The Hoosiers started off the season with a bang, scheduling road matches at Wake Forest and North Carolina. Indiana did about as well as can be expected, losing in double OT at Wake and winning on a goal in the 88th minute by redshirt sophomore A.J. Palazzolo off a free kick. "We were aiming for the back-post spot and I was able to beat my man, put my head to it, turn around, ball in to the back of the net," said Palazzolo. "Wasn't much to it. We've been practicing restarts all preseason, all week. Glad it finally paid off. A year ago today, I couldn't even run. Big turnaround a year later. Happy for the guys, so proud of the team for working hard the whole game and I'm just happy I put it away to get this win on the road."
Michigan State (1-0-1)
The Spartans move up to #5 in the United Soccer Coaches poll, but we'll take a wait-and-see attitude on whether a draw with Tulsa on Sunday will hold up to the RPI test in November. "I like the team I mean we pass the ball and play together as a team. I felt in the final third I think some players just wanted it too much and tried to do a little bit too much on their own, and you've got to trust your teammates," said head coach Damon Rensing after the Tulsa game. "When we play good soccer like we did Friday night, I really enjoy being around this team; they were good. I will say this for our guys, the effort was good you know, and we worked hard. This team shows up every day. It's a good group you know it's not the worst thing to have a win and a tie against two quality American Athletic opponents so well take that and move forward to another week."
Wisconsin (1-1-0)
I'm not sure if the Badgers knew what they were getting into when they scheduled a season-opening contest at Grand Canyon. The 'Lopes have already built a reputation as an intimidating home team in basketball, and a standing-room-only crowd of 6,648 rushed the pitch after a 2-1 victory over the then-#12 Badgers. Wisconsin restored order with a 2-0 victory over Hartford at home, where they are 17-1-2 in their last 20 matches.
Michigan (1-1-0)
OK, maybe Tulsa's pretty good. The Golden Hurricane defeated the Wolverines at Michigan 2-1 before its draw at Michigan State. Michigan has a dangerous weapon in sophomore Mohammed Zakyi, who has curled in two free kicks for goals this season.
Maryland (0-1-0)
Maryland (0-1-0)
No one can say the Terrapins are ducking anyone. Maryland began the season with a 2-0 loss to now-#3 Washington. "I thought in the second half we moved the ball forward a little big more and a little more direct," head coach Sasho Cirovski said. "We started the game fairly brightly and we gave up a goal that was preventable. The second goal was a function of their direct play. When you are on the road you can't be reactive in the way we were tonight." The Terrapins now host #10 Stanford, followed by #7 Virginia in Washington, D.C. and #8 UCLA at home -- making four straight games to start the season vs. top 10 teams!
The Wildcats have yet to concede a goal, despite Xavier ringing up 22 shots (5 on frame) in Sunday's scoreless draw.