Indiana University Athletics
Leaving a Mark – Top-Ranked IU Pushes Soccer History
10/15/2017 10:15:00 AM | Men's Soccer
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind - Todd Yeagley pushes for Indiana soccer greatness beneath an iron-gray overcast sky.
"Move it," he shouts.
Rain threatens, but doesn't fall. The practice field is damp, but not slick. Cool air offers a hint of autumn that refuses to settle in.
"Move it!" Yeagley shouts again. He stands in front of a goal directing a practice drill of quick touches and crisp passes against aggressive defense. He is teacher more than drill sergeant; a conductor striving for collective mastery.
"You have to see the field," he says. After a moment, when players do see, he offers a one-word assessment, "Good!"
In this season to remember, good often becomes great, and everyone wearing Cream 'n Crimson strives to sustain it.
And so, a few moments later …
"You've got numbers," Yeagley says. "Go! Nice ball!"
Hoosiers who have played the majority of minutes in this record-setting season watch from the sideline. Their training is done. They stretch and warm down while the rest work -- on conditioning, on skill improvement, on vision, timing, awareness, and more.
Amidst it all is this over-riding impression:
Players are having fun -- and want more.
"This team wants to leave its mark," Yeagley says, "and there's no better way to do that than with titles."
Yeagley didn't build a top-ranked squad without focusing on player development and the art of seeing what will happen on the field before it does. These Hoosiers set a brisk practice pace less than 24 hours after a 2-0 victory over No. 19 Kentucky, three days before a Big Ten home clash with No. 17 Ohio State, with a trip to No. 16 Butler in Indianapolis to follow three days after that.
A home match against Wisconsin is next before an Oct. 29 showdown at No. 5 Michigan State wraps up the regular season and, perhaps, determines the conference champion.
IU is 11-0-2 with a school-record seven straight shutouts. It has given up just two goals all season, the last coming in a 1-1 tie with then No. 18 Michigan on Sept. 13.
Still, the Hoosiers are third in the Big Ten standings with 11 points and a 3-0-2 conference record, trailing Maryland (4-0-2, 14 points) and Michigan (4-1-1, 13 points).
Championship goals remain within reach -- the Big Ten regular season crown, the conference tourney title, and then the big one, the NCAA tourney, which the Hoosiers have won eight times, the last in 2012.
"It's still within our grasp if we do our job," Yeagley says of a 15th Big Ten championship.
IU is winning for many reasons -- great play, stifling defense, elite coaching, efficient offense, tenacity, resiliency, leadership, team chemistry and more. It's also winning from disappointment, determination honed after missing out on dominant winning the last four years.
"We've got an edgy group," Yeagley says. "This group wants to win. All teams are driven, we've had that in the past, but this group feels it's been short on a few big things. That's been an integral drive. I felt all offseason this group wanted something big."
So the Hoosiers practice and play as if they can will themselves to the soccer mountaintop. They push themselves as hard or harder than coaches do.
"I love the way they're playing," Yeagley says. "It's a daily approach to stay on edge. It's a habit. You can't give guys that edge. They have to have it. Keep stoking it."
Is edge recruited or developed?
"We recruit it," Yeagley says. "When you have guys who have it, you find other ones. If someone slips, someone else brings them in. Keeping that fire is fun. It's not easy, but it's a fun challenge."
Ultimately, that means player leadership tops coach direction.
"We give a lot of ownership to the guys," Yeagley says. "They're the ones who are shaping us. We're helping them, but they're doing it.
"If you don't have that, you'll never be successful the way you want it. There's no guarantee, but any team that is coach-only driven will fall flat somewhere. To do any sustained run, you need (player leadership), older guys showing the younger ones, stressing the importance of doing the small things well. I think this program has always had that."
The Hoosiers continue playing to their No. 1 ranking. Can they sustain it for basically two more months?
"It's important to stay in the present," Yeagley says. "You're always reevaluating the balance of the enjoyment of it with how certain things have to go right to enjoy what we're enjoying. That keeps them calibrated.
"In some ways we're kind of living in the moment with the shutout thing. That's pretty cool to be able to do that. We didn't set that goal, but it happened and we enjoy it."
There's plenty to enjoy. IU hasn't been unbeaten this late in a season since 1997, when it went 23-0 under coach Jerry Yeagley before losing to UCLA in the national semifinals.
That's the closest the Hoosiers have come to a perfect season. They won the 1983 national championship with a 21-1-4 record. They were 18-1-1 to reach the 1976 national title game.
The last unbeaten national champion was Santa Clara, which went 20-0-3 in 1989.
An undefeated record was not a Cream 'n Crimson goal at the start of the season. Not in this era of unprecedented national parity. For now, IU has other priorities, starting with Ohio State on Sunday.
"Ohio State is a big, physical team," Yeagley says. "They're a little unpredictable. It's hard to game plan on what we expect to see from them. They'll be a tough team to play against."
But then, so is Indiana.
"This group is leaving its mark," Yeagley says.
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind - Todd Yeagley pushes for Indiana soccer greatness beneath an iron-gray overcast sky.
"Move it," he shouts.
Rain threatens, but doesn't fall. The practice field is damp, but not slick. Cool air offers a hint of autumn that refuses to settle in.
"Move it!" Yeagley shouts again. He stands in front of a goal directing a practice drill of quick touches and crisp passes against aggressive defense. He is teacher more than drill sergeant; a conductor striving for collective mastery.
"You have to see the field," he says. After a moment, when players do see, he offers a one-word assessment, "Good!"
In this season to remember, good often becomes great, and everyone wearing Cream 'n Crimson strives to sustain it.
And so, a few moments later …
"You've got numbers," Yeagley says. "Go! Nice ball!"
Hoosiers who have played the majority of minutes in this record-setting season watch from the sideline. Their training is done. They stretch and warm down while the rest work -- on conditioning, on skill improvement, on vision, timing, awareness, and more.
Amidst it all is this over-riding impression:
Players are having fun -- and want more.
"This team wants to leave its mark," Yeagley says, "and there's no better way to do that than with titles."
Yeagley didn't build a top-ranked squad without focusing on player development and the art of seeing what will happen on the field before it does. These Hoosiers set a brisk practice pace less than 24 hours after a 2-0 victory over No. 19 Kentucky, three days before a Big Ten home clash with No. 17 Ohio State, with a trip to No. 16 Butler in Indianapolis to follow three days after that.
A home match against Wisconsin is next before an Oct. 29 showdown at No. 5 Michigan State wraps up the regular season and, perhaps, determines the conference champion.
IU is 11-0-2 with a school-record seven straight shutouts. It has given up just two goals all season, the last coming in a 1-1 tie with then No. 18 Michigan on Sept. 13.
Still, the Hoosiers are third in the Big Ten standings with 11 points and a 3-0-2 conference record, trailing Maryland (4-0-2, 14 points) and Michigan (4-1-1, 13 points).
Championship goals remain within reach -- the Big Ten regular season crown, the conference tourney title, and then the big one, the NCAA tourney, which the Hoosiers have won eight times, the last in 2012.
"It's still within our grasp if we do our job," Yeagley says of a 15th Big Ten championship.
IU is winning for many reasons -- great play, stifling defense, elite coaching, efficient offense, tenacity, resiliency, leadership, team chemistry and more. It's also winning from disappointment, determination honed after missing out on dominant winning the last four years.
"We've got an edgy group," Yeagley says. "This group wants to win. All teams are driven, we've had that in the past, but this group feels it's been short on a few big things. That's been an integral drive. I felt all offseason this group wanted something big."
So the Hoosiers practice and play as if they can will themselves to the soccer mountaintop. They push themselves as hard or harder than coaches do.
"I love the way they're playing," Yeagley says. "It's a daily approach to stay on edge. It's a habit. You can't give guys that edge. They have to have it. Keep stoking it."
Is edge recruited or developed?
"We recruit it," Yeagley says. "When you have guys who have it, you find other ones. If someone slips, someone else brings them in. Keeping that fire is fun. It's not easy, but it's a fun challenge."
Ultimately, that means player leadership tops coach direction.
"We give a lot of ownership to the guys," Yeagley says. "They're the ones who are shaping us. We're helping them, but they're doing it.
"If you don't have that, you'll never be successful the way you want it. There's no guarantee, but any team that is coach-only driven will fall flat somewhere. To do any sustained run, you need (player leadership), older guys showing the younger ones, stressing the importance of doing the small things well. I think this program has always had that."
The Hoosiers continue playing to their No. 1 ranking. Can they sustain it for basically two more months?
"It's important to stay in the present," Yeagley says. "You're always reevaluating the balance of the enjoyment of it with how certain things have to go right to enjoy what we're enjoying. That keeps them calibrated.
"In some ways we're kind of living in the moment with the shutout thing. That's pretty cool to be able to do that. We didn't set that goal, but it happened and we enjoy it."
There's plenty to enjoy. IU hasn't been unbeaten this late in a season since 1997, when it went 23-0 under coach Jerry Yeagley before losing to UCLA in the national semifinals.
That's the closest the Hoosiers have come to a perfect season. They won the 1983 national championship with a 21-1-4 record. They were 18-1-1 to reach the 1976 national title game.
The last unbeaten national champion was Santa Clara, which went 20-0-3 in 1989.
An undefeated record was not a Cream 'n Crimson goal at the start of the season. Not in this era of unprecedented national parity. For now, IU has other priorities, starting with Ohio State on Sunday.
"Ohio State is a big, physical team," Yeagley says. "They're a little unpredictable. It's hard to game plan on what we expect to see from them. They'll be a tough team to play against."
But then, so is Indiana.
"This group is leaving its mark," Yeagley says.
FB: Nico Radicic - Spring Practice No. 11
Tuesday, April 21
FB: Drew Evans - Spring Practice No. 11
Tuesday, April 21
FB: Bray Lynch - Spring Practice No. 11
Tuesday, April 21
FB: Spring Practice - Curt Cignetti Press Conference
Thursday, April 16