IU men’s soccer endures familiar heartbreak in national championship loss to Syracuse
Two seasons ago, the Indiana men's soccer team was in the national championship against Marshall. A 0-0 tie sent the match into overtime. Marshall’s Jamil Roberts tapped the ball into the goal to give the Thundering Herd a national championship. It was a walk-off win.
Monday, Indiana was back. Same stage. Same venue. Same ambition. There were several holdovers from the team that lost to Marshall, still fighting for a national championship that had slipped away.
More:LIVE: Indiana men's soccer loses to Syracuse in NCAA championship match on penalty kicks
“When you get there and seeing how close we were to it — it was right at our fingertips and to not win it, it just really puts that fire in your heart to get back there because you know that it’s possible once you do it once,” said Maouloune Goumballe, a holdover from that IU team two seasons ago.
Instead, when it mattered the most, there was heartbreak for Indiana again. Much like two seasons ago, regulation wasn’t enough to decide the match. This season, though, went all the way to penalty kicks. Syracuse prevailed 7-6 in the shootout to capture a national championship. It was Goumballe that missed the penalty before Syracuse's winning make.
So close, yet not enough again.
While the Orange celebrated, Indiana players dealt with pain — crouched down, laying down, face down. In the moment, there’s no easy way to deal with this -- having your dreams ripped out, so suddenly. It was raw, unfiltered heartbreak.
“There’s a lot of emotion, a lot of tears on the field,” IU coach Todd Yeagley said, “because there’s a lot invested. These guys care so much.”
Indiana has had its ups and downs this season, including failing to win a Big Ten regular season or Big Ten tournament title. But the Hoosiers got in a rhythm toward the end of the season, which it rode during the NCAA tournament. Entering the national championship against Syracuse, the Hoosiers hadn’t allowed a goal in the NCAA tournament this season. During that run, IU got its Elite Eight berth with a side of revenge, beating Marshall 1-0.
On Monday, it wasn’t hard to see why Syracuse had lost only two matches all season. It was an incredibly polished team. The Orange struck first. And when Indiana got the equalizer to make it 1-1, Syracuse wasted little time in retaking the lead. But a second-half rocket by IU’s Herbert Endeley tied the match once again.
There have, though, been rule changes in college soccer. Monday’s match would not be determined by a golden goal in overtime. Instead, overtime would be played in full. But neither team scored, sending the match to penalty kicks.
Entering the season, perhaps the two most pressing questions were who could help fill the production of departed stars Victor Bezerra and goalkeeper Roman Celentano. By the end of the season, those questions were answered by Ryan Wittenbrink's emergence and JT Harms in the net.
On Monday, however, IU’s defense didn't perform up to par. The Hoosiers scored two goals in regulation. That was two more than it did in the national championship game against Marshall. But there were little Harms could do against either Syracuse goal.
“(Syracuse’s) ability to get forward and get in dangerous spots is excellent,” Yeagley said. “Their partnerships, they had some good spacing, their winger caused all kind of trouble.”
In spite of Monday’s result, what Indiana has done is impressive. It’s one of the most storied programs in college soccer. This was the program's 17th NCAA national championship appearance. The Hoosiers have won eight of those.
Players have come and gone. Success has continued.
There is no single answer for why. It’s a summation of multiple factors.
“Just guys that want to be part of something really big,” Yeagley said prior to Monday’s national championship match. “And they certainly have personal pride, but they want to be part of something that they can really be proud of and that entices a lot of perspective athletes to us.”
Part of that is finding guys that fit into the culture.
“We’ll pass … on some questionable, talented players, for ones that are more in the DNA of what we love,” Yeagley said earlier this season.
There is also the family feel, a word which Yeagley admitted is overused. There’s also development, which is why IU can lose someone as talented as Bezerra but have a veteran like Wittenbrink fill the production seamlessly.
IU has been so close to completing its quest for nine NCAA national titles. In 2017, the Hoosiers lost in the national title on a golden goal. Two seasons ago, they lost in a similar fashion to Marshall. This season, it was on penalty kicks. Recently, IU has been incredibly successful, but unable to finish the job. The ninth NCAA national title has been elusive.
“I hope to be in this position again next year,” Harms said, “and hopefully we’ll be on the other side of the story.”
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IU vs. Syracuse men's soccer: IU endures heartbreak again in NCAA title
