Xavier Coach Andy Fleming called himself a "nobody."
In his press conference following Indiana's 4-1 victory Sunday afternoon at Armstrong Stadium, Fleming said he sent a letter to IU Coach Jerry Yeagley 15 years ago, with aspiration of getting into coaching.
"He let me come to his camp," Fleming said. "There's a lot of Indiana in that team, and there's a lot of Indiana in me. As tough as it was to come out here, it was also a proud moment to bring this team out here today and compete."
The Musketeers had the Hoosiers' attention due in part to two preseason match results in IU Coach Todd Yeagley's first two seasons.
"In 2o10, the very first game that I coached, that fall was against Indiana," Fleming said. "Todd agreed to do it. It was Todd's first game. I came out here and I got on my knees in my hotel room and -- I have no shame saying this: 'Please don't let us lose worse than 6-0 tonight.' We happened to win the game 2-1. And then we went and beat Indiana last year in preseason. I think, because of those two games, they probably respected us more than they might have.
"The building of our program actually started here in many ways, and the first great breakthrough moment for our program was here. Despite the loss today, to go toe-to-toe with Indiana, at Indiana, and be here in the second round, things came full circle in a sense."
Though the Hoosiers ended the Musketeers' season, Fleming thanked the Hoosier program.
"I want to thank Jerry Yeagley, Todd and the whole Indiana soccer family," he said in his opening statements. "It's a big part of my life. I've worked camp here for 15 straight years. I consider Todd and Ernie to be probably my two closest friends in coaching.
"To be able to come here and compete with them, and do it in a classy way, a friendly way, and it was a smooth game, I think that's pretty special."
'A Broken Program'
Fleming paid tribute to his six seniors that played their final game Sunday.
"Five of them went 2-13-1 as freshmen," he said. "(They) were part of a broken program. I won't even call it a broken program--a broken operation. They stayed on board, and really embraced what I was trying to do. This is the first class I've been with for three years where I'm really sad about losing a class, and losing really a core of a program. I want to thank them for helping build this, buying in and really teaching me about who I am as a coach today and putting our blueprint today.
"I think it's safe to say Xavier soccer is on the map"
