Roller coaster season ends

You know, it's funny how things turn out sometimes.\nBefore the season, people asked me what was in store for the 2000 edition of the men's soccer team. My answer was, "With five starters from last year's team gone, it would take this team a while to get on the same page with each other. But when they do get it together, and they will, good things will happen." \nI'm no "swami," but it's safe to say that statement was pretty dead on.\nWith the Hoosiers poised to make another run at postseason glory, it couldn't hurt to take a look back at the peaks and valleys of the roller-coaster that was the regular season. And trust me, there were enough of both to make the ride more exciting than anything your favorite amusement park can offer.\nThe season started on a low point with the adidas Classic. The opening 3-0 loss at the hands of Portland offered little to be excited about, as the Hoosiers were physically manhandled by the Pilots. The following night, IU and UCLA played their typical hard-fought battle, with the Bruins beating IU 2-1, shutting them out of their own tournament.\nA daunting task was ahead of IU the next week, as the team traveled to face two of the top Atlantic Coast Conference teams, Maryland and Virginia, at the Maryland Classic. In both games, the valley the Hoosiers had entered the week before could have become a crater, but IU wouldn't allow it. The Hoosiers overcame 1-0 deficits in both games, winning both contests 2-1 and gaining the confidence coach Jerry Yeagley knew the team needed. The valley had disappeared, and the ride appeared to be headed upward. \nIU hit rock bottom at the Butler Classic. Playing its fourth game in eight days, the Hoosiers were pounded, manhandled and thoroughly whipped by Creighton 4-1. After suffering their worst loss in more than a decade, IU was at another low point.\nAs if it sensed the ride was going to be over too soon, IU used the downward momentum of the Creighton loss to propel itself back to its rightful place as one of the nation's top teams. A new tri-captain and a new-look midfield set were put in place, and a 1-0 win two days later against Florida International was the start of a 10-game win streak, proving the Hoosiers were not down and out, merely on the wrong track for a bit.\nAfter two wins, including the conference opener against Michigan State, the Hoosiers were climbing to the top as they were set to face No. 2 Penn State. Then another setback -- senior keeper T.J. Hannig, an All-American candidate, would be out for 4-6 weeks with a knee injury. Junior backup Colin Rogers kept the team moving forward and the Hoosier offense finally hit top speed. IU overcame a pair of one-goal deficits to beat Penn State 3-2 and kept rolling.\nThe Hoosiers locked up the Big Ten title, going undefeated in the conference for the fifth consecutive season. They won pretty (Michigan 7-0) and they won ugly (Ohio State 1-0), but the important thing was they won, catapulting them near the top of the polls and, more importantly, keeping them in position for one of the top eight seeds in the upcoming NCAA tournament.\nIU rested up for two weeks before ending the season at the Cal-Berkeley Classic during the weekend. As they have the past two years, the Hoosiers lost in the final weekend, this year to fellow No. 1 Stanford 1-0 in overtime. The loss was a minor setback at the most, as the Hoosiers, minus two starting midfielders, played hard in a defensive battle, the types of games IU will play in its postseason tournaments.\nIU's season mark stands at an impressive 13-5. But if you take into account the massive lineup overhaul at the start of the season, some scattered injuries, scoring problems at the beginning of the season and the ability to develop the deepest bench in the country, that "fairly impressive" 13-5 turns into a damn good 13-5. \nThis team has gone on one helluva' ride throughout the regular season, and the postseason ride only gets bumpier. But IU is the only team in the country that has finished that ride the past two seasons. At times, the Hoosiers went through the regular season holding on for their lives. At other points they coasted with their hands in the air. Now it's time to prepare for the biggest, fastest and most dangerous ride of all. \nLuckily for the Hoosiers, this ride seems to be their favorite one in the park.