Soccer Hoosiers Embrace Fun, College Cup
12/5/2017 3:32:00 PM | Men's Soccer
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – In Indiana's quest for a ninth national soccer championship, in the push to win out over a rugged College Cup field that also includes traditional powerhouses North Carolina, Stanford and Akron, comes the key question that could decide everything:
Who is the Hoosiers' best dancer?
What, you were expecting something involving shots on goal or corner kick differential?
If you believe IU freshman Mason Toye, who also happens to lead the team in scoring, best dancer honors go to him.
"I want to say myself," Toye says with a smile from the Assembly Hall media room. "I think (freshman goalkeeper Trey Muse) is pretty good. Austin Panchot thinks he's pretty good."
Coach Todd Yeagley, who has a few other things on his mind other than dance moves this week, did offer this assessment:
"I'm sure Mason might give himself that award," Yeagley says. "I've never seen anyone do so much dancing after scoring. That's not been a tradition here. That stays right on the edge, but he's having fun."
Toye has had plenty of fun given he's scored 10 goals and 22 points in his college debut season. The hope is to have more of it during Friday night's semifinal match in Philadelphia against North Carolina (17-3-1), and if the Hoosiers win, even more for Sunday's championship game against either Stanford (17-2-2) or Akron (18-3-2).
"I had an enjoyable time when I was there as a player," Yeagley says about his experience there in 1991 and '94 as an All-American midfielder. "That helped us perform well. Putting too much pressure, thinking as a senior this is your last moment, it can be a tough mindset to go into.
"It is a big game. Don't add pressure to it. Go out and perform."
Yeagley pushes a let's-enjoy-ourselves component that Toye and the rest of the Hoosiers embrace.
Most of the time.
"Sometimes," Yeagley says, "I'm not sure they're always listening."
On this topic, at least, it seems they are.
"As freshmen, one of the things we tried to do was lighten the mood a little bit with jokes and dancing," Toye says.
That explained Muse's feed-me gesture while making three key penalty kick saves in last Friday night's Elite Eight win over Michigan State.
"That's why you saw, when Trey saved those penalties, he was stirring the pot and eating things," Toye says. "We try to have as much fun as possible. We take it seriously, but at the end of the day, it's just a game. Have fun and enjoy the moment.
"The whole team has adapted to that. Do not overthink the moment. That's why we've had so much success this year."
This doesn't mean the Hoosiers can't get serious. They are, after all, the nation's only undefeated team, and are coming off a draining PK shootout Elite Eight victory over Michigan State.
"We have a lot of guys who are big jokesters," sophomore midfielder Francesco Moore says, "but we know when to focus and when to joke around.
"We have a lot of personalities that mesh well together. We like to think of ourselves as a family. We know what to say to each other. We believe that. We're all brothers. We get along well. We know when to turn it on, when to be focused and intense, and when to kick it back and relax a little bit."
Yeagley sets that tone. He saw the results of a more relaxed approach during IU's 2012 College Cup run.
"That was a big take-away in 2012," Yeagley says. "They had a great time. Everybody enjoyed it. That has to start with our communication from the coaches. We try not to get any more amped. We've got to keep things similar and have fun."
That's easy to say, hard to do when the stakes are this high.
"Going into this there will be a lot of anxiety near kickoff," Yeagley says. "There's no need to add more of that into the weekend. We'll do our best to keep it enjoyable and take in the moments.
"In 2012, everyone was stoic except for our team. They weren't goofy, but they had a good time. They were very focused when they needed to be.
"I hope this group will be, too."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – In Indiana's quest for a ninth national soccer championship, in the push to win out over a rugged College Cup field that also includes traditional powerhouses North Carolina, Stanford and Akron, comes the key question that could decide everything:
Who is the Hoosiers' best dancer?
What, you were expecting something involving shots on goal or corner kick differential?
If you believe IU freshman Mason Toye, who also happens to lead the team in scoring, best dancer honors go to him.
"I want to say myself," Toye says with a smile from the Assembly Hall media room. "I think (freshman goalkeeper Trey Muse) is pretty good. Austin Panchot thinks he's pretty good."
Coach Todd Yeagley, who has a few other things on his mind other than dance moves this week, did offer this assessment:
"I'm sure Mason might give himself that award," Yeagley says. "I've never seen anyone do so much dancing after scoring. That's not been a tradition here. That stays right on the edge, but he's having fun."
Toye has had plenty of fun given he's scored 10 goals and 22 points in his college debut season. The hope is to have more of it during Friday night's semifinal match in Philadelphia against North Carolina (17-3-1), and if the Hoosiers win, even more for Sunday's championship game against either Stanford (17-2-2) or Akron (18-3-2).
"I had an enjoyable time when I was there as a player," Yeagley says about his experience there in 1991 and '94 as an All-American midfielder. "That helped us perform well. Putting too much pressure, thinking as a senior this is your last moment, it can be a tough mindset to go into.
"It is a big game. Don't add pressure to it. Go out and perform."
Yeagley pushes a let's-enjoy-ourselves component that Toye and the rest of the Hoosiers embrace.
Most of the time.
"Sometimes," Yeagley says, "I'm not sure they're always listening."
On this topic, at least, it seems they are.
"As freshmen, one of the things we tried to do was lighten the mood a little bit with jokes and dancing," Toye says.
That explained Muse's feed-me gesture while making three key penalty kick saves in last Friday night's Elite Eight win over Michigan State.
"That's why you saw, when Trey saved those penalties, he was stirring the pot and eating things," Toye says. "We try to have as much fun as possible. We take it seriously, but at the end of the day, it's just a game. Have fun and enjoy the moment.
"The whole team has adapted to that. Do not overthink the moment. That's why we've had so much success this year."
This doesn't mean the Hoosiers can't get serious. They are, after all, the nation's only undefeated team, and are coming off a draining PK shootout Elite Eight victory over Michigan State.
"We have a lot of guys who are big jokesters," sophomore midfielder Francesco Moore says, "but we know when to focus and when to joke around.
"We have a lot of personalities that mesh well together. We like to think of ourselves as a family. We know what to say to each other. We believe that. We're all brothers. We get along well. We know when to turn it on, when to be focused and intense, and when to kick it back and relax a little bit."
Yeagley sets that tone. He saw the results of a more relaxed approach during IU's 2012 College Cup run.
"That was a big take-away in 2012," Yeagley says. "They had a great time. Everybody enjoyed it. That has to start with our communication from the coaches. We try not to get any more amped. We've got to keep things similar and have fun."
That's easy to say, hard to do when the stakes are this high.
"Going into this there will be a lot of anxiety near kickoff," Yeagley says. "There's no need to add more of that into the weekend. We'll do our best to keep it enjoyable and take in the moments.
"In 2012, everyone was stoic except for our team. They weren't goofy, but they had a good time. They were very focused when they needed to be.
"I hope this group will be, too."
Players Mentioned
Midfielder
/ Men's Soccer
Midfielder
/ Men's Soccer
Forward
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