Indiana University Athletics
DiPrimio: IU’s National Title Quest Is Clear – Be the ‘Last One Standing’
12/12/2022 8:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
CARY, N.C. – Finish the job.
Or, if you prefer:
Find a way.
Simple words with a complex reality for Indiana as it aims for a ninth national men's soccer title. The No. 13-seeded Hoosiers (14-4-6) face No. 3-seed Syracuse (18-2-4) Monday night at Cary, N.C., hoping the fourth time's the charm.
Over the past 10 years, in three previous College Cup attempts at a ninth championship, Indiana lost once in the semifinals and twice in the finals in overtime.
"You don't know when the next time is coming," coach Todd Yeagley says. "It's hard to be this consistent. That's what most unique about this program."
This is why Yeagley coaches, as his father Jerry did before. To not just play the "beautiful game," but to win, even dominate.
With a record 36 consecutive NCAA tourney appearances, a record 22 final four appearances and a record 17 title-game berths, the Hoosiers have certainly done that.
"It's what drives me all the time," Yeagley says. "It's a constant push to get the team to these positions. The feeling that you have in that moment (of winning it all) is indescribable. It's like an out-of-body feeling.
"So much has to happen to be the last one standing with the trophy. So much has to go right in so many areas."
The Hoosiers' eight titles – six by Jerry Yeagley, one each by Mike Freitag and Todd Yeagley – are second to Saint Louis' 10, but Saint Louis' last championship came in 1973, right as IU was emerging as a soccer superpower.
Indiana's half-century of dominance smacks into a decade of national parity. Since the Hoosiers' last title in 2012, seven different teams have won championships. Stanford won three straight from 2015-17. The Big Ten's Maryland won in 2018 when it beat IU in the semifinals and Akron in the finals.
Through it all, no matter the era or the influx of international players or changes in style, IU alone remain a constant force.
"The fact we've been in this position consistently through the 50 years is what I'm most proud of," Yeagley says. "It's amazing to be part of it."
Indiana's 2017 team had one of the greatest seasons in college soccer history. It was seconds and inches away from a rare undefeated record (including six ties). But those seconds and inches went Stanford's way. The Cardinal won in the closing seconds of the second overtime period, and greatness was lost. Indiana finished 18-1-6.
These Hoosiers aren't unbeaten, but they are tested and toughened. Defeat and adversity have steeled them for anything, perhaps for winning those defining seconds and inches.
"The job is not done," goalkeeper JT Harms says. "We're looking forward to getting back on the pitch and getting that ninth star."
A unit that had its shaky defensive moments in August and September, heck, even in mid-November if you consider the 3-1 loss to Rutgers in the Big Ten tourney final, has become rigid.
The Hoosiers have not allowed a goal in four NCAA tourney games, a span of 360 minutes. The last time a team did that in reaching the title game was that 2018 Maryland squad, and it's just the seventh time it's happened overall.
"All 11 guys defend and attack," senior forward Ryan Wittenbrink says. "That makes us different. It makes us hard to score against."
No one appreciates that more than Harms, a Xavier transfer in his first season in cream and crimson.
"There were a lot of ups and downs," he says. "We played a great schedule and were able to work some things out. It starts with our forwards and it trickles down the field."
It took a while to figure out the goalkeeping after the departure of superstar Roman Celentano to Major League Soccer. Harms and Bryant Pratt shared the early responsibility.
There were struggles.
Harms was the goalkeeper in the season opener at No. 1 Clemson (the defending national champ) and allowed three goals in defeat. Pratt played the next game against a strong Portland team and allowed three goals in a tie. Pratt and Harms shared goalkeeping duties in the next game, a 1-0 victory over St. Johns.
Harms was in for a three-game run against No. 9 Akron, No. 20 Butler and No. 22 Ohio State, going 2-1 and allowing a combined three goal.
By the end of the regular season, Harms was 9-3-4, Pratt was 5-1-2, and Harms had emerged.
Boy, did he emerge.
If you want proof, consider the three saves he had in Friday night's 2-0 semifinal win over Pitt, including a pair of diving stops as spectacular as any a Hoosier goalkeeper has had amid College Cup pressure.
"JT has been awesome," Wittenbrink says. "He's stepped up to the plate. The team has confidence in him, and our back line is playing really well."
Harms credits his improved play to the competition with Pratt, Austin Himebaugh and Cooper Johnson, combined with the guidance of assistant coach Christian Lomeli, a former IU goalkeeper.
"We have a great group of goalkeepers and a fantastic goalkeeper coach," Harms says. "The environment is very competitive. At IU, you've got to get the job done. We know that.
"We've been working hard. It's been frustrating at times. There were some games we let slip away. All credit to the training environment we have and preparing each other for these events. It's trusting the process and the phenomenal support from teammates and coaches. It's building off that confidence."
The defensive backline of All-America Daniel Munie, Joey Maher, Brett Bebej and Nyk Sessock has found its health and rhythm.
"We have a fantastic backline," Harms says. "In my opinion, we have four All-Americans. That confidence radiates throughout the team.
"We really improved on the little details. When we have to make a play, we make a play and move on. We have to keep coming."
IU doesn't have the nation's most explosive offense – College Cup-qualifier Creighton led the country with 65 goals, the Hoosiers have 42, Syracuse has 46 – but its versatility allows attacks from every position.
Twenty players have tallied at least one point, 13 have scored at least four. Forwards Wittenbrink (11 goals, 29 points), Tommy Mihalic (seven goals, 16 points), Herbert Endeley (three and 12) and Samuel Sarver (four and 11) are as imposing a front four as any in the country.
"All of us can score," Wittenbrink says, "so teams can't hone in on one individual. If they do that, other people will be open.
"It helps to be balanced and dynamic. It's hard to deal with when you have a front four where everyone is confident and playing well."
Take Endeley, whose scoring knack and overall playmaking has been especially effective against Pitt (two game-winning goals in recent years, plus a decisive assist Friday night).
"He's incredible," Mihalic says. "Teams have to worry about him. Every game he causes problems. It opens the game for other guys. He's a great asset to have. He can always make stuff happen."
Endeley, a perennial All-Big Ten choice, thrives with quiet effectiveness. Yeagley calls him IU's "game changer."
"You need that element on your team. He brings oxygen to the game."
Doing so sometimes finds Endeley doing too much. At those times, Yeagley says, "You pick and choose when you talk to him about things. He's a quiet kid. He doesn't have a lot of highs and lows, which is a good thing. Sometimes you want him to have more of a response in certain scenarios."
Hard coaching doesn't bother him.
"You can be very direct with Herb," Yeagley says. "He handles constructive criticism very well. He responds to it.
"What we've seen is he'll go up and down a little bit, so you have to revisit it. He's always open to that. Would you like not to have to revisit some things? Sure. He's still a young player. Some things don't come as easy for him as other things.
"As a coach, you have to realize his strengths are different. He can be misinterpreted because he's so quiet in his nature.
"We have learned each other. It's important not to over-react in certain situations with Herb because he does respond differently than other players."
Syracuse, which has 14 international players on its roster to IU's one, is unbeaten in 13 straight matches. It has not lost since an Oct. 4 game against then-No. 22 Cornell 2-1. It came back to beat Cornell in the NCAA tourney. Its other loss was to Virginia in late September. It got past the Cavaliers in the ACC tourney.
The Orange also have two victories over Clemson, once when the Tigers were ranked No. 1. They also have beaten then-No. 22 Notre Dame, No. 4 Wake Forest and No. 11 Louisville.
Yeagley says this game, unlike the Pitt match, will be "more of a boxing match back and forth."
"Second balls will be key. The reading of those. Where they'll land. Where we position ourselves in relation to visual cues.
"And, as always this time of year, restarts will be very important."
Syracuse is led by a pair of All-Americans in Levonte Johnson (11 goals, 28 points) and Nathan Opoku (10 goals, 27 points). Four other players have scored at least 10 points. Goalkeeper Russell Sheeley has allowed 16 goals in 23 games, for a 0.68 goals against average.
"They're a big team," Yeagley says. "They're physical. They have difference makers. Their two strikers are a handful. They are very well built in the center.
"There's a reason why they've won 18 games. They're very balanced. They have a lot of belief. It will be a great challenge."
The Orange have won all four of their NCAA tourney matches by one goal, including one in overtime.
"We simplified things and allowed our quality to come through," coach Ian McIntyre says. "We matured over the last year. We've shown resilience. We don't panic in big moments."
Adds Yeagley: "Like many finals, it will be a frantic pace at the start. Both teams will try to instill their will on the game."
Fifty years of cream and crimson soccer excellence has produced lots of program-invested alumni – including 49 All-Americans and seven national player of the year award winners. IU's entire coaching staff – Yeagley, Lomeli, Kevin Robson, Tanner Thompson and Jeremiah Gutjahr – played for the Hoosiers.
"The term 'family' is overused," Yeagley says, "but this program is a family to the core."
A large group of alumni from every era, as well as Hoosier fans overall, are expected to attend the title game.
"There's a lot of love," Yeagley says. "We feel it. We know this means a lot to everyone -- the ones who wore the jersey and to Indiana fans.
"Some of them might not be huge soccer lovers, but they love IU. We know how much this means to them. We want to give them a lot of joy."
In other words, finish the job
"What's been built here is special," Harms says. "We're fortunate to share that with the fans. "We want this result for everyone involved in the program."
In other words, find a way.
IUHoosiers.com
CARY, N.C. – Finish the job.
Or, if you prefer:
Find a way.
Simple words with a complex reality for Indiana as it aims for a ninth national men's soccer title. The No. 13-seeded Hoosiers (14-4-6) face No. 3-seed Syracuse (18-2-4) Monday night at Cary, N.C., hoping the fourth time's the charm.
Over the past 10 years, in three previous College Cup attempts at a ninth championship, Indiana lost once in the semifinals and twice in the finals in overtime.
"You don't know when the next time is coming," coach Todd Yeagley says. "It's hard to be this consistent. That's what most unique about this program."
This is why Yeagley coaches, as his father Jerry did before. To not just play the "beautiful game," but to win, even dominate.
With a record 36 consecutive NCAA tourney appearances, a record 22 final four appearances and a record 17 title-game berths, the Hoosiers have certainly done that.
"It's what drives me all the time," Yeagley says. "It's a constant push to get the team to these positions. The feeling that you have in that moment (of winning it all) is indescribable. It's like an out-of-body feeling.
"So much has to happen to be the last one standing with the trophy. So much has to go right in so many areas."
The Hoosiers' eight titles – six by Jerry Yeagley, one each by Mike Freitag and Todd Yeagley – are second to Saint Louis' 10, but Saint Louis' last championship came in 1973, right as IU was emerging as a soccer superpower.
Indiana's half-century of dominance smacks into a decade of national parity. Since the Hoosiers' last title in 2012, seven different teams have won championships. Stanford won three straight from 2015-17. The Big Ten's Maryland won in 2018 when it beat IU in the semifinals and Akron in the finals.
Through it all, no matter the era or the influx of international players or changes in style, IU alone remain a constant force.
"The fact we've been in this position consistently through the 50 years is what I'm most proud of," Yeagley says. "It's amazing to be part of it."
********
Indiana's 2017 team had one of the greatest seasons in college soccer history. It was seconds and inches away from a rare undefeated record (including six ties). But those seconds and inches went Stanford's way. The Cardinal won in the closing seconds of the second overtime period, and greatness was lost. Indiana finished 18-1-6.
These Hoosiers aren't unbeaten, but they are tested and toughened. Defeat and adversity have steeled them for anything, perhaps for winning those defining seconds and inches.
"The job is not done," goalkeeper JT Harms says. "We're looking forward to getting back on the pitch and getting that ninth star."
A unit that had its shaky defensive moments in August and September, heck, even in mid-November if you consider the 3-1 loss to Rutgers in the Big Ten tourney final, has become rigid.
The Hoosiers have not allowed a goal in four NCAA tourney games, a span of 360 minutes. The last time a team did that in reaching the title game was that 2018 Maryland squad, and it's just the seventh time it's happened overall.
"All 11 guys defend and attack," senior forward Ryan Wittenbrink says. "That makes us different. It makes us hard to score against."
No one appreciates that more than Harms, a Xavier transfer in his first season in cream and crimson.
"There were a lot of ups and downs," he says. "We played a great schedule and were able to work some things out. It starts with our forwards and it trickles down the field."
It took a while to figure out the goalkeeping after the departure of superstar Roman Celentano to Major League Soccer. Harms and Bryant Pratt shared the early responsibility.
There were struggles.
Harms was the goalkeeper in the season opener at No. 1 Clemson (the defending national champ) and allowed three goals in defeat. Pratt played the next game against a strong Portland team and allowed three goals in a tie. Pratt and Harms shared goalkeeping duties in the next game, a 1-0 victory over St. Johns.
Harms was in for a three-game run against No. 9 Akron, No. 20 Butler and No. 22 Ohio State, going 2-1 and allowing a combined three goal.
By the end of the regular season, Harms was 9-3-4, Pratt was 5-1-2, and Harms had emerged.
Boy, did he emerge.
If you want proof, consider the three saves he had in Friday night's 2-0 semifinal win over Pitt, including a pair of diving stops as spectacular as any a Hoosier goalkeeper has had amid College Cup pressure.
"JT has been awesome," Wittenbrink says. "He's stepped up to the plate. The team has confidence in him, and our back line is playing really well."
Harms credits his improved play to the competition with Pratt, Austin Himebaugh and Cooper Johnson, combined with the guidance of assistant coach Christian Lomeli, a former IU goalkeeper.
"We have a great group of goalkeepers and a fantastic goalkeeper coach," Harms says. "The environment is very competitive. At IU, you've got to get the job done. We know that.
"We've been working hard. It's been frustrating at times. There were some games we let slip away. All credit to the training environment we have and preparing each other for these events. It's trusting the process and the phenomenal support from teammates and coaches. It's building off that confidence."
The defensive backline of All-America Daniel Munie, Joey Maher, Brett Bebej and Nyk Sessock has found its health and rhythm.
"We have a fantastic backline," Harms says. "In my opinion, we have four All-Americans. That confidence radiates throughout the team.
"We really improved on the little details. When we have to make a play, we make a play and move on. We have to keep coming."
********
IU doesn't have the nation's most explosive offense – College Cup-qualifier Creighton led the country with 65 goals, the Hoosiers have 42, Syracuse has 46 – but its versatility allows attacks from every position.
Twenty players have tallied at least one point, 13 have scored at least four. Forwards Wittenbrink (11 goals, 29 points), Tommy Mihalic (seven goals, 16 points), Herbert Endeley (three and 12) and Samuel Sarver (four and 11) are as imposing a front four as any in the country.
"All of us can score," Wittenbrink says, "so teams can't hone in on one individual. If they do that, other people will be open.
"It helps to be balanced and dynamic. It's hard to deal with when you have a front four where everyone is confident and playing well."
Take Endeley, whose scoring knack and overall playmaking has been especially effective against Pitt (two game-winning goals in recent years, plus a decisive assist Friday night).
"He's incredible," Mihalic says. "Teams have to worry about him. Every game he causes problems. It opens the game for other guys. He's a great asset to have. He can always make stuff happen."
Endeley, a perennial All-Big Ten choice, thrives with quiet effectiveness. Yeagley calls him IU's "game changer."
"You need that element on your team. He brings oxygen to the game."
Doing so sometimes finds Endeley doing too much. At those times, Yeagley says, "You pick and choose when you talk to him about things. He's a quiet kid. He doesn't have a lot of highs and lows, which is a good thing. Sometimes you want him to have more of a response in certain scenarios."
Hard coaching doesn't bother him.
"You can be very direct with Herb," Yeagley says. "He handles constructive criticism very well. He responds to it.
"What we've seen is he'll go up and down a little bit, so you have to revisit it. He's always open to that. Would you like not to have to revisit some things? Sure. He's still a young player. Some things don't come as easy for him as other things.
"As a coach, you have to realize his strengths are different. He can be misinterpreted because he's so quiet in his nature.
"We have learned each other. It's important not to over-react in certain situations with Herb because he does respond differently than other players."
********
Syracuse, which has 14 international players on its roster to IU's one, is unbeaten in 13 straight matches. It has not lost since an Oct. 4 game against then-No. 22 Cornell 2-1. It came back to beat Cornell in the NCAA tourney. Its other loss was to Virginia in late September. It got past the Cavaliers in the ACC tourney.
The Orange also have two victories over Clemson, once when the Tigers were ranked No. 1. They also have beaten then-No. 22 Notre Dame, No. 4 Wake Forest and No. 11 Louisville.
Yeagley says this game, unlike the Pitt match, will be "more of a boxing match back and forth."
"Second balls will be key. The reading of those. Where they'll land. Where we position ourselves in relation to visual cues.
"And, as always this time of year, restarts will be very important."
Syracuse is led by a pair of All-Americans in Levonte Johnson (11 goals, 28 points) and Nathan Opoku (10 goals, 27 points). Four other players have scored at least 10 points. Goalkeeper Russell Sheeley has allowed 16 goals in 23 games, for a 0.68 goals against average.
"They're a big team," Yeagley says. "They're physical. They have difference makers. Their two strikers are a handful. They are very well built in the center.
"There's a reason why they've won 18 games. They're very balanced. They have a lot of belief. It will be a great challenge."
The Orange have won all four of their NCAA tourney matches by one goal, including one in overtime.
"We simplified things and allowed our quality to come through," coach Ian McIntyre says. "We matured over the last year. We've shown resilience. We don't panic in big moments."
Adds Yeagley: "Like many finals, it will be a frantic pace at the start. Both teams will try to instill their will on the game."
********
Fifty years of cream and crimson soccer excellence has produced lots of program-invested alumni – including 49 All-Americans and seven national player of the year award winners. IU's entire coaching staff – Yeagley, Lomeli, Kevin Robson, Tanner Thompson and Jeremiah Gutjahr – played for the Hoosiers.
"The term 'family' is overused," Yeagley says, "but this program is a family to the core."
A large group of alumni from every era, as well as Hoosier fans overall, are expected to attend the title game.
"There's a lot of love," Yeagley says. "We feel it. We know this means a lot to everyone -- the ones who wore the jersey and to Indiana fans.
"Some of them might not be huge soccer lovers, but they love IU. We know how much this means to them. We want to give them a lot of joy."
In other words, finish the job
"What's been built here is special," Harms says. "We're fortunate to share that with the fans. "We want this result for everyone involved in the program."
In other words, find a way.
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