IU upsets No. 1 Notre Dame, advances

SOUTH BEND — Sophomore forward Eriq Zavaleta scored his first postseason collegiate goal in the 102nd minute, and No. 16 Indiana defeated No. 1 Notre Dame 2-1 Sunday afternoon at Alumni Stadium in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.

Junior defender Matt McKain, 25 yards from goal on the right side, crossed to Nikita Kotlov 11 yards in front of goal. The junior midfielder skipped the ball off his head on to Zavaleta, waiting at the far post. Zavaleta converted, and Indiana celebrated its first Elite 8 berth under IU Coach Todd Yeagley.

Zavaleta said his goal couldn’t have happened at a better moment.

“I’m proud of this team and the way we fought,” Zavaleta said. “We knew we had to play good to beat a good Notre Dame team. We knew it, came out and played one of the better games I’ve ever seen this team play.”

The Hoosiers outshot the Irish 8-2 in the first half, but Notre Dame scored first. Kyle Richard, a halftime substitution, scored his third goal of the season in the 54th minute.

“You could see it in the guys’ faces,” Yeagley said. “They were not rattled. They realized how well we were playing. We felt we would continue to get chances. We stayed the course.”

Fifty-six seconds later, IU equalized. Junior midfielder A.J. Corrado’s cross from the end line on the right side traveled over goalkeeper’s Will Walsh’s hand, and Kotlov was at the near post to score his fourth goal of the tournament.

“Your playmakers make plays,” Yeagley said. “All credit to A.J. His technique and his ability to unbalance is just special. That’s a big reason we are where we are right now.”

For Notre Dame, Ryan Finley did not attempt his first shot until the 78th minute. The Irish senior forward led the team with 21 goals this season.

“We made sure he stayed in front of us,” Bradford said. “We did our best to make sure he wasn’t dangerous and getting chances that he may have against other teams. I think we did a good job.”

Finley attempted three shots all game, and none were on goal.

The Hoosiers spent much of the first overtime session defending. Though they attempted only one shot, the Hoosiers withstood Notre Dame’s attack and reached the second overtime.

Bradford said the fact the win came in overtime, the Hoosiers’ second this season, makes it sweeter.

“We live for these games,” he said. “We strive and we thrive for these games. We love it when it goes to overtime, if it happens. It’s just a great win.”

Zavaleta said the team was confident should penalty kicks have been needed to decide the winner.

They were not, and the seniors have an opportunity to play for a berth in the College Cup.

“Guys did whatever they had physically to do,” Yeagley said. “A lot of players brought their ‘A’ game today. That’s why we’re celebrating in the locker room.

“We’re really going to enjoy this moment.”

The next game for IU is North Carolina. The Hoosiers will travel to Chapel Hill, N.C., Friday to face the No. 9 Tar Heels.

This will be the third time in four years IU has faced North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament, with the Hoosiers losing in 2009 and 2011 to the Tar Heels.