts Out #3/#6 Indiana, 4-0

9/7/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer

By: Dartmouth

Boxscore

SOUTH BEND, Ind. ? The offense came alive today for the Dartmouth men's soccer team as it silenced #3/#6 Indiana with a 4-0 victory at the Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament at Notre Dame. The Hoosiers highest ranking was #3 nationally this week by Soccer America and they were ranked sixth by the NSCAA Coaches poll. The win came on the heels of a hard-fought 2-1 loss to #8 Notre Dame that was decided on a last-second goal.

The Big Green's four goals were the most it has scored since a 6-0 victory over St. Bonaventure on Sept. 28, 2003.

“This was a great victory for our team,” said head coach Jeff Cook. “We played well all weekend and it was nice to have that reward. This game gives us a lot of belief as we look forward and hope to improve.”

Dartmouth came out of the gates ready to prove it could hang with the nation's elite, putting the pressure on Indiana early. In the 10th minute, Craig Henderson (Wellington, New Zealand) had a shot at a wide open net after Indiana keeper Chay Cain was pulled out to stop the first attempt, but it sailed just high. The Hoosiers had their big chance just minutes later when Daniel Kelly's shot bounced off the hands of senior goalkeeper Sean Milligan (Westport, Conn.), but he was able to cover the rebound.

The Big Green got on the board in the 16th minute when rookie striker Lucky Mkosana (Bulwayo, Zimbabwe) scored his first collegiate goal, taking the ball from Cain and slipping past him to make it, 1-0, Dartmouth.

Dartmouth held its tenuous lead for the remainder of the first half, though Indiana nearly got on the board in the 31st minute when Rich Balchan shot during a scramble but Milligan made the stop. Indiana had an 8-7 advantage in shots for the period, but the Big Green held the 1-0 halftime lead.

It took some time for the Big Green to get an insurance goal, but once it came ? off the boot of Henderson ? the third and fourth followed quickly. Mkosana fed the ball into Henderson in the 64th minute, and he won the one-on-one battle with Cain, sliding the ball in at the far post. Just a minute later, Henderson was at it again for a header off a throw in by Walker Linares (Santa Cruz, Calif.) to make it 3-0, Dartmouth with just 25 minutes left to play.

“The goals really changed the way this game went and the score might make it seem like it was an easier game than it was,” said Cook. “IU is a great team and the game had more of an ebb and flow to it, but when we got the second goal it really helped us play more confidently. We had scoring opportunities and we took them.”

The Big Green added one more for good measure when sophomore Bryan Giudicelli (Emerald Hills, Calif.) sent a free kick into the box in the 79th minute. Rookie Maarten van Ess (Marlborough, Mass.) used his 6'4” frame to get a head on the ball, beating Cain to take the final to 4-0, Big Green.

Milligan had a solid day in goal, making six saves to preserve the shutout, while getting a boost from the backline of Giudicelli, Lindares, Pumi Maqubela (Andover, Mass.) and Donnie Surdoval (Sparta, N.J.)

Dartmouth will return to the friendly confines of Burnham Field this weekend when it hosts Fairleigh Dickinson, Yale and Colgate for the Nike/Hypertherm Classic on Friday and Sunday, Sept. 12-14.