Men's Soccer Release #16 - NCAA Quarterfinal Preview
Dec. 3, 2007
Complete Release in PDF Format 
NCAA Championship -- Quarterfinal Capsule
UIC (13-5-6, Horizon League champion) at Massachusetts (16-7-1, Atlantic-10 Conference champion)
(Sunday, 12 p.m. ET / UM's Rudd Field - Amherst, Mass.)
Two unseeded teams battle Sunday for a spot in the semifinals of the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship, as Horizon League champion UIC hits the road for the fourth match in a row against Atlantic-10 Conference titlist Massachusetts. Kickoff is scheduled for noon Eastern time at Rudd Field in Amherst, Mass.
Sunday's contest marks the first meeting between the schools on the soccer pitch. In fact, UMass has never faced any of the nine soccer-playing institutions currently in the Horizon League. UIC, meanwhile, is the second team in Horizon League men's soccer history to reach the Elite Eight. Evansville represented the circuit, then known as the Midwestern Collegiate Conference, when UE advanced to the semifinals in 1990.
The Flames (13-5-6) have not appeared in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America's (NSCAA) regional rankings since Sept. 18 and had a modest 6-5-5 record after a 2-1 loss to Wisconsin on Oct. 28. But coach John Trask's team has raced through the competition in the last month, posting a 7-0-1 record in its last eight outings.
UIC could become the first team to reach the semifinals without playing a home match since the tournament expanded to 48 teams in 2000. Indiana and Creighton both accomplished the feat in 2000, but each needed only three road trips to advance in the (then) 32-team field.
UIC has eliminated three teams ranked among the nation's top 16---all on the road---in the tournament. The Flames defeated #7/12 Creighton
1-0 on Saturday behind sophomore midfielder Ian Sarachan's second goal of the tournament. UIC's NCAA run began against another Atlantic-10 Conference opponent as the Flames ousted #12/11 Saint Louis in penalty kicks (6-5) following a scoreless draw in the first round. The Horizon League champions then defeated Northwestern 2-0 last Wednesday as freshman forward Kevin Stoll and Sarachan notched second-half goals.
Sarachan did not hit the net during the regular season, although he did have a pair of assists. His goal in the closing seconds clinched the victory over Northwestern before he took advantage of a defensive miscue to record the only score of the match against Creighton.
The Flames led the nation in goals-against average (0.38) last fall and are riding that defense during another late-season charge in 2007. UIC has allowed only one goal during its recent eight-match run, outscoring the opposition 13-1. A penalty kick in the Horizon League championship match is the only blemish on sophomore netminder Jovan Bubonja's record during that time (covering 757:54 of play), as the Flames netminder boasts a 0.12 GAA since Oct. 31. For the season, he ranks fourth in the nation with a 0.50 mark. Bubonja eclipsed his own single-season UIC record with his 12th shutout of the year on Wednesday.
Bubonja has been nearly perfect in postseason play during his two seasons at UIC, owning a 0.19 GAA in five NCAA tournament matches (one goal allowed in 470:00).
Senior forward Cesar Zambrano was the Most Valuable Player at the Horizon League Championship, setting up match-winners in the Flames' semifinal- and championship-round victories. Zambrano ranks third in the circuit with 19 points (six goals and a League-best seven assists).
Senior midfielder Pavle Dundjer, the League's first four-time First-Team All-League selection, is tied for second place on the team scoring charts with five goals and 13 points. Freshman forward Matt Spiess has identical numbers and hit the deciding PK against his hometown team in St. Louis.
Fellow freshman Charlie Trout boasts four goals and three assists for 11 points, with sophomore midfielder Baggio Husidic---one of four Flames on the All-League First Team, along with Zambrano, Dundjer and Bubonja---adding three goals and seven points. Stoll has four postseason goals, hitting the net in all three League Championship matches and again versus Northwestern---after going without a point in 12 appearances during the regular season.
Massachusetts is in the NCAA Tournament for the second time in program history---the Minutemen reached the second round in 2001---and carries a 16-7-1 overall record. UMass posted the biggest surprise of the tournament so far, ousting top seed Boston College 2-1 in Chestnut Hill last Wednesday. The Minutemen, who opened tourney play with a 2-1 triumph over Boston University on Nov. 23, reached the quarterfinals after defeating Central Connecticut State 3-1 on Sunday.
UMass lost four of its first six matches in 2007, but has won five consecutive matches and has lost only once in its last nine outings (7-1-1 since Nov. 1). That streak includes the Atlantic-10 Conference championship as the Minutemen defeated Charlotte in the final of that circuit's summit to earn an automatic NCAA berth. Massachusetts was ranked eighth in the NSCAA's final regular-season Mid-Atlantic Region poll.
Sophomore forward Bryan Hogan leads the UMass attack with eight goals and two assists for 18 points this season. Hogan hit the net twice to stake Massachusetts to a 2-0 lead Sunday and also scored in Wednesday's victory over BC. Sophomore midfielder Mark DiSantis and junior midfielder Douglas Rappaport provide support, with DiSantis recording his fifth assist of the season Sunday. He also has four goals (including the match-winner versus Boston College) for 13 points, while Rappaport has logged three goals and five helpers for 11 points.
Freshman midfielder Ben Arikian tops the UMass charts with six assists among his ten points. Fellow freshman Stuart Amick adds four goals and one assist for nine points.
Junior goalkeeper Zack Simmons owns a 0.77 goals-against average with nine shutouts, stopping 107 shots. He has played every minute this season in net for veteran coach Sam Koch, who is in his 17th season at Massachusetts and his 22nd overall.
Saint Louis is the teams' only common opponent in 2007. UMass defeated SLU 1-0 on Oct. 19 before UIC eliminated the Billikens in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The winner of Saturday's match advances to the NCAA Men's College Cup next weekend at SAS Soccer Park in Cary, N.C., against the winner of Sunday's quarterfinal between fifth seed Ohio State (15-3-5) and unseeded Bradley (16-5-4). Semifinals are scheduled for Friday, Dec. 14, with this year's national champion crowned Sunday, Dec. 16.
The other half of the bracket features a pair of showdowns between the Atlantic Coast and Big East conferences. Second-seeded Wake Forest (19-2-2) carries the ACC torch against tenth seed Notre Dame (14-4-5), while Big East kingpin Connecticut (20-2-1) defends its third seed against 11th seed Virginia Tech (13-3-5).
Defense, Sarachan's Goal Lift UIC Past Creighton and Into Quarterfinals
Omaha, Neb. - UIC's magical run through the postseason continued on Saturday night as sophomore Ian Sarachan's goal in the 74th minute pushed the Flames into the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament with a 1-0 win over eighth-seeded Creighton at Morrison Stadium.
UIC (13-5-6), which is unbeaten in its last eight matches, now advances to meet fellow unseeded team Massachusetts in the national quarterfinals with a trip to the College Cup on the line.
The Flames, who were making their second all-time `Sweet 16' appearance, have now eliminated three consecutive nationally-ranked opponents ---#12/11 Saint Louis, #16/16 Northwestern and #7/12 Creighton---on the road to make their deepest ever postseason run.
UIC continued its defensive dominance against the Bluejays (12-3-5) on Saturday, allowing just one shot on goal in the contest en route to their 14th shutout of the season and seventh in their last eight matches. Flames goalkeeper Jovan Bubonja made one save for his school-record 12th shutout of the year.
After UIC just missed on a pair of prime scoring opportunities early in the second half, the Flames finally broke through in the 74th minute, capitalizing on a Creighton defensive miscue.
A Bluejay defender tried to head a long ball sent in by the Flames back to keeper Matt Allen. Allen was already en route to punch the ball away, though, and the ball went over his head towards the goal. Sarachan was right there to convert the opportunity, chasing down the loose ball and tucking it into the back of the net for his second marker in his many matches for UIC.
"Coming up I could tell the defender and the keeper didn't communicate," said Sarachan. "Sometimes it's about being in the right place at the right time and that was one of the easiest ones you'll score, but you'll take it."
The Bluejays tried desperately for the equalizer during the final 15 minutes and put the ball into the goal in the 87th minute, but the game-tying tally was disallowed as Chris Shuler collided with Bubonja to set up the marker.
It is also the furthest a Horizon League entry has advanced in the NCAA men's soccer tournament since Evansville reached the semifinals in 1990, when the Purple Aces represented the Midwestern Collegiate Conference in the 28-team field that year. The MCC was re-named the Horizon League in 2001.
The final shot count read 10-9 in UIC's favor, while the Flames put just three shots. CU managed just one shot on goal, a Jeff Thayer attempt in the 81st minute, which proved to be the final shot attempt by the Jays in the match.
UIC, which led the NCAA in goals-against average last year, has allowed just one goal in the last eight matches, including three contests in the Horizon League Championship and three more in the NCAA Tournament.
UIC 0 1 -- 1
Creighton 0 0 -- 0
UIC -- Ian Sarachan (unassisted), 73:12
Shots: UIC 10, CU 9
Saves: UIC (Bubonja) 1, CU (Allen) 2
Corner Kicks: UIC 2, CU 6
Fouls: UIC 13, CU 11
Offsides: UIC 1, CU 3
