Despite large numbers, Mexican fans leave disappointed

The fans of the Mexican U-17 National Team came out to Bill Armstrong Stadium last night in the thousands, donned in sombreros and draped in their country's green, white and red flag. \nAnd as they cheered and chanted while their team ran out of the tunnel onto Yeagley Field, one thing was apparent -- these guys looked like they were going to be loud all night.\nIf you scraped away IU's championship banners and signs, the match could have easily been mistaken for an IU away game.\nBut once the game began, it was Hoosier fans who had something to cheer about.\nRedshirt freshman John Mellencamp (and yes, there is a relation to that other John Mellencamp -- no word on whether Mexican U-17 player Edgar Ivan Pacheco Rodriguez is related to Detroit Tiger catcher Ivan Rodriguez) rocked a perfectly placed ball into the upper left corner of the goal from 18 yards out in the 14th minute and the Hoosiers never looked back.\n"It's a great game for us, it's an extra game we get," said IU coach Mike Freitag. "You look at the crowd at close to 6,000 -- it's an atmosphere you don't see at your everyday soccer game. I love it."\nThe official count on the game's attendance was 5,739 -- good for second-most in Bill Armstrong Stadium history.\nThe Mexican crowd remained raucous for the rest of the first half, but IU's play in the second half silenced them for good.\nThe Hoosiers dominated play the last 45 minutes, accented by junior John Michael Hayden's corner kick into the box that junior Kevin Robson was able to get a foot on and into the goal to notch IU's second and final goal of the night.\nRobson also hit the crossbar twice after he netted his goal. This game could have easily been a 4-0 blowout with Robson capturing a hat trick.\n"Last year, it was different, we were a little flustered," said Mellencamp of the squad's 2-1 loss to the U-17 Mexican squad last year. "This year, we were a little more confident and for that reason I feel like when we hit the field, we were real aggressive. We knew we could play with them and we knew we could win."\nWhile most Mexican fans sat on the visitors' side, the small contingency that sat on IU's side offered a perfect ending to the night. \nDistraught and dejected, the group that once stood waving their flags, chanting and bantering back and forth with IU fans next to them, sat with their heads down.\nAnd as the IU fans next to them cheered and sang along as the pep band played 'Shout' near the end of the match, the Mexican fans slowly filed out of the stands and into the night.\nIt might have taken 85 minutes, but IU fans had finally taken over their stands for the night.