#5 Virginia Men's Soccer Drops Second Consecutive Match With 3-2 Loss To #1 Indiana In 2002 IPFW Soccer Showcase

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Aug. 25, 2002

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The fifth-ranked University of Virginia men’s soccer team dropped its second consecutive preseason exhibition contest to a Big Ten school, this time by the score of 3-2 to the #1 ranked Indiana Hoosiers in front of 2,400 spectators at the 2002 IPFW Soccer Showcase. Virginia held a 2-1 lead with just under 18 minutes to play, but Indiana’s Pat Noonan score two of his three goals en route to a hat trick to lift the Hoosiers past the Cavaliers. UVa also suffered a 4-3 loss to Michigan State on Friday.

Indiana pulled out to a 1-0 lead and scored the first goal of the match at the 21:11 mark when Ryan Mack connected with Noonan on a cross that he stuck past UVa goalkeeper David Comfort (Richmond, Va,/Monacan) for the first of his three goals on the afternoon. The Hoosier would take their 1-0 lead into the locker room at the half.

Virginia came out offensive minded in the second half and scored two goals within a 42-second span, first when Kirk Dinnal (Newton, Mass./Beaver Country Day) connected on a shot from 10-yards out at 50:28 before Alecko Eskandarian (Montvale, N.J./Bergen Catholic) scored 42 seconds later (51:00) after weaving through the Hoosier defense for a goal, giving UVa its first and only lead of the game, 2-1.

Virginia held onto its one-goal lead until just under 18 minutes to play when Phil Presser connected with Noonan on his second goal of the game at the 72:05 mark. Less than a minute and a half later, Noonan recorded a hat trick by scoring his third goal of the match when Jordan Chirico found him with a pass that resulted in the game-winning goal at the 73:33 mark to put the seal on IU’s 3-2 victory over UVa.

With the loss, Virginia finishes the preseason portion of its schedule with a record of 0-2-0, while Indiana improved to 1-0-1. IU tied #20 Kentucky on Friday by the score of 1-1.

The Cavaliers will return to action on Friday, August 30th when UVa begins the regular season portion of its schedule by hosting the 2002 Virginia Soccer Classic. The Cavaliers will play their regular season opening match against the #20 Kentucky Wildcats beginning at 7:30 p.m. at Kl?ckner Stadium. The first game of the tournament, #10 Maryland vs. Rhode Island, will start at 5:00 p.m. The tournament will resume action on Sunday, September 1st when Kentucky faces Maryland at 12:00 noon before Virginia battles Rhode Island at 2:30 p.m.

Scoring          1   	2  	F#1 Indiana	    1	2	3#5 Virginia    	0	2	2

Goals: IU - Noonan (Mack) @ 21:11, Noonan (Presser) @ 72:05, Noonan (Chirico) @ 73:33.UVa - Dinnal @ 50:28, Eskandarian @ 51:00.Shots: IU 12, UVa 6.Corner Kicks: IU 3, UVa 1.Saves: UVa 5, IU 2.Fouls: IU 22, UVa 20.Offsides: IU 9, UVa 0.Cautions: UVa - Eskandarian, Feeney, Hartman, Gibbs, Tuman.  IU - O'Rourke.Attendance:  2,400.

— UVa —