Hoosiers Denied

EVANSTON, Ill. -- The IU men's soccer team achieved a first in the program's 15 years of participation in Big Ten men's soccer Sunday. But it wasn't a mark they ever hoped to hold.\nOn a blustery day on Northwestern's campus, Penn State defeated IU 1-0 in the championship match of the Big Ten Tournament. Nittany Lion forward and offensive most valuable player of the tournament Jason Yeisley scored the match's lone goal in the 87th minute.\nIt was the first time in 11 Big Ten Tournament Championship game appearances that the Hoosiers lost the title. IU faced Penn State five other times in the championship match and beat it each time, with the most recent win occurring in 2003 when IU hosted the tournament in Bloomington.\n"(Penn State forward) Simon (Omekanda) played a very good weighted pass to the open space, so I wasn't able to come out and get it," IU sophomore goalkeeper Chris Munroe said. "Yeisley was able to run on and I tried to get set. He hit the high shot and I was able to get a hand on it, but I just wasn't able to push it over the top of the goal."\nYeisley scored both goals for the Nittany Lions in the team's regular season match against the Hoosiers in Bloomington Sept. 30, including the decisive goal in overtime. That 2-1 loss was IU's only loss during the regular season.\n"Sometimes, it's a funny old game," IU coach Mike Freitag said. "Sometimes you think you play real well and it just doesn't happen. This year, against Penn State, they've had our number. I give them a lot of credit because you may think they have luck, but I think Penn State makes their luck."\nIt was the first time in the Big Ten Tournament that Munroe gave up a goal. IU defeated Wisconsin 2-0 Thursday and then beat Ohio State 3-0 Friday to advance to Sunday's championship match.\nIU outshot Penn State 18 to seven and had nine corner kicks to the Nittany Lions' zero. Penn State goalkeeper Conrad Taylor stopped nine IU shots. The First Team All-Big Ten goalkeeper and defensive MVP of the tournament now has nine clean sheets on the season.\n"The wind didn't affect the shots too much," Taylor said. "The wind did make it harder, though, to read the crosses."\nIU (13-2-6) now awaits the NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament Committee to decide its seeding in the NCAA Tournament. ESPNEWS will broadcast the tournament selection show live at 4 p.m. today.\nPenn State's (12-6-2) win gives the program its third Big Ten Men's Soccer championship, along with a perfect record in Big Ten play for the 2005 season -- the first time the Nittany Lions have accomplished this feat.\nA top-four seed in the NCAA Tournament guarantees teams home field matches all the way until the College Cup. IU could receive some help in its attempt to receive a top four seed as No. 1 Maryland lost to Duke in the semifinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.\nIU held the No. 2 ranking in the same poll entering the Big Ten Tournament. The Hoosiers tied Maryland 3-3 Oct. 29.\nThe selection committee also considers the play of teams in their respective regions. IU and Penn State are in different regions, with IU in the Great Lakes Region, along with many of the other Big Ten men's soccer teams.\nAkron, which was ranked No. 1 in the nation, lost to IU 1-0 in overtime Nov. 3 and is also in the Great Lakes Region. The Zips defeated Buffalo yesterday in the Mid-American Conference tournament 7-6 in penalty kicks.\n"Losing is not a bad thing," Freitag said. "It's something we all don't like. It leaves a nasty taste in our mouth, but if you can take a loss and learn from it and get better, it's always not a bad thing. Sometimes at this time of the year, maybe you forget what that bad taste was like and I'm hoping my boys have a nasty taste in their mouth right now. Because we're not going to do it again"