Soccer's best rivalry returns to Bloomington

Supposedly, the best match-up of this opening weekend in men's college soccer is taking place Saturday in Storrs, Connecticut, where No. 2 UConn is hosting No. 1 Duke, according to Soccer America's rankings. However, it turns out that the eyes of the soccer world will be focused right here in Bloomington, where the country's two most storied programs will face off against each other … again.\nThis is the Lakers vs. the Celtics. The Yankees vs. the Dodgers. This is Indiana vs. UCLA. And in college soccer, it gets no better.\nFor the first time since the Adidas Classic in 1996, the hated Bruins come to Bloomington to play our Hoosiers in what is becoming an annual affair between the two teams. Every year since 1996, these teams have taken the field against each other either in the regular season or in the postseason, and every game has been a memorable one.\nNow what, you ask, is the recipe for a great rivalry? Well I have come up with three key ingredients that two teams must possess to develop a true rivalry. The Bruins and Hoosiers, needless to say, pass all three.\nA History of Success ' I hate to spout statistics to prove these teams' success, but as the saying goes, "The numbers never lie." Between the two programs, they have made 51 NCAA Tournament appearances ' 27 for UCLA and 24 for the Hoosiers. After that category, IU takes the upper hand in the numbers game, leading UCLA in number of tournament wins (IU 55, UCLA 44), College Cup appearances (IU 13, UCLA 10) and NCAA Championships (IU 5, UCLA 3). Keep in mind that in all of these categories the Hoosiers and Bruins are ranked in the all-time top 5. \nThe Players ' Since these two squads have battled in 1996, each team has had some world-class players come and go from their programs. IU has seen seven players go into Major League Soccer in the past four seasons, including some of the program's all-time greatest, with names like Garcia, Korol, Alavanja and Kovalenko. If you think that's impressive, of the seven players UCLA lost last season, five were taken in the MLS SuperDraft in February. Of those five, two have been named to represent the United States in Sydney later this month - Sasha Victorine and Pete Vagenas.\nThe mark of a great collegiate program is the ability to reload talent year after year. And while both squads lost professional caliber players in the offseason, this is anything but a rebuilding year. IU boasts Hermann Trophy Finalists senior keeper T.J. Hannig and junior midfielder Ryan Mack, along with All-American senior forward Matt Fundenberger. While Fundenberger tries to lead the IU attack, his ex-North Central teammate, senior forward McKinley Tennyson Jr. will once again try to play the role of "Hoosier Killer," for the Bruins. When you throw in preseason All-American senior midfielder Shaun Tsakiris and the country's best recruiting class, the Bruins are ready to prove themselves as one of the best in the nation, and are ready to seek revenge on IU.\nGreat matches ' In the previous four matches, every game between the two has been decided by one goal. The recent stretch in the "series" started in 1996, when the Bruins played spoiler by coming into Bloomington and beating IU 1-0 in the Adidas Classic. In the 1998 campaign's regular season finale, the Hoosiers took the trip to the left coast, only to once again be thwarted by the Bruins 2-1. But that was the Hoosiers' last loss of the season as the team regrouped to make a strong run through the NCAA Tournament to capture their 4th national Championship.\nThe teams' most memorable match-ups have come in the College Cup Semifinals in 1997 and 1999. In 1997, the Hoosiers rolled into Richmond, Va. with a perfect record and were clearly the team to beat. However, the Hoosiers' dream of a perfect season was shattered when Tennyson Jr. scored the game's lone goal in the third overtime, catapulting the Bruins to the National Championship two days later. Though the game was a classic, the Hoosiers left Richmond with a bitter taste in their mouths, which wouldn't go away until two years later.\nIf 1997's College Cup clash between these squads was considered classic, then last year's battle could only be described as epic. In what many who were there would call the greatest collegiate soccer game in years, possibly ever, the Hoosiers jumped out in the second half to take a 2-0 lead. UCLA then clawed their way back, scoring the first two goals allowed by the Hoosiers in the tournament in the final 10 minutes, to knot the score at two. The Bruins and Hoosiers fought through injuries and fatigue for 143 grueling minutes until Mack sent a low shot past a diving Nick Rimando to give the Hoosiers the 3-2 victory; a win that would be even sweeter two days later, after IU won their second consecutive championship.\nWhile both teams enter this weekend with many new faces in their lineups, one thing is certain. Everyone on the field will know that to defeat the opposition, they will have to step up their games several notches. No matter where they are ranked, where the game is played or which players are on the field, when the Hoosiers and Bruins face each other you know it will be a game to remember, and that is what makes a great rivalry.