Hoosiers beat Butler 1-0, go on to 3rd round

The name of IU’s postseason game is revenge.

A month and a half earlier, the wrong team was celebrating on Jerry Yeagley Field. A stunned Hoosier squad stood watching Butler celebrate after a 2-1 double overtime win Oct. 7.

Like they had done just three days before against a Louisville team who crushed the Hoosiers 4-0 in the regular season, IU came out seeking a win.

This time, IU only needed 90 minutes to take down Butler 1-0.

“I think we probably underestimated Butler the first time we played them,” senior midfielder Lee Hagedorn said. “I think we knew this time we really couldn’t come out and underestimate them one bit, and we had to come out and play hard the whole game. We knew that if we didn’t play our best they could beat us, so I think we stepped up a notch this time.”

The difference was not just underestimation or experience.

The difference, Will Bruin said, was heart.

“We knew that we had to avenge them, just like we did Louisville,” the sophomore forward said. “We were fortunate to get it at our place, and we just had to come out and play hard, and that’s what we did.”

A 9-8-1 regular season record left the Hoosiers out of the national rankings and in a spot they aren’t accustomed to.

“I think, at times, we give the ball away too easy,” IU coach Mike Freitag said of his teams’ mistakes. “I don’t know if that’s lack of composure or pressure from the other team, but I feel we can do a better job and make it harder for some. Maybe at times we defend too much, but the good thing is they’ve bought into defending, and if you do give it away, we’re there to defend.”

As for whether this team is the one that will take Freitag to another championship, the coach alluded to a road not paved.

“I think we’re coming together as a team,” he said. “I still think there’s more for this team. I still see a lot of mistakes being made, but I’m the kind that tries to get my team to play perfect soccer. We’re never going to play perfect soccer, but you push for it. It’s their team. It’s not my team, and I’m just trying to direct them in the right direction.”

Ending the regular season with a 3-3 conference record was not something the Hoosiers were used to. Now, IU sits as one of two teams from the Big Ten to remain in the NCAA Tournament.

“We really had to focus on that. If we lost, we’re done with our season,” Hagedorn said. “Maybe we were taking games for granted before, and that’s not happening, so I think it’s a little bit more sense of urgency. We’re just putting our goals away this time as compared to some games earlier this year, where we had chances and didn’t put them away.”

Putting away his ninth goal of the season, Bruin got his foot on the ball for the Hoosiers’ lone score against the Bulldogs.

“It was a play down the right side,” Bruin said, describing his goal. “Yeagle just hit it and bent it around the backs, but far enough from the goalie where the goalie couldn’t get out to it. I just curled around the back post and just hoped to get a foot on it.”

At the other end of the field stood IU’s 6-foot-4 goalkeeper, Luis Soffner, who was making his second tournament appearance of his career. Soffner tended goal the way Coach ordered, coming out to the 18 on the easy rollers and jumping above his defenders to snatch shots before they could be netted.

“We’re definitely starting to gel as a unit back there,” Soffner said about his backfield. “We’re close to the peak. We’re playing pretty solid in the back – I know that’s keeping us in games and helping us out.”

With the final seconds ticking off the clock and the ball at midfield, Soffner was able to stand relaxed in the net, a second-straight shutout accredited to his name.

“I didn’t think we played especially well today, and that’s a compliment to Butler,” Freitag said. “But what we did is found a way to win, and that’s what we’ve been doing here lately instead of squandering games like we did early in the year. That’s what we intend to keep on doing – finding ways to win.”