Hoosiers advance in NCAAs

SEATTLE -- Marcus Chorvat had a busy night Saturday in Seattle.\nAgainst Washington in NCAA men's soccer tournament, the sophomore midfielder scored a goal, got ejected and said plenty of prayers. In that order.\nHis goal helped IU stay in the game. His second yellow card and ensuing ejection hurt IU's chances of holding on for a victory. \nAnd his prayers, well, they were answered. \nIU beat Washington 2-1 in the second round of the tournament for the second consecutive season to advance to the national quarterfinals. \n"I said a Hail Mary probably three times, Our Father probably five," Chorvat said. "That was probably the most nerve-wracking moment of my life."\nThe moment, to be exact, lasted 16:29 -- the amount of time remaining when Chorvat was ejected.\nIU coach Jerry Yeagley dropped one of his forwards into the midfield after the ejection, in an attempt to thwart the Huskies' attack. The Hoosiers needed all the defensive help they could get, as Washington attacked with four forwards in the final 15 minutes. \n"They sent everything and the kitchen sink at us at that point," said Yeagley, whose team improved to 15-6. "We defended extremely well. We didn't give them many high percentage shots. We gave them some opportunities, but we did withstand a lot of pressure."\nThe Huskies pressured IU by sending balls into the penalty area any time they were within striking distance.\nThat game plan didn't differ much from how Washington usually plays; the Huskies like to attack from the outside. But in the game's waning minutes, the Huskies wide attack became much more intense. \nBut IU junior goalkeeper Colin Rogers was up to the challenge. \nRogers snagged ball after ball sent into the penalty area, and IU defenders headed away most anything else. Rogers' performance late in the game made up for a poor play on Washington's first goal.\nThe Huskies opened the scoring six minutes into the game with a restart. Midfielder Ben Somoza took a direct kick from outside the left corner of the penalty area. The shot was weak, but Rogers misplayed it; the ball skipped over him to give Washington a 1-0 lead.\n"I knew I made a mistake, but through mistakes I've made in the past I knew it was far from over," said Rogers, who started in place of senior T.J. Hannig, who reaggravated a knee injury during the week. "I just had to pick it up from there. Nine times out of 10, I make that save. I just refocused and put it out of my mind."\nThe IU attack helped Rogers put the goal out of his mind with a goal of its own 5:37 later.\nSophomore midfielder Pat Noonan received a ball near the top of the penalty area and carried the ball into the box. He put a move on a defender and fired a shot that was deflected by Husky goalkeeper Chad Olsen. Chorvat, playing on the left side, collected the deflection and tapped it in for the tying goal.\nThe play by Noonan was one of several opportunities he created. He tallied five shots in the game.\n"I thought that Patty Noonan really caused them some problems off the dribble," Yeagley said. "He was slicing and dicing out there. I think he was a key to our offense (Saturday night)."\nNoonan nearly gave IU a lead just before halftime.\nHe got the ball on a takeover from freshman midfielder Vijay Dias and took it up the middle of the field. Noonan sent the ball through a defender's legs, recollected it and fired a shot from about 30 yards out. Olsen made a diving save to punch the ball wide just as it neared the upper right corner.\nThe save was one of several diving stops Olsen made in the game. But he couldn't stop IU from scoring early in the second half. \nSeven minutes into the half, junior midfielder Tyler Hawley misheaded a cross and sent the ball back wide. Junior midfielder Ryan Mack collected the ball on the left side and crossed it back into the penalty area. Senior forward Matt Fundenberger stood unmarked on the near post and headed it in near side for the game winning shot.\nThe goal sent IU into the next round of NCAA tournament play and ended the Huskies' season.\n"It was close the whole way," Washington coach Dean Wurzberger said. "You've got to make your own breaks against a team like that. They lost their last three before the tournament, but they've got that tradition."\nAnd a few prayers to help.