IU loses in College Cup championship

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- After defeating the No. 8 St. John's Red Storm 2-1 in its College Cup semifinal match on Dec. 14, No. 4 IU was upset 2-0 by the No. 7 North Carolina Tar Heels in the Dec. 16 national championship game at Crew Stadium.\nThe Hoosiers, appearing in their fifth consecutive College Cup, aimed for their third national title in four years.\nThe Final Four began when No. 3 Stanford took the field against UNC. The Cardinals dominated the first 80 minutes and appeared to be well on their way to a 2-0 victory when the Tar Heels exploded to score two goals in 64 seconds, sending the game into four overtimes before UNC claimed a 3-2 victory.\nThe marathon match pushed the starting time of the second semifinal game, IU vs. St. John's, back from a 7:30 p.m. to a 9:30 p.m. kickoff.\nIU goalkeeper Colin Rogers said the extra wait contributed to some pre-game nervousness.\n"We had been lying around all day, and when it finally got time to play we had to wait on (the Stanford/UNC) game to finish," Rogers said. "We got really anxious leading up to our game, but we had to remain loose and stay focused."\nThe Hoosiers and the Red Storm both made aggressive attacks at the net.\nSt. John's held the ball in its offensive third for most of the first five minutes but was unable to make any attempts on goal. \nIn the ninth minute of play, IU had its first good chance when freshman forward Mike Ambersley got the ball at the top of the box on a fast break pass. He blasted a shot on goal that ricocheted off the crossbar.\nThe rest of the first half consisted of high-energy up-and-down play. But neither team could get good shots near the box, and much of the play took place in the middle third of the field.\nFour minutes into the second half, St. John's was awarded a free kick at the top of the penalty box after an IU foul. Senior midfielder Jeff Matteo beat Rogers for a 1-0 St. John's lead.\nIU midfielder Phil Presser said he wasn't worried after the goal.\n"After the St. John's score, we got together and told each other that we were the better team and now was the time to show it," he said.\nThe Red Storm held the lead until the 65:53 mark, when forward Pat Noonan headed a pass at the top of the box. Ambersley charged the perfectly placed ball and knocked it in for a 1-1 tie, redeeming his earlier miss from the same spot. \nAmbersley, who was named co-Big Ten Freshman of the Year but had not scored since an Oct. 7 hat trick, said he was happy to be an offensive factor in the victory.\n"To be a freshman in the biggest game of my life and to be able to contribute to my team like that just has me overjoyed," he said.\nNeither team was able to score again in regulation, and the game went into double overtime.\nAt the 112:50 mark, IU freshman midfielder Vijay Dias delivered the winning goal when Ambersley found him wide open on the left side of the box.\nAfter a full day of rest, the Hoosiers met the Tar Heels for the national championship match.\nAs the title game began, the Hoosiers initiated some early scoring threats. Freshman forward Ned Grabavoy created a good chance when he retrieved a deflected ball at the top of the box in the third minute of play. He blasted a shot back at the goal that sailed just over the crossbar.\nHead coach Jerry Yeagley had said in the previous day's press conference that he hoped to stop the Tar Heels from playing the ball in the air. The Hoosiers managed to keep the ball on the ground until the 11:37 mark, when UNC tallied the first score of the game.\nTar Heel junior midfielder Matt Crawford got the ball on the right side of IU's box. He spun on Presser and lofted a pass to junior forward Ryan Kneipper.\nRogers came six yards out from the goal, calling off senior back John Swann, who was marking Kneipper. Rogers then lunged toward the ball, but Kneipper out-jumped him and headed a shot into the back of the empty net to put the Tar Heels up 1-0.\n"(Crawford) played that ball across and I knew I could beat (Rogers) to it because he was pretty much on the penalty kick spot and he wasn't going to get there in time," Kneipper said. "(Swann) was a little bit shorter and I knew I could beat him in the air. I just jumped up and got it."\nAlthough the Hoosiers -- who had only given up six goals on the season -- were surprised by the early goal, Yeagley said he was confident they would even the score.\n"I thought we were going to get (a goal) in the second half," he said. "I felt very confident that after they scored we would score. And it was just one of those days where a combination of excellent defending on their part (and) maybe a touch off on our part offensively, we weren't able to get the job done."\nAt the 74:50 mark, UNC was awarded a penalty kick when senior back Josh Rife fouled UNC freshman Marcus Storey in the box.\nSenior back Danny Jackson took the penalty kick and sent the ball into the left corner of the net to put the game out of reach for the Hoosiers.\n"(UNC) played a tough game," Noonan said. "They got an early goal and never looked back. I want to congratulate (my teammates) too. I thought we kept fighting, never gave up, even when they got that (penalty kick). Unfortunately, we weren't able to get any goals of our own"