8 years after College Cup loss to UNC, IU poised for NCAA 3rd round upset

Despite outscoring two top-25 opponents 3-0 this postseason, the IU men’s soccer players said they have yet to peak this year.

This sentiment proves key when the Hoosiers take on No. 5 seed North Carolina in Sunday’s NCAA third round match in Chapel Hill, N.C.

On paper, it is a game the Hoosiers enter as underdog.

“It’s a long trip out there to North Carolina,” freshman defender Matt Wiet said. “We’ve got to be mentally prepared to play against them. They’re a great team and they have a lot of really good players. But anyone can beat anyone any day, no matter what their seed is.”

The Tar Heels stand at 14-2-3, while the unseeded Hoosiers have compiled a 12-9-1 record on the year.

The last time the two teams met was Dec. 14, 2001, when North Carolina hoisted the College Cup trophy after defeating the Hoosiers 2-0.

“They’ll be a very good team,” head coach Mike Freitag said. “North Carolina has a tradition of being very good, and we look forward to it.”

The Hoosiers come off last week’s 1-0 win against No. 12 seed Butler, which followed a 2-0 upset against Louisville in the first round.

North Carolina, which fell 4-1 in PK’s to NC State in the ACC Tournament, defeated Brown 2-0 in the second round to earn its date with IU. North Carolina had a first round bye.

IU’s difficult regular season schedule - sixth toughest in the country according to NCAA RPI ratings - is finally paying off this postseason.

“I think we’ve seen some of the country’s best,” Freitag said. “So this time, when you see the country’s best, it’s nothing new to you. I think it is going to pay off for us.”

Wiet said not only have the Hoosiers benefited from the difficult schedule, but the team is still improving this late in the year.

“I really think that we have been on the up side for a couple of games now,” Wiet said. “If we can beat North Carolina, then the sky’s the limit for us.”