¡Viva México!

It might have been wearing green road jerseys, but the Mexico Under-20 national soccer team definitely had a home-field advantage.\nMexico showed the IU men’s soccer team that it is deserving of international recognition, both on and off the field. IU fell to Mexico 2-0, in front of a jam-packed Bill Armstrong Stadium on Sunday. \nMexico soccer fans made up the majority of the 5,728 in attendance, and they made their presence known. The crowd erupted in chants of “Me-xi-co” and “Viva Mexico!” throughout the exhibition game, overpowering cheers from IU fans and the IU soccer pep band. There was even a mariachi band, which entertained both the Mexico and IU fans from the rooftop of the press box during the game and on the field at halftime. \n“Hopefully that’s a learning lesson,” IU coach Mike Freitag joked after the game. “Our guys learned from the Mexican players; hopefully our fans learned from the Mexican fans.” \nFreshman defender Ofori Sarkodie agreed with his coach, saying the atmosphere contributed to the already electric game. \n“It’s always a great challenge, especially in an atmosphere like this, to go out there and compete.” he said. \nThe ambiance on the field was arguably as intense, as the game proved to be a physical one for both teams. The referees penalized IU with three yellow cards, while Mexico had two.\nDespite the on- and off-field emotions, the Mexicans channeled their energy into successful play.\nA mere 1:50 into the game, Mexico maneuvered the ball into dangerous territory for the Hoosiers before IU was able to kick it away. This Mexico-controlled game proved to be a trend – Mexico out-shot the Hoosiers 8-2 in the contest. \nToward the end of the first half, Mexican forward Pablo Barrera took a pass from his teammate deep into IU’s half of the field. IU’s freshman defender Lee Hagedorn raised his hand, pleading to the referee for an offsides call. But in the split second Hagedorn took to protest, Barrera continued his assault toward the goal. He centered a pass to teammate Javier Hernandez, who buried the ball in the left side of the goal.\nAfter the first goal, the on-field tension escalated, not only between teams but between the players and referees. IU sophomore midfielder Brad Ring was called for a rough foul, which resulted in a heated argument between Ring, Sarkodie, several Mexico players and a referee. Tempers died down and Mexico was awarded a free kick, but the rough play continued throughout the game. \nMidway through the second half, IU sophomore goalkeeper Chay Cain collided with a Mexico attacker while the two fought for control of a loose ball. Cain was penalized with a yellow card, and Mexico was awarded a free kick just outside the IU penalty box. In the 76th minute, Mexico defender Hector Moreno sent the ball just over Cain’s fingertips and into the net. The goal essentially sealed the win for Mexico, as the Hoosiers were unable to get into scoring position for the rest of the game. \nDespite Mexico’s two goals, Cain made three saves on the day.\nThough the Hoosiers came out on the losing end, Freitag and the players said they know this was a great learning experience for the team – mentally and physically. Although the team would have liked to end its spring season with a win, some players said it only increases the drive to succeed next fall. \n“The result was kind of disappointing,” freshman midfielder Eric Alexander said. “But, at the same time, it was a good test for us, and it shows we need to come back next fall and work on some stuff.”