Hoosierly Love for IU’s Soccer Men
12/2/2017 10:19:00 AM | Men's Soccer
By Andy Graham
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Bloomington Herald-Times sports editor emeritus Bob Hammel once proclaimed it "The City of Hoosierly Love."
And now Indiana's soccer Hoosiers have followed their Muse there.
To Philadelphia.
IU freshman Trey Muse, magnificent in goal all season, made three superb saves on four Michigan State attempts during the penalty-kick shootout Friday night that sent the host Hoosiers to their 19th College Cup.
The Hoosiers will meet the winner of the North Carolina-Fordham quarterfinal in next Friday's NCAA semifinals at Talen Energy Stadium.
Philadelphia-based Final Fours carry an extra resonance with veteran IU sports fans who saw former basketball coach Bob Knight guide the hoops Hoosiers to a pair of NCAA championships there.
(That was what engendered Hammel altering Philly's "The City of Brotherly Love" moniker a bit.)
There was plenty of communal love showcased on Jerry Yeagley Field after Muse made his final, decisive save Friday night.
The packed Armstrong Stadium crowd cascaded onto the pitch in raucous celebration, drawing some post-match comparisons to IU's Assembly Hall six years ago when Christian Watford's 3-point shot beat Kentucky.
"I was there for that Kentucky game," IU coach Todd Yeagley recalled. "I've been there for a lot of big games. I've been here for a lot of big games. I haven't seen that, in that moment, ever, here (at Armstrong Stadium). And I've been here a long time.
"So that, in and of itself, will be something I'll always cherish. And I think every student that was here tonight will talk about it for a long time. And hopefully that'll be one of the iconic moments that they'll remember."
Iconic seems an apt adjective for the soccer program Yeagley leads. It was pioneered by his father, Jerry – a Hall of Famer who built his IU legend over roughly the same span of years as did Knight.
Since Indiana's soccer program went varsity in 1973, none other has appeared in as many College Cups, has won as many NCAA titles (eight) or boasts a higher winning percentage in either regular-season or tournament play.
Over that span, the IU program has produced 13 United States Men's National Team players, six Olympians, six World Cup players, six Hermann Trophy winners (soccer's Heisman equivalent) and 52 All-Americans, with that latter number sure to grow this year.
Todd Yeagley, leading the Hoosiers back to the College Cup after having won the 2012 national title to add that eighth star on IU's uniform sets, is well aware of the banner his program carries.
"There is an expectation that is really high here, when we get to these moments," he said. "You have to take a deep breath and enjoy it.
"For me, today was a really long day, in a lot of ways. Because I know how much this means to a lot of people. That's why this is very heavy. There are a lot of people this is really important to. And I'm responsible for this right now. The guys are going to do the job on the field but, ultimately, I'm the guy this is on. So to be able to get this opportunity to get to go to the College Cup is a great feeling of accomplishment."
A lot of people, indeed. Since the NCAA began tracking soccer attendance, IU has led the country three different times.
There was an announced crowd of 5,450 Friday but, given the number of folks standing around the field's fences, it seemed larger. And it was loud.
"It was unbelievable, the atmosphere tonight," Trevor Swartz, who supplied IU's second-half equalizer by sending a corner-kick perfectly bending inside the near post.
"Even just in warmups, the Hoosier Army (student section) was packed, and they've been great all year.
"Then just the noise in the PK shootout was absolutely unbelievable. And I think it definitely helped us."
And the Hoosier fan base tends to travel well, especially now that all eyes are on the biggest prize.
"When you come to Indiana, you always talk about how you want to win the national championship," Swartz said. "The Big Ten regular season and Big Ten Tournament are obviously special trophies and we wanted to win those, too, but obviously the ultimate prize is the national championship. And we're still in it."
In it to win it.
But regardless of what transpires in Philadelphia, the 2017 Hoosiers have already posted a historic campaign. They are 18-0-5. When MSU's Ryan Sierakowski stunned them with a beautifully-taken running header for a goal just 1:39 into Friday's match, it marked the first time the Hoosiers had trailed in any match all season.
"The most important thing is that they've left their mark and now continue to leave it," Yeagley said of his current Hoosier contingent. "We're always trying to live in the moment and have these guys understand what they're doing, currently, but they changed a lot of banners today at our stadium (that list College Cup appearances and other accomplishments).
"They are forever going to be in our locker room. They're not done. They're motivated … we don't want to lose sight of that as we pursue the ultimate goal of a championship. It's hard to really leave your mark here and this group is doing it in so many ways."
IU just needed to advance any which way Friday. But Yeagley would have preferred to avoid penalty kicks – the methodology that cost the Hoosiers a trophy in this year's Big Ten title game against Wisconsin.
"We NEVER want to get to penalty kicks," he said. "Not that we're not confident. We train hard for it. Trey (Muse) and Zac (Brown), the assistant coach who works with the goalies and does the scouting … did a great job there.
"It's just that you don't want to see the game won there. I've been on both sides of it. It's a tough way to go out. Winning it, it's emotional because you're advancing, but it's not the way you want to finish a game. So we weren't playing for penalties. But we were tired (toward the end), no doubt."
Muse rendered any concerns moot with his PK shootout performance.
"I mean, talk about a mature young man, at his age," Yeagley said of Muse. "Talk about composed. He doesn't get rattled. You saw that tonight here. He handled it really well."
Had it not been handled, had the Hoosiers fallen in the shootout after regulation play and two overtimes resulted in a 1-1 deadlock, the game officially would have been listed their sixth tie of the season.
Their season would have ended as an undefeated campaign, but with nothing for the trophy case.
"It would have been really tough," Yeagley said. "There is no other way to put it. With what they've done this season, to not have the opportunity to go (to Philadelphia) would have been tough.
"Now there will be hardware in the trophy case. We just want it to be the shiny, golden color."
Yeagley isn't concerned by the notion that taking an undefeated record into Philadelphia increases the pressure on his team, or that the Hoosiers perhaps needed an instructive loss along the way.
"I think some of the ties have felt like losses," he said. "The cliché in sport, and I don't necessarily agree with it, is that you need to lose to learn a lesson and you don't want to go into anything undefeated.
"I'll take undefeated any day."
This is the third IU soccer team to conclude an undefeated regular-season. The other two came in 1976 and 1997. But if these Hoosiers win the national title, they'll be the first Indiana team to finish a season unbeaten, which is indeed saying something for a program with this rich a history.
The year of that first unbeaten regular season in soccer came to mind for Jerry Yeagley in the wake of Friday's post-game celebrations.
He noted his first-ever NCAA title game appearance as a coach occurred in 1976 at Philadelphia's venerable Franklin Field, where the Hoosiers fell to an internationally-oriented San Francisco squad.
"It was the same year Bob (Knight) got his first title, there in Philadelphia," Jerry Yeagley recalled. "Hard to believe that's 41 years ago now."
It seems past time, then, for some Hoosierly Love to resurface there.
But there are never any guarantees, especially in soccer, even for a squad that already ranks among the best IU has ever fielded.
"It's so hard," Todd Yeagley said. "So many things have to right. You have to be good. You have to have the right chemistry. You have to have the right leadership. But a bounce in our sport, a save, a penalty scenario, a post – it can shoot you the other direction.
"You appreciate it more and more the longer you're in it. You don't ever take it for granted. We appreciate every opportunity we get. There are things that are always going to be here, now, that this team has accomplished. I think because they've been so close the last two or three years, it's important to punch through.
"It's important for the next group, to be able to kind of lean on that, to give that experience and know-how and confidence to them. And it just continues to propel this program into a special category."
Todd Yeagley paused. Then he added:
"There is nothing like IU soccer. Simply said. It's a special place."
So true, that.
And Philadelphia has been a special place for IU athletes before.
It may well prove Hoosierly again next weekend.
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Bloomington Herald-Times sports editor emeritus Bob Hammel once proclaimed it "The City of Hoosierly Love."
And now Indiana's soccer Hoosiers have followed their Muse there.
To Philadelphia.
IU freshman Trey Muse, magnificent in goal all season, made three superb saves on four Michigan State attempts during the penalty-kick shootout Friday night that sent the host Hoosiers to their 19th College Cup.
The Hoosiers will meet the winner of the North Carolina-Fordham quarterfinal in next Friday's NCAA semifinals at Talen Energy Stadium.
Philadelphia-based Final Fours carry an extra resonance with veteran IU sports fans who saw former basketball coach Bob Knight guide the hoops Hoosiers to a pair of NCAA championships there.
(That was what engendered Hammel altering Philly's "The City of Brotherly Love" moniker a bit.)
There was plenty of communal love showcased on Jerry Yeagley Field after Muse made his final, decisive save Friday night.
The packed Armstrong Stadium crowd cascaded onto the pitch in raucous celebration, drawing some post-match comparisons to IU's Assembly Hall six years ago when Christian Watford's 3-point shot beat Kentucky.
"I was there for that Kentucky game," IU coach Todd Yeagley recalled. "I've been there for a lot of big games. I've been here for a lot of big games. I haven't seen that, in that moment, ever, here (at Armstrong Stadium). And I've been here a long time.
"So that, in and of itself, will be something I'll always cherish. And I think every student that was here tonight will talk about it for a long time. And hopefully that'll be one of the iconic moments that they'll remember."
Iconic seems an apt adjective for the soccer program Yeagley leads. It was pioneered by his father, Jerry – a Hall of Famer who built his IU legend over roughly the same span of years as did Knight.
Since Indiana's soccer program went varsity in 1973, none other has appeared in as many College Cups, has won as many NCAA titles (eight) or boasts a higher winning percentage in either regular-season or tournament play.
Over that span, the IU program has produced 13 United States Men's National Team players, six Olympians, six World Cup players, six Hermann Trophy winners (soccer's Heisman equivalent) and 52 All-Americans, with that latter number sure to grow this year.
Todd Yeagley, leading the Hoosiers back to the College Cup after having won the 2012 national title to add that eighth star on IU's uniform sets, is well aware of the banner his program carries.
"There is an expectation that is really high here, when we get to these moments," he said. "You have to take a deep breath and enjoy it.
"For me, today was a really long day, in a lot of ways. Because I know how much this means to a lot of people. That's why this is very heavy. There are a lot of people this is really important to. And I'm responsible for this right now. The guys are going to do the job on the field but, ultimately, I'm the guy this is on. So to be able to get this opportunity to get to go to the College Cup is a great feeling of accomplishment."
A lot of people, indeed. Since the NCAA began tracking soccer attendance, IU has led the country three different times.
There was an announced crowd of 5,450 Friday but, given the number of folks standing around the field's fences, it seemed larger. And it was loud.
"It was unbelievable, the atmosphere tonight," Trevor Swartz, who supplied IU's second-half equalizer by sending a corner-kick perfectly bending inside the near post.
"Even just in warmups, the Hoosier Army (student section) was packed, and they've been great all year.
"Then just the noise in the PK shootout was absolutely unbelievable. And I think it definitely helped us."
And the Hoosier fan base tends to travel well, especially now that all eyes are on the biggest prize.
"When you come to Indiana, you always talk about how you want to win the national championship," Swartz said. "The Big Ten regular season and Big Ten Tournament are obviously special trophies and we wanted to win those, too, but obviously the ultimate prize is the national championship. And we're still in it."
In it to win it.
But regardless of what transpires in Philadelphia, the 2017 Hoosiers have already posted a historic campaign. They are 18-0-5. When MSU's Ryan Sierakowski stunned them with a beautifully-taken running header for a goal just 1:39 into Friday's match, it marked the first time the Hoosiers had trailed in any match all season.
"The most important thing is that they've left their mark and now continue to leave it," Yeagley said of his current Hoosier contingent. "We're always trying to live in the moment and have these guys understand what they're doing, currently, but they changed a lot of banners today at our stadium (that list College Cup appearances and other accomplishments).
"They are forever going to be in our locker room. They're not done. They're motivated … we don't want to lose sight of that as we pursue the ultimate goal of a championship. It's hard to really leave your mark here and this group is doing it in so many ways."
IU just needed to advance any which way Friday. But Yeagley would have preferred to avoid penalty kicks – the methodology that cost the Hoosiers a trophy in this year's Big Ten title game against Wisconsin.
"We NEVER want to get to penalty kicks," he said. "Not that we're not confident. We train hard for it. Trey (Muse) and Zac (Brown), the assistant coach who works with the goalies and does the scouting … did a great job there.
"It's just that you don't want to see the game won there. I've been on both sides of it. It's a tough way to go out. Winning it, it's emotional because you're advancing, but it's not the way you want to finish a game. So we weren't playing for penalties. But we were tired (toward the end), no doubt."
Muse rendered any concerns moot with his PK shootout performance.
"I mean, talk about a mature young man, at his age," Yeagley said of Muse. "Talk about composed. He doesn't get rattled. You saw that tonight here. He handled it really well."
Had it not been handled, had the Hoosiers fallen in the shootout after regulation play and two overtimes resulted in a 1-1 deadlock, the game officially would have been listed their sixth tie of the season.
Their season would have ended as an undefeated campaign, but with nothing for the trophy case.
"It would have been really tough," Yeagley said. "There is no other way to put it. With what they've done this season, to not have the opportunity to go (to Philadelphia) would have been tough.
"Now there will be hardware in the trophy case. We just want it to be the shiny, golden color."
Yeagley isn't concerned by the notion that taking an undefeated record into Philadelphia increases the pressure on his team, or that the Hoosiers perhaps needed an instructive loss along the way.
"I think some of the ties have felt like losses," he said. "The cliché in sport, and I don't necessarily agree with it, is that you need to lose to learn a lesson and you don't want to go into anything undefeated.
"I'll take undefeated any day."
This is the third IU soccer team to conclude an undefeated regular-season. The other two came in 1976 and 1997. But if these Hoosiers win the national title, they'll be the first Indiana team to finish a season unbeaten, which is indeed saying something for a program with this rich a history.
The year of that first unbeaten regular season in soccer came to mind for Jerry Yeagley in the wake of Friday's post-game celebrations.
He noted his first-ever NCAA title game appearance as a coach occurred in 1976 at Philadelphia's venerable Franklin Field, where the Hoosiers fell to an internationally-oriented San Francisco squad.
"It was the same year Bob (Knight) got his first title, there in Philadelphia," Jerry Yeagley recalled. "Hard to believe that's 41 years ago now."
It seems past time, then, for some Hoosierly Love to resurface there.
But there are never any guarantees, especially in soccer, even for a squad that already ranks among the best IU has ever fielded.
"It's so hard," Todd Yeagley said. "So many things have to right. You have to be good. You have to have the right chemistry. You have to have the right leadership. But a bounce in our sport, a save, a penalty scenario, a post – it can shoot you the other direction.
"You appreciate it more and more the longer you're in it. You don't ever take it for granted. We appreciate every opportunity we get. There are things that are always going to be here, now, that this team has accomplished. I think because they've been so close the last two or three years, it's important to punch through.
"It's important for the next group, to be able to kind of lean on that, to give that experience and know-how and confidence to them. And it just continues to propel this program into a special category."
Todd Yeagley paused. Then he added:
"There is nothing like IU soccer. Simply said. It's a special place."
So true, that.
And Philadelphia has been a special place for IU athletes before.
It may well prove Hoosierly again next weekend.
Players Mentioned
Midfielder
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