Top Stories

Indiana wins eighth NCAA title, topping Georgetown in College Cup final

Photo by ISIPhotos.com

By IVES GALARCEP

It took eight years, but Indiana University finally added their eighth NCAA men’s soccer championship, and they did it in a year when few outside of Bloomington could have seen it coming.

The Hoosiers ended the regular season with just one win in five matches, losing in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament, but rather than doom them, that late-season slide helped them regroup and come together in time to put together a championship run.

That run culminated with an impressive team performance on Sunday, as they outplayed a game but tired-looking Georgetown side. Indiana rode a Nikita Kotlov second-half goal and some stellar work from senior goalkeeper Luis Soffner to post a 1-0 victory over the Hoyas in the College Cup Final in Hoover, Alabama.

With the match scoreless mid-way through the second half, Eriq Zavaleta headed a floating cross to a wide-open Nikita Kotlov, who converted into an open net for yet another tournament goal to give the Hoosiers the lead for good.

Georgetown showed the affects of Friday’s dramatic penalty shootout victory over Maryland, a match that saw the Hoyas play a tough 90 minutes of regulation, then overtime, before winning in penalties. Fatigue was evident in the Hoyas in the first half, with Indiana’s deeper bench giving them the edge in energy and defensive pressure.

Indiana’s midfield outworked the Hoyas, with Kotlov, A.J. Corrado and Harrison Petts buzzing around, and freshman substitute Femi Hollinger-Janzen all causing problems for the Hoyas.

Georgetown freshman forward Brandon Allen struggled for service, and showed tired legs that kept him from having much of an impact. At least until late in the match, when he headed a shot off the crossbar with a minute left in the game. That chance was the best Georgetown had all day.

Soffner recorded two saves for his third consecutive tournament shutout, earning defensive MVP honors. Georgetown junior Steve Neumann was named the tournament’s offensive MVP.

The title was the first won by Todd Yeagley as head coach in just his third season in charge of the Indiana program his legendary coach father Jerry helped turn into a national powerhouse.

What did you think of the match? Impressed with Indiana’s run? Think fatigue cost Georgetown in the end? Which players would you like to see in MLS eventually?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. glad IU won, but i thought Gtown looked like the better team. If they didn’t have the championship a few days after the semi-finals i think Gtown could have pulled a result.

    i hope that they extend the college cup next year and so on, give them at least 3-5 days between semis and finals. Also next year it will be in PPL Park, that should be better than a minor league baseball venue.

    Congrats Hoosiers!

    Reply
  2. The Hoya/Maryland game Friday night was unbeatable in terms of entertainment value.

    A really tough turn around for both teams though, a pretty short window given the double OT on Friday night.

    Also, the venue looked pretty bad . . . . one end of the field was a major factor, Creighton captain wrenched his ankle because of it Friday night. SO disappointing the NCAA would have the most important games of the year on such a poor surface, and in the soccer hotbed of Hoover Alabama at that.

    Reply
  3. Have you ever seen more elation than that picture ?

    I enjoyed the games, but they should move the semis to Wednesday or at least Thursday…..would make for a better game.

    Reply
  4. Although the “MLS prospect” conversation included mostly Georgetown, Maryland, and Creighton players, I thought Indiana showed that they had several serious MLS prospects on their roster. Sure, Zavaleta is one of them, but that’s obvious. I left TRULY impressed by the defensive abilities of Caleb Konstanski and Dylan Lax, and even Kerel Bradford too. Not to mention the promising young freshman Femi Hollinger-Janzen, who is VERY impressive despite still being a bit raw. A shoutout to goalkeeper Luis Soffner too, who had a great College Cup. So confident in the back.

    Reply
  5. Femi Hollinger-Jenzen has some serious potential. I assume he’ll stay at least one more year in college, but would not be surprized to see him in MLS after that

    Reply
  6. I watched the game. I found it a little boring.

    I am happy for Zavaleta and Kotlov. They are the local savants here.

    As for the rest of the game, it seemed like neither team could string a number of quality passes together.

    Reply
  7. Not terribly surprising that there is no response here. The media did a DREADFUL job covering the tournament, not to mention the Cup. I saw all three games in Bham and they were all brilliant. IU’s win over MD in the semi was one for the record books.
    Being relegated to ESPNU (or the PEW, as I like to call it) didn’t do any favors.
    Congrats Hoosiers!

    Reply
    • yes, congrats to the Indiana powerhouse. props to SBI for covering this. i confess i havent kept up with college much, but it’s good to check in on our upcoming talent every now and then.

      well said about an overtime-penalty-shootout victory wearing out Georgetown; this is so key in finals – semi-finals often wear out the mental energy more than anything. so hard to redouble efforts in final.

      Reply

Leave a Comment