Good to be back home

You know what? Dorothy was right… there really is no place like home. After traveling more than 10,000 miles during the first three rounds of the NCAA tournament, the men's soccer team finally caught a break. \nThis weekend, IU will travel to Charlotte, N.C. to play what I look at as a home game. Sure, everyone knows the Hoosiers officially call Bill Armstrong Stadium home. But if Bloomington is the Hoosiers' listed residence, the College Cup is at least their winter vacation house.\nThe NCAA thought they had changed the locks on the house three weeks ago, giving IU the toughest draw in the tournament. But the Hoosiers found the key the NCAA hid in the potted plant, went around back, threw the key into the garden and then busted through the door like your high school football team's offensive line at the after-graduation kegger. \nThe final foot through the door came Saturday when IU put the lockdown on top-seeded North Carolina. Thanks to some clutch goalkeeping by junior Colin Rogers and a physical defense that marked up tighter than a Ricky Martin shirt, the Hoosiers blanked a dangerous Tar Heel offense that had not been shutout all season, the second time in the tournament IU had accomplished such a feat.\nAnd after all was said and done, the Hoosiers had sent another "favorite" home for good and had sent the NCAA a message that no matter where they were sent and no matter who they played, you can't keep a good Hoosier down.\nAnd in another stroke of good luck, it looks like the NCAA will be crying on its collective pillow once again, as the ACC and Southeast teams failed to advance to Charlotte. Instead, three other underrated and overlooked teams -- sixth-seeded Southern Methodist University, Creighton and Connecticut -- will be enjoying the sun and fun (or most likely the cold and drizzle) of North Carolina. To the uneducated eye, this lineup doesn't look like it will provide much excitement because of lack of big-name schools. But Friday and Sunday (or as ESPN would like you to think, Saturday and Sunday) will provide fans with the best soccer played all season, I guarantee it. People might not watch or attend, but that's their fault… and the NCAA's not promoting the game enough, but that's another column altogether.\nBut more important than who else made it or who will or will not watch is the fact that the Hoosiers have indeed made it back home, thanks in large part to the experience factor, a factor which is often overlooked. An experienced team not rattle easily under any circumstance, and can therefore play confident and loose. Confident and loose teams play their type of soccer. Teams that can impose their style of play on the other team will win more times than not. Just ask North Carolina.\nI'll admit, I thought IU's road to Charlotte would be much different. The Hoosiers' trip turned out to be more of an epic journey… kind of like Beowulf, but different. But all that matters in the end is that the Hoosiers are back where they belong, and they can smell the home cookin' already. As Dorothy might say, "There's no place like Charlotte"