HOOVER, Ala.--The Hoosiers' first goal of the season, scored by Eriq Zavaleta, came due to A.J. Corrado's hustle. Zavaleta won Patrick Doody's cross two yards inside Tomas Gomez's six-yard box, beating the Georgetown goalkeeper to the ball and heading it back to the middle of goal, where Nikita Kotlov tapped it in to the open net to score his fifth goal of the tournament.
IU survived a shot by the Hoyas' Ian Christianson that bounced off the right side of the post in the 89th minute. Senior goalkeeper Luis Soffner claimed the ball off the bounce, and Indiana was not threatened again.
Game ball goes to: Kotlov. The junior midfielder posted a hat trick against Xavier, and scored the game-winning goal against Notre Dame. He scored the game-winning goal again in the 64th minute to help the Hoosiers win their eighth national championship.
Stat of the game: 4. IU won four one-goal games en route to the national championship.
Stat of the game II: 3. Three of those four matches were 1-0 finals. The Hoosiers also upset three single-seeded teams to win it all.
Turning point: Freshman forward/midfielder Femi Hollinger-Janzen cleared the ball from the center of the field in his team's attacking third. He cleared it 50 yards, and Gomez was not able to make solid contact to return the favor until five seconds remained.
Unsung hero: Kyle Sparks. After not playing a minute this tournament, the Avon, Ind., native played a crucial role on both ends on the biggest stage.
Unsung hero II: Dylan Lax. Due to Jacob Bushue's injury, Lax manned Bushue's holding midfield position and played well. The numbers don't show it, but Lax played a significant role in the Hoosiers' completion of their #Q48.
