Tudor Room Turkey: A Tasty Tradition Tied to Success
11/23/2017 2:15:00 PM | Men's Soccer
By Andy Graham
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind - These Indiana soccer men know how to talk turkey.
And they don't merely feast upon the opposition.
Sunday's 3-0 NCAA second-round soccer win over Old Dominion was pretty tasty. Literally.
It not only set up Saturday's 7 p.m. NCAA Round of 16 matchup against New Hampshire at IU's Bill Armstrong Stadium, it meant the host Hoosiers could indulge in one of their program's favorite traditions:
Tudor Room Turkey.
Thanksgiving commonly coincides with the third week of NCAA tournament play. And while most college soccer teams head home to have Thanksgiving dinner with their families, their seasons over, IU's soccer family will again adjourn to the Tudor Room in the Indiana Memorial Union.
It will mark the 37th time overall, and sixth time under coach Todd Yeagley, the Hoosiers attained the NCAA Round of 16.
That's a whole lot of Tudor Room turkey consumed over the years.
Yeagley has eaten his share. He grew up in the household of Marilyn and Jerry Yeagley, the first family of IU soccer, with Jerry having coached the program for 32 varsity seasons through 2003 and to the first six of its eight NCAA titles.
"I don't know what year it started, but ever since I was a kid, I totally remember it," Yeagley said Wednesday of the team's Thanksgiving tradition. "We'd say that if we weren't having turkey with the team, we weren't going to be super happy as a family.
"Alumni will contact us and they won't say, 'Win that round.' They'll say, 'Get to the Tudor Room.' It's a nice tradition. And it's a nice place to eat."
Grant Lilliard, IU's All-American center back, especially values the experience after having been deprived of it his freshman year.
"Unfortunately, I didn't get to experience it freshman year, so sophomore year was my first taste of it," Lillard said. "Besides the fact that the food is delicious, it's more just being with the team on a special day and being able to celebrate that together – while also knowing you've got a shot to win a national championship.
"All those factors combined make it a pretty special tradition for us."
The Hoosiers dress up a bit, too, before tucking into the dressing.
"You dress nice because it's a really nice meal," Lillard said. "It covers all the bases. You can get any type of food with that meal. They have all the food laid out, buffet-style, and you can just go check it out, get what you want, and come back for more."
More -- within reason. Yeagley doesn't want his players bloated with a key match looming in a couple of days.
"We try to manage them," the coach said with a grin. "We're going to train in the evening (Thursday), actually, to get some of that out of them, so that we can get the bodies right for Saturday.
"But we let them have a good, nice, big meal. That's part of it."
The Hoosiers (16-0-5) hope to take big bites out of a 13-3-5 New Hampshire Wildcat crew that disposed of No. 15-seed Dartmouth via penalty kicks Sunday.
"Mature team," Yeagley said of the Wildcats. "They're old. They can play different ways. They can build it. They're confident out of the back. They can play direct. There are some similarities to Notre Dame, the way their two front players work, and to Wisconsin.
"They're internationally-driven. Most of the top players on their team are internationals. There is a different maturity and edge to them. They probably don't know much about Indiana soccer, which can be good and also bad in a sense. They'll come in here expending to win the game."
Something no foe has done against IU all season except through penalty-kicks, which was Wisconsin's methodology in the Big Ten tournament title match.
Indiana's goal differential this fall is 45-4. The Hoosiers aren't just unbeaten (with PK results not officially counting for wins or losses), they've never trailed in a match all season.
Junior back Andrew Gutman, a high school teammate of Lillard's at Hinsdale (Ill.) Central, was asked Wednesday what he'd have thought if told before the season began the Hoosiers would have posted 17 shutouts by Thanksgiving.
"I'd be happy, and that'd be a little surprising, but our defense is good," Gutman replied. "It wouldn't have been too shocking to me. But, obviously, it's better than even we thought it would be.
"Our preseason goal was to give up 10 goals, maybe, and we've only given up four. So that's pretty cool."
New Hampshire has scored 31 goals this season while allowing only 11, with a goals-against-average of 0.491 ranking fifth nationally. The Wildcats are 2-0-1 against ranked teams, having beaten No. 20 Dartmouth twice and having won on the road against No. 22 Boston College.
"They're going to be good," Yeagley said of the WIldcats. "They're going to be a touch more dynamic than ODU, from what we've seen (on film). It's a conference you don't get much exposure to. We don't play those teams. There's not much cross-over (with American East teams). But we know Dartmouth is good and they beat Dartmouth twice.
"I've talked to the Dartmouth people and they say, 'Yeah, they're good.' We'll be ready for some of their nuances."
Yeagley also tried to take some nuances out of play for his No. 2-seeded squad by having the game Saturday evening rather than Sunday afternoon.
"The guys like night games," Yeagley explained. "And the other thing is that, at this time of year, the sun (and its angle) are different. It does affect things. It's an element of the game.
"So we tried to consider all the factors. Our team likes night games and responds well in cold weather. The sun isn't a factor. The wind tends to be lower. We want to have the very best playing conditions for our team … we just want our guys, psychologically, to feel great."
IU has to have some confidence after a dominant season and a dominant performance against ODU. The Hoosiers got goals from Lillard, junior midfielder Austin Panchot and freshman forward Mason Toye, who leads the Big Ten with 10 goals in his rookie campaign.
Toye was told to whet his appetite for Tudor Room turkey as part of IU's recruiting pitch.
"When I was getting recruited here, they told me a little bit about it," Toye said. "They showed me the Tudor Room, and they're like: 'If we're eating here in November, that's a really good sign for us.'
"Before the ODU game, we talked about it a bit, as well. Guys talked about wanting to eat that Tudor Room turkey. It's just an awesome thing and I'm really happy I'm going to be able to get some of that, to eat some good food and spend Thanksgiving here with the guys."
Yeagley might try to keep some of his players away from too many trips to the dessert tray. Not that the coach has any qualms about indulging his own tastes in that regard.
"I usually get a sliver of all of them," Yeagley said of the Tudor Room sweets. "They cut them really small. I make a full buffet of that.
"The guys work out and I don't. But somehow I find the same amount of food. I wonder why I'm bigger?"
For now, IU hopes it's on to bigger and better things. Yeagley and his Hoosiers plan to keep winning.
And getting their just desserts.
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind - These Indiana soccer men know how to talk turkey.
And they don't merely feast upon the opposition.
Sunday's 3-0 NCAA second-round soccer win over Old Dominion was pretty tasty. Literally.
It not only set up Saturday's 7 p.m. NCAA Round of 16 matchup against New Hampshire at IU's Bill Armstrong Stadium, it meant the host Hoosiers could indulge in one of their program's favorite traditions:
Tudor Room Turkey.
Thanksgiving commonly coincides with the third week of NCAA tournament play. And while most college soccer teams head home to have Thanksgiving dinner with their families, their seasons over, IU's soccer family will again adjourn to the Tudor Room in the Indiana Memorial Union.
It will mark the 37th time overall, and sixth time under coach Todd Yeagley, the Hoosiers attained the NCAA Round of 16.
That's a whole lot of Tudor Room turkey consumed over the years.
Yeagley has eaten his share. He grew up in the household of Marilyn and Jerry Yeagley, the first family of IU soccer, with Jerry having coached the program for 32 varsity seasons through 2003 and to the first six of its eight NCAA titles.
"I don't know what year it started, but ever since I was a kid, I totally remember it," Yeagley said Wednesday of the team's Thanksgiving tradition. "We'd say that if we weren't having turkey with the team, we weren't going to be super happy as a family.
"Alumni will contact us and they won't say, 'Win that round.' They'll say, 'Get to the Tudor Room.' It's a nice tradition. And it's a nice place to eat."
Grant Lilliard, IU's All-American center back, especially values the experience after having been deprived of it his freshman year.
"Unfortunately, I didn't get to experience it freshman year, so sophomore year was my first taste of it," Lillard said. "Besides the fact that the food is delicious, it's more just being with the team on a special day and being able to celebrate that together – while also knowing you've got a shot to win a national championship.
"All those factors combined make it a pretty special tradition for us."
The Hoosiers dress up a bit, too, before tucking into the dressing.
"You dress nice because it's a really nice meal," Lillard said. "It covers all the bases. You can get any type of food with that meal. They have all the food laid out, buffet-style, and you can just go check it out, get what you want, and come back for more."
More -- within reason. Yeagley doesn't want his players bloated with a key match looming in a couple of days.
"We try to manage them," the coach said with a grin. "We're going to train in the evening (Thursday), actually, to get some of that out of them, so that we can get the bodies right for Saturday.
"But we let them have a good, nice, big meal. That's part of it."
The Hoosiers (16-0-5) hope to take big bites out of a 13-3-5 New Hampshire Wildcat crew that disposed of No. 15-seed Dartmouth via penalty kicks Sunday.
"Mature team," Yeagley said of the Wildcats. "They're old. They can play different ways. They can build it. They're confident out of the back. They can play direct. There are some similarities to Notre Dame, the way their two front players work, and to Wisconsin.
"They're internationally-driven. Most of the top players on their team are internationals. There is a different maturity and edge to them. They probably don't know much about Indiana soccer, which can be good and also bad in a sense. They'll come in here expending to win the game."
Something no foe has done against IU all season except through penalty-kicks, which was Wisconsin's methodology in the Big Ten tournament title match.
Indiana's goal differential this fall is 45-4. The Hoosiers aren't just unbeaten (with PK results not officially counting for wins or losses), they've never trailed in a match all season.
Junior back Andrew Gutman, a high school teammate of Lillard's at Hinsdale (Ill.) Central, was asked Wednesday what he'd have thought if told before the season began the Hoosiers would have posted 17 shutouts by Thanksgiving.
"I'd be happy, and that'd be a little surprising, but our defense is good," Gutman replied. "It wouldn't have been too shocking to me. But, obviously, it's better than even we thought it would be.
"Our preseason goal was to give up 10 goals, maybe, and we've only given up four. So that's pretty cool."
New Hampshire has scored 31 goals this season while allowing only 11, with a goals-against-average of 0.491 ranking fifth nationally. The Wildcats are 2-0-1 against ranked teams, having beaten No. 20 Dartmouth twice and having won on the road against No. 22 Boston College.
"They're going to be good," Yeagley said of the WIldcats. "They're going to be a touch more dynamic than ODU, from what we've seen (on film). It's a conference you don't get much exposure to. We don't play those teams. There's not much cross-over (with American East teams). But we know Dartmouth is good and they beat Dartmouth twice.
"I've talked to the Dartmouth people and they say, 'Yeah, they're good.' We'll be ready for some of their nuances."
Yeagley also tried to take some nuances out of play for his No. 2-seeded squad by having the game Saturday evening rather than Sunday afternoon.
"The guys like night games," Yeagley explained. "And the other thing is that, at this time of year, the sun (and its angle) are different. It does affect things. It's an element of the game.
"So we tried to consider all the factors. Our team likes night games and responds well in cold weather. The sun isn't a factor. The wind tends to be lower. We want to have the very best playing conditions for our team … we just want our guys, psychologically, to feel great."
IU has to have some confidence after a dominant season and a dominant performance against ODU. The Hoosiers got goals from Lillard, junior midfielder Austin Panchot and freshman forward Mason Toye, who leads the Big Ten with 10 goals in his rookie campaign.
Toye was told to whet his appetite for Tudor Room turkey as part of IU's recruiting pitch.
"When I was getting recruited here, they told me a little bit about it," Toye said. "They showed me the Tudor Room, and they're like: 'If we're eating here in November, that's a really good sign for us.'
"Before the ODU game, we talked about it a bit, as well. Guys talked about wanting to eat that Tudor Room turkey. It's just an awesome thing and I'm really happy I'm going to be able to get some of that, to eat some good food and spend Thanksgiving here with the guys."
Yeagley might try to keep some of his players away from too many trips to the dessert tray. Not that the coach has any qualms about indulging his own tastes in that regard.
"I usually get a sliver of all of them," Yeagley said of the Tudor Room sweets. "They cut them really small. I make a full buffet of that.
"The guys work out and I don't. But somehow I find the same amount of food. I wonder why I'm bigger?"
For now, IU hopes it's on to bigger and better things. Yeagley and his Hoosiers plan to keep winning.
And getting their just desserts.
Players Mentioned
Defender
/ Men's Soccer
Midfielder
/ Men's Soccer
Forward
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