Junior steps into role for soccer team

Colin Rogers is used to stumbling into opportunity.\nFour years ago, the junior goalkeeper on the IU men's soccer team doubted he'd play soccer after high school.\nAt New Trier High School in Wilmette, Ill., he starred as a second baseman and was recruited by small colleges to play baseball. He had played only one full year of varsity soccer and didn't compete on the club level, unlike most top prospects. If he was going to play a sport in college, it was going to be baseball.\nThen IU's soccer program contacted him.\nCoach Jerry Yeagley said he was attracted to the success of New Trier's soccer program and Rogers' athleticism and work ethic.\n"I didn't think soccer was a feature sport for me," Rogers said. "To this day, I'm not sure how the coaches heard of me.\n"I kind of felt that somewhere along the line I'd get my chance to play."\nWhen senior T.J. Hannig, a three-year starter, injured his knee in September, Rogers got his chance. And he made the most of it. Since then, Rogers has a goals-against average of 0.70, compared to Hannig's 1.17. Rogers has a 8-2 record to Hannig's 7-4.\nHis success arrives three years after he came to IU as a walk-on. Rogers redshirted his first season and played only 77 minutes over the next two years. For four years, he has often prioritized academics over soccer, and even considered leaving IU to take a job before his final year of eligibility.\nThat was before Sept. 29, when Rogers was thrown into the starting slot to replace the injured Hannig for the game against then-No. 2 Penn State in State College, Pa. Rogers started off shaky, making bad exits from the goal line and often mishandling saves. He allowed two goals early but calmed down in the second half to secure a 3-2 win.\nIn 10 games, Rogers went on to allow seven goals -- six less than Hannig.\n"The adversity for T.J. has been the opportunity for Colin," Yeagley said. "He's made the most of it. He's established himself as a very good goalkeeper, and he has the confidence of his teammates and the respect of his teammates. He's had a few lapses but for the most part played very solid." \nBut Rogers' solid play hasn't guaranteed him the starting spot. Hannig returned to the line-up Nov. 5, and Yeagley said he prefers Hannig's postseason experience; Hannig has played in 14 tournament games compared with Rogers' only NCAA appearance during IU's 2-1 win over Washington in the second round.\nHannig, who aggravated his injured knee Nov. 22 before IU's tournament game against Washington, is not expected to start Saturday, but Yeagley said he will make the decision today.\n"It's made me keep focus every day, knowing there was always that possibility that I was going to start," Rogers said. "I knew last week that T.J.'s knee swelled up a couple times, so I knew I had to be ready to go. I had a pretty good feeling I'd play that weekend, and I just had to prepare like I was going to start."\nRogers' biggest challenge hasn't been keeping focus, but remaining confident. \n"The first couple years, he'd make stupid mistakes over and over," senior midfielder Justin Tauber said. "His confidence now stops those mistakes. Even in the Washington game, he let up a soft, early goal. He could have sat back and gone into a shell, but he knew it was a long game and he got back into it."\nRogers has a year of eligibility left, but as a senior majoring in finance, he could enter the workforce immediately after graduation. Before his playing time this season, Rogers followed up contacts from finance companies because he doubted he'd return for his last season at IU.\n"I've talked to him a lot about the situation," said Tauber, Rogers' roommate for two years. "I feel he'll stay the fifth year, and I've told him he should. Most of the job offers will be there after next year; you can play a college sport for only so long at a certain time. My gut feeling is that he'll stay."\nIn between soccer games, Rogers catches planes to job interviews with financial firms. The night before his team left for a tournament in Berkeley, Calif., last month, Rogers flew in from an appointment in Chicago. He interviewed in New York earlier this week.\nAfter serving as a back-up and even as a third-stringer last season, Rogers said he never wanted to leave IU, the school that lured him from his baseball dream but steered him into the business world.\n"I love IU, and I've always loved being part of the soccer program here," Rogers said. "I love the academic aspect of IU, and the people here, so transferring never really entered my mind.\n"I think there's a very good possibility that I'll be here next year"