Players milled about after the final whistle blew. No. 25 Indiana men’s soccer had just defeated Rutgers 5-0, but that result was likely no longer in the forefront of any of their minds.
A group of six Hoosiers huddled in a circle, checking for an update to a game on the other side of the country.
Almost as soon as the players joined together, they disbanded just as quickly. The Bill Armstrong Stadium public address announcer delivered the bad news.
“UCLA...3, Washington 2.”
An otherwise successful Friday night turned overcast — Indiana was not set to make the Big Ten Tournament.
It became official 10 minutes later when the match ended in Seattle, a 4-2 win in favor of the Bruins. The Hoosiers needed a UCLA draw or loss to secure a spot in the four-team conference tournament.
And yet, it was not sadness, anger or frustration that prevailed around Indiana head coach Todd Yeagley’s mind — it was optimism.
“Obviously, it’s a bummer we don’t get a chance at the second prize of the year,” Yeagley said postgame. “But the biggest one is the most important — will always be in our program.”
That biggest prize is the NCAA National Championship. It’s something Indiana has won eight times. It’s something Yeagley won once as a coach in 2012.
And it’s something the Hoosiers believe they have a real shot of attaining this season.
Indiana’s hot start to the season set the team apart as a national championship contender, but the 5-0-1 nonconference record was followed by a 3-3-0 conference record. After losing two straight against No. 1 Maryland on Oct. 24 and Northwestern on Oct. 31, the Hoosiers were down entering Friday.
Winning over Rutgers was necessary to even have a chance to reach the four-team Big Ten Tournament. Yet the more important victory was to show the Hoosiers could bounce back from their defeat to the Wildcats.
Senior forward Palmer Ault labeled the 2-0 loss “tough and ugly.” Friday’s victory was anything but.
“I was very optimistic that we would come and perform well,” Yeagley said. “Maybe one of our more complete performances of the year, so love that — at this time of the year, you want to be playing well.”
Indiana's first goal came from the right foot of freshman forward Colton Swan, whose only other finish this season was against Division III side Hanover College on Oct. 17. Swan followed it up almost exactly 12 minutes later with a header from a corner that reached the back of the net.
The 2-0 halftime lead ballooned to 5-0 within 15 minutes after the break, as Ault, junior forward Clay Murador and redshirt junior defender Breckin Minzey each secured a goal. But with news of UCLA’s victory, the mood dampened around Bill Armstrong Stadium.
And yet, it may not be so bad for Indiana.
“We go to Maryland (in the Big Ten Tournament) and don’t get a result, we may not be any better off than we were not going,” Yeagley said. “Yeah, we could have gone there and won it and be a top four seed. Yeah, I think we could have been, but at the same time, I think we’re in a great spot.”
It’s rest and recovery for the Hoosiers now. Murador netted a finish Friday, his second of the season, but he was “a little banged up.” Sophomore midfielder Charlie Heuer is slowly returning to form with six straight appearances after missing most of the early part of the season.
Not having a game Wednesday affords Indiana that luxury, Yeagley noted. It also allows him to be more detailed in his preparation, without the necessity of planning for an opponent five days away.
“So, our game experience — we have it,” Yeagley said. “Now, it’s can we just fine tune some of the parts of our game? And that’s where the extra training and being fresh and in a controlled environment, not traveling, all those things can be somewhat of an advantage.”
Indiana’s future is unclear until Nov. 17, when the selection committee makes its decision on the NCAA Tournament bracket. Yeagley believes his side is in a great spot — the Hoosiers are a top 16 seed in his eyes, whether it’s because of their No. 9 ranking in the RPI, their strong strength of schedule or their undefeated nonconference record.
But regardless of what the future holds, Yeagley and his squad know what the expectation is. The locker room was upset postgame, the head coach said, but it was also “confident” and “feeling good.”
Ault and his teammates believe they’re one of the best teams in the nation. The expectation of IU soccer is to win, he added.
Those expectations come with eight national championship banners.
From this point on, Ault and Indiana are playing each game for a ninth.
Follow reporters Elakai Anela (@elakai_anela and eanela@iu.edu) and Mateo Fuentes-Rohwer (@mateo_frohwer and matfuent@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana men's soccer season.
