Indiana University Athletics
‘Adaptability, Resilience’ Propel IU to National Title Game
5/15/2021 10:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Herbert Endeley hugged, chest-bumped, smiled. Of course he did. The Indiana sophomore forward was a Hoosier hero of the first magnitude.
Todd Yeagley stalked the Sahlen's Stadium field, serious face, focused stare, seeking a hand to shake. Of course he did. There was one more game to win.
Welcome to the aftermath of Friday night's 1-0 College Cup semifinal victory over Pitt that will give second-ranked IU (12-1-2) a second chance at a ninth national championship and its 16th title-game appearance.
"The adaptability of this team is fantastic," Yeagley said. "The resilience is phenomenal. This team has been an absolute joy to coach in a tough year."
Joy extends the season to Monday night's championship game at Cary, N.C.'s WakeMed Soccer Park. The Hoosiers will face Marshall (12-2-3), which beat North Carolina 1-0 in Friday's first semifinal.
"Our guys are having a blast," Yeagley said. "The bonding we've done has taken our team to a new level.
"We've always had good team chemistry, but I feel it's at an all-time high. Everyone knows his role and is 100 percent in it."
IU reached this moment in front of a crowd of 2,667 (about 2,600 more than any of its previous games) thanks to a combination of opportunistic offense (Endeley converted one of Indiana's two shots on goal), concede-nothing defense and, perhaps, a few breaks (one Panther shot hit the crossbar and nearly bounced in; two other attempts just missed; the Hoosiers nearly gave up an own goal).
"The soccer gods weren't looking down on us," Pitt midfielder Jackson Walti said.
Credit a Hoosier strategy that focused on winning the key moments.
"We thought we could keep it tight and wait for the moment," Yeagley said. "We felt we would get those chances. Not a lot of them. Pitt would have a lot of the ball."
It led to Endeley's game-winning goal with 12 minutes left in regulation. He got the ball on the wing off a Nyk Sessock pass, split two defenders, accelerated into open space and drilled an 18-yard strike through an opening as small as a broken Panther heart.
"We've been working on a lot of finishing in practice," Endeley said. "I knew it could possibly take one shot to win the game. All the small details added up and helped us win."
He'd done it before to the Panthers, but that was two years ago during a regular season game lacking College Cup drama. It was his fourth goal of the season and second of the NCAA tourney.
"He's worked so hard on his finishes," Yeagley said. "He's just a great young man."
Pitt dominated the possession time, but not the scoreboard. It had a 14-7 edge in shots, a 7-3 advantage in corner kicks.
This was as much by Hoosier design as Panther style.
"Pitt is an outstanding team," Yeagley said. "With their spacing, the questions they asked defensively of us, we spent a lot of time preparing for this game."
The Panthers (16-4) had controlled play throughout the season, especially during their first three NCAA tourney games, when they outscored opponents 13-1.
IU countered with defensive ferocity.
"It was hard for us to get in the box," Walti said. "We weren't able to get in the spaces. They did a good job of tightening up, keeping us away from chances we usually get."
Added Yeagley: "We jammed spaces well. Their best players touched the ball a little less than in other games."
As far as offense, Yeagley said, "We felt they extend themselves quite a bit offensively. We knew we'd have some good isolation moments and chances. I felt that was the difference in the game. We wanted to be ultra-aggressive in those moments. We wanted to press in those moments."
"You saw that with Herbert."
In the first half, Pitt put on heat with six shots (two on goal) and three corner kicks. It possessed the ball 61 percent of the time.
For the defense-first Hoosiers, it was no reason to stress. They had perhaps the nation's best goalkeeper in Roman Celentano and a quick-strike attack well suited to capitalizing on mistakes or opportunities.
Celentano had a couple big first-half saves, including a diving catch of a header from Valentin Noel, Pitt's Hermann Trophy finalist with 14 goals on his season resume.
IU's Sessock almost inadvertently scored for Pitt, his former team, midway through the first half while trying to clear the ball from the front of the Hoosier goal. Fortunately for the Cream 'n Crimson, the ball went wide.
IU's second-half strategy included getting leading scorer Victor Bezerra more touches and being sharper offensively.
Bezerra got a shot in the first few minutes of the second half. He didn't score, but a tone was set.
A few minutes later, Endeley made a big run that didn't end with a shot, but did showcase his ability shred defenses -- and resulted in an IU corner kick.
A few minutes after that, Bezerra nearly bent in a shot for a goal.
Pitt then just missed scoring. A shot hit the cross bar and the ball nearly bounced in. Video review confirmed it did not.
Play on.
With 12 minutes left, Endeley scored. IU then turned to one of the nation's stingiest defenses.
The Panthers were finished.
"We didn't have enough time," Pitt coach Jay Vidovich said. "We just came up short."
The Hoosiers will face a Marshall team making its first title game appearance. It already has beaten the defending national champ (Georgetown) and the No. 1 team (Clemson).
"They are very good," Yeagley said. "They are similar to what we saw today. They possess the ball. They are heavily international. It will be a neat challenge."
@IndianaMSOC
For all the latest on Indiana University men's soccer, be sure to follow the team at @IndianaMSOC on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
#GoIU
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Herbert Endeley hugged, chest-bumped, smiled. Of course he did. The Indiana sophomore forward was a Hoosier hero of the first magnitude.
Todd Yeagley stalked the Sahlen's Stadium field, serious face, focused stare, seeking a hand to shake. Of course he did. There was one more game to win.
Welcome to the aftermath of Friday night's 1-0 College Cup semifinal victory over Pitt that will give second-ranked IU (12-1-2) a second chance at a ninth national championship and its 16th title-game appearance.
"The adaptability of this team is fantastic," Yeagley said. "The resilience is phenomenal. This team has been an absolute joy to coach in a tough year."
Joy extends the season to Monday night's championship game at Cary, N.C.'s WakeMed Soccer Park. The Hoosiers will face Marshall (12-2-3), which beat North Carolina 1-0 in Friday's first semifinal.
"Our guys are having a blast," Yeagley said. "The bonding we've done has taken our team to a new level.
"We've always had good team chemistry, but I feel it's at an all-time high. Everyone knows his role and is 100 percent in it."
IU reached this moment in front of a crowd of 2,667 (about 2,600 more than any of its previous games) thanks to a combination of opportunistic offense (Endeley converted one of Indiana's two shots on goal), concede-nothing defense and, perhaps, a few breaks (one Panther shot hit the crossbar and nearly bounced in; two other attempts just missed; the Hoosiers nearly gave up an own goal).
"The soccer gods weren't looking down on us," Pitt midfielder Jackson Walti said.
Credit a Hoosier strategy that focused on winning the key moments.
"We thought we could keep it tight and wait for the moment," Yeagley said. "We felt we would get those chances. Not a lot of them. Pitt would have a lot of the ball."
It led to Endeley's game-winning goal with 12 minutes left in regulation. He got the ball on the wing off a Nyk Sessock pass, split two defenders, accelerated into open space and drilled an 18-yard strike through an opening as small as a broken Panther heart.
"We've been working on a lot of finishing in practice," Endeley said. "I knew it could possibly take one shot to win the game. All the small details added up and helped us win."
He'd done it before to the Panthers, but that was two years ago during a regular season game lacking College Cup drama. It was his fourth goal of the season and second of the NCAA tourney.
"He's worked so hard on his finishes," Yeagley said. "He's just a great young man."
Pitt dominated the possession time, but not the scoreboard. It had a 14-7 edge in shots, a 7-3 advantage in corner kicks.
This was as much by Hoosier design as Panther style.
"Pitt is an outstanding team," Yeagley said. "With their spacing, the questions they asked defensively of us, we spent a lot of time preparing for this game."
The Panthers (16-4) had controlled play throughout the season, especially during their first three NCAA tourney games, when they outscored opponents 13-1.
IU countered with defensive ferocity.
"It was hard for us to get in the box," Walti said. "We weren't able to get in the spaces. They did a good job of tightening up, keeping us away from chances we usually get."
Added Yeagley: "We jammed spaces well. Their best players touched the ball a little less than in other games."
As far as offense, Yeagley said, "We felt they extend themselves quite a bit offensively. We knew we'd have some good isolation moments and chances. I felt that was the difference in the game. We wanted to be ultra-aggressive in those moments. We wanted to press in those moments."
"You saw that with Herbert."
In the first half, Pitt put on heat with six shots (two on goal) and three corner kicks. It possessed the ball 61 percent of the time.
For the defense-first Hoosiers, it was no reason to stress. They had perhaps the nation's best goalkeeper in Roman Celentano and a quick-strike attack well suited to capitalizing on mistakes or opportunities.
Celentano had a couple big first-half saves, including a diving catch of a header from Valentin Noel, Pitt's Hermann Trophy finalist with 14 goals on his season resume.
IU's Sessock almost inadvertently scored for Pitt, his former team, midway through the first half while trying to clear the ball from the front of the Hoosier goal. Fortunately for the Cream 'n Crimson, the ball went wide.
IU's second-half strategy included getting leading scorer Victor Bezerra more touches and being sharper offensively.
Bezerra got a shot in the first few minutes of the second half. He didn't score, but a tone was set.
A few minutes later, Endeley made a big run that didn't end with a shot, but did showcase his ability shred defenses -- and resulted in an IU corner kick.
A few minutes after that, Bezerra nearly bent in a shot for a goal.
Pitt then just missed scoring. A shot hit the cross bar and the ball nearly bounced in. Video review confirmed it did not.
Play on.
With 12 minutes left, Endeley scored. IU then turned to one of the nation's stingiest defenses.
The Panthers were finished.
"We didn't have enough time," Pitt coach Jay Vidovich said. "We just came up short."
The Hoosiers will face a Marshall team making its first title game appearance. It already has beaten the defending national champ (Georgetown) and the No. 1 team (Clemson).
"They are very good," Yeagley said. "They are similar to what we saw today. They possess the ball. They are heavily international. It will be a neat challenge."
@IndianaMSOC
For all the latest on Indiana University men's soccer, be sure to follow the team at @IndianaMSOC on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
#GoIU
Players Mentioned
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