Role players provide spark for Hoosiers

Last season, then-freshman midfielder Josh Tudela waited until just the right moment for the first goal of his college career.\nThis season, soaphomore Tudela waited until just the right moment for the second goal of his college career.\nLast year it was a postseason game against Kentucky; this year the opponent was Boston College. But regardless of the opponent or the player, IU's recent postseason history has been marked by supposed "role players" stepping up big when it mattered most.\n"I think the key to IU soccer over the years has been players who do play roles and those players that maybe don't get the accolades," said IU coach Mike Freitag. "Those players are the heart, they make us better everyday in practice, and they know what it takes."\nTudela's goal came in the first half of a 1-0 win against the Eagles Sunday in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Fellow sophomore forward Kevin Robson sprung the Hoosiers into the third round of the tourney with a goal in the 86th minute of IU's first round match against Michigan.\n"Basically whenever it is tourney time, it's lose or die" Tudela said. "So it is time to step up and everyone has to contribute. It was my time to get my goal, and I was fortunate enough to be there and put it in."\nLast year Tudela and then fellow freshman forward Jacob Peterson each hit pay dirt in big postseason games after much smaller contributions during the regular season. This year, Tudela and Robson have stepped up again to bring some of IU's role players into the spotlight.\n"All season, coach has been making us stay positive and we just keep working hard as role players," Robson said. "We know our time will come, and coach is going to give us our opportunity to shine. We have to step up and do that once our time comes."\nAll season, IU has had to face maybe its toughest opponent every Wednesday in practice -- themselves.\nQuite often IU's practices are harder than their games, Freitag said, and the key reason has been the quality of the Hoosiers second string players. \n"There have been times during the season where you feel like you should be out there," Robson said. "But when you're at a school like this, you've got 11 great players on the field. You've got to step up and make sure when your time comes you are ready."\nFreitag said that when teams decide to focus more on a few specific threats, the other players rise to the occasion and fill in. This has often been the case in the postseason.\n"Everyone knows that if they don't step up, we're going to be going home, and that's not what IU is all about," Tudela said. "IU soccer is about making it to the national championship and winning."\nThe Hoosiers next welcome Tulsa into town for the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament. The game will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at Bill Armstrong Stadium.\n-- Contact staff writer Brian \nJanosch at bjanosch@indiana.edu.