Club soccer team bests Colorado State to win national title

Far from the Bill Armstrong Stadium lights, the IU campus and the NCAA spotlight, the IU men’s club soccer team goes about its season quietly at Karst Farm Park outside of Bloomington.

And while fall sports might overshadow the club, nothing was quiet about this past weekend.

IU defeated Colorado State 1-0 Saturday afternoon at the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association’s National Soccer Championships in Tuscaloosa, Ala., to win its first national title.

Playing their sixth game in three days, the fatigued IU players wanted an early boost in the title game. When the Colorado State goalie mishandled a save in the game’s third minute, senior Sam Delisio blasted the ball into the goal to provide the game’s only score.

“It was incredible,” Delisio said. “We jumped on them early. We were beaming with confidence.”

The defense, which allowed two regulation goals in the six weekend games, shut out Colorado State’s offensive attack.

Senior defender Jay Wolverton credited the team’s willpower for holding each opponent at bay.

“Our defense played well all weekend,” he said. “We just fought, although we were all
exhausted.”
Not only were the players exhausted, some were also injured.

In the quarterfinal game against Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Delisio tried to head the ball but smashed into Wolverton instead. Delisio’s eyelid sliced open and blood covered his face. With some bandages, he continued to play. After the game, both players required stitches.

Senior club president and midfielder Andy Kushnir could not praise his team enough.
“It’s just an incredible feeling,” he said. “We didn’t leave anything on the field. We poured it all on. Our goal was to win a national championship, so to come through with a win is incredible.”

IU’s weekend games featured two contests that came down to penalty kicks. It took eight rounds of penalty kicks for IU to get past Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

In the semifinal game Saturday morning, IU defeated Ohio State 6-5 in penalty kicks after playing to a 1-1 tie.

“There’s nothing better than winning a game in a shoot-out,” Wolverton said. “It was exhilarating.”

For his game-winning goal in the title game and penalty kick contributions in the other two games, Delisio was named tournament MVP.

“It’s shocking really,” he said. “My teammates deserve all the credit. We kept them out of the goal for a full 80 minutes. It was a testament to our defense. It was completely a team effort.”

Delisio, senior Zac Henson, freshman Reid Bergstrom and juniors John Rosenberger and Steven Smith were named to the all-tournament team.