Men's Soccer Turns Tables In NCAA Tournament To Advance To Ninth Consecutive Sweet 16

After Several Heartbreaking OT Losses In The Postseason Recently, IU Pulls One Out In Extra Time On Sunday

Indiana Celebrates Their Last Road Win In The NCAA Tournament Before Today In The 2022 Elite Eight.

While IU has had much success as a whole in the postseason over the last few years, there have also been some heartbreaking moments.

In 2012, IU defeated Notre Dame and North Carolina on the road in thrilling fashion on their way to their last national championship. Since then, things have gone reasonably well in the NCAA Tournament with four more College Cups and nine more Sweet Sixteens (all in the last nine years). However, when each year has ended in the postseason, it has usually been in the most heartbreaking fashion possible starting in 2015.

The same Wake Forest team IU faced today, knocked them out of the NCAA Tournament with a goal in the last five minutes in 2015. In 2016, a golden goal knocked the Hoosiers out of the round of 16 at home. 2017 did see an edge-of-your-seat penalty kick shootout win to advance to the College Cup. However, the national championship ended in all-to-familiar heartbreak with a golden goal from Stanford to take home the trophy instead. 2018 was the only time recently a season ended with a whimper with what was likely Indiana’s best team since the turn of the century. However, one bad night in the first game of the College Cup saw a low-key 2-0 loss to end that year. 2019 was another golden goal loss at home in the Sweet 16. 2020 was another College Cup appearance that ended with a golden goal loss in the title game. 2021 was a golden goal loss at an elite Washington squad in the round of 16.

Finally, in 2022, the NCAA eliminated golden goal overtime and decided it was time to play out the final 20 minutes of the extra session. However, the Hoosiers still managed to lose the national championship in sudden death penalty kicks which is now the only way a game can end suddenly with a score.

IU coach Todd Yeagley said he was very happy to see the postseason extra time modified.

“I love the rule change with the overtime in the tournament,” Yeagley said in the spring of 2022 following the announcement of the modifications. “These are the biggest games of the year and you have teams that are so tight and you should play those 20 minutes. I’d say that even if we’re the ones scoring the first two. I just feel like it’s a really good change. It is such a hard way to have your career finish.”

That was tested on Sunday as IU did score first this time once the extra session started in their 3-2 victory at the Demon Deacons in the second-round of the NCAA Tournament.

Yeagley confirmed despite the walk-off goals no longer being a thing to the Hoosier’s detriment this time, he still is glad it is done the way it is now.

“This new 2x10 I would have liked golden goal tonight,” Yeagley said jokingly. “I think it is the best rule that we’ve made the change.”

Fortunately, for the Cream and Crimson, they were able to see the final minutes out clean on defense for the victory after Hugo Bacharach picked up a brace with his 94th-minute goal.

With the win, IU advances to the Sweet 16 for the ninth consecutive year. They will face Virginia on the road in Charlottesville next Saturday or Sunday at a time to be determined later on ESPN+.

Today was the first overtime victory for the Hoosiers in the NCAA Tournament since the aforementioned 2012 game against the Fighting Irish. It was also just the second postseason road win since that time along with last year’s Elite Eight victory at UNC-Greensboro.

Yeagley said the long road drought was not for a lack of trying.

“Those darn overtimes,” he said. “These overtimes are tough and they have been for us and this was flip the script a little bit. Those were games I thought man, we had as good or more of it and we didn’t come out ahead.”

Sunday was the second earliest (2013 first-round) the team has had to go on the road in the NCAA Tournament since 2000. As a result, this was by far their toughest challenge since then in a second-round game. Indiana responded with a dominant performance and managed to match Wake scores after falling behind 1-0 and 2-1. Bacharach equalized early in the second half and Karsen Henderlong leveled the match in the 73rd minute after the team fell behind again a bit earlier on a penalty kick.

Now an equally tough assignment awaits against the Cavilers next weekend. While they are very similar to what IU saw today, the Demon Deacons were hot early in the season and cooled off as of late. Vice versa, UVA started slow and is now winning at a very high clip. Both sides will come in on a major hot streak with Virginia 7-0-3 since a late September defeat to Notre Dame. The Hoosiers meanwhile have gone 11-1 since an early October draw with Kentucky.

The reward for a victory for IU would be no more long road trips for the rest of the NCAA Tournament. This is because the Elite Eight would take place no further than just over the border in Kalamazoo, Michigan. However, it is most likely to be in the Hoosier State in either Bloomington or South Bend. The College Cup is within eyesight of Indiana, literally, as it will be played in Louisville in the Lynn Family Stadium on the southern end of the Ohio River.

Yeagley said he is not looking past the Cavilers even though the remaining games would be close to home and he wants to win this one badly for a different reason.

“I’m looking forward to going to Virginia,” he said. “They’re a blueblood and second to us in titles. It was my last game as a player. I’ll have a little extra for this one. I’ll try to fuel the team a little bit with my own motivation. These are the games everyone gets excited about in the college landscape.”