Bradley holds back IU

The Hoosiers’ season ended Wednesday night when they were knocked out of the NCAA Tournament by the Bradley Braves in penalty kicks. \nIn their 32nd postseason appearance as a varsity team, the Braves outshot the Hoosiers, 5-4 in penalty kicks, following two overtimes that did not break the stalemate. The seven-time national champions lost to a team that had never won a NCAA Tournament game until last week.\nDespite the frustrating loss, IU coach Mike Freitag was proud of his team, both in this game and in \ntheir season.\n“I want to commend my team for an outstanding year,” Freitag said. “It didn’t end the way we wanted, but I was proud of this team. I know this team will continue to grow.”\nIU was the first to strike in the game. Freshman Rich Balchan brought the ball up the right side of the field on a fast break, where he was met by two defenders. Balchan crossed the ball into the middle of the 18-yard box, where junior John Mellencamp sent a rocket into to back of the net at the 1:37 mark. \nWith a little more than 16 minutes left in the first half, the Hoosiers lost Hermann Trophy semi-finalist Brad Ring to a sprained ankle, and his absence made an obvious impact in the second half. \nFrom the very beginning of the second half, the Hoosiers had a difficult time retaining possession of the ball. Not only were possessions lost, but the Braves made sure to not let any opportunity slip by. Several times, they brought the ball within the six-yard box, where the Hoosiers also had difficulties clearing it out. They managed to keep the ball out of the goal until the 68:35 mark, when Bradley midfielder Steven Brust managed to capitalize in traffic and score the game tying goal. \n“It was just one of those instances where the ball just slipped through,” senior Charley Traylor said. “No one was able to step to it quick enough and they were able to get a shot off.”\nIU stepped their offense up in both overtimes, nearly scoring with a little more than three minutes ticked off the clock in the first overtime. Mellencamp sent a corner kick to sophomore Ofori Sarkodie at the top of the box where he sent it towards goal, but it was tipped by Bradley goalie Mike Haynes over the top and out \nof bounds.\nThis was the first game action the Hoosiers had seen in 17 days. Several members of the team who were plagued with injuries had time to recuperate, including junior Brian Ackley who had been battling a hamstring injury for the latter half of the regular season. Ackley was one of the four Hoosiers who made their shots in the penalty kick period, along with Billy Weaver, Andy Adlard and Eric Alexander. After Bradley made all five of their penalty shots, the game rested in the hands of freshman Michael Roach. Roach sent his shot high, and although the Bradley goalie got his fingers on the ball, it ultimately bounced off the crossbar to seal the victory for the Braves.\nIU goalkeeper Chay Cain said ending a game in penalty kicks is one of the worst parts of soccer, and that it can be a make-or-break situation.\n“You go in with the best expectations possible,” Cain said. “You don’t always come out on the upside. Penalty kicks just come down to that instance, that moment, and you either step up or you don’t.”