Hoosiers stun No. 6 Louisville 2-0 in NCAA opener

Darren Yeagle made sure Thursday would not be his last game at Bill Armstrong Stadium.

The senior forward scored two goals – one with his head and one with his foot – to sack No. 6 Louisville 2-0 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
 
“I’m very, very proud of Darren,” IU coach Mike Freitag said. “Darren’s had a tough career here, coming back from knee surgery, being in and out of the starting line up at times. Just watching him take off and cross that ball, you knew something good was going to happen.”

Yeagle’s first score came on a cross by senior defender Ofori Sarkodie 12 minutes into the second half. Thirty minutes later, Yeagle put the game away on a one-on-one with Louisville keeper Andre Boudreaux with less than three minutes to play. Senior midfielder Eric Alexander got the assist.

“I just looked up and there was honestly no one even close to me, so I just took it to goal,” Yeagle said. “Then, I saw Will (Bruin) making the back-post run and the guy committed to him. I just tried to slide it far post and it went under the goalie. It wasn’t a great shot, but it went in. A goal’s a goal.”

The Hoosiers fell to the Cardinals 4-0 in the team’s worst showing of the regular season, but was able to turn the tables with gritty defense and the ability to take advantage of rare scoring opportunities.

“Obviously, they had a real thrashing against us early in the season,” Sarkodie said. “But we had a real confidence in ourselves. We knew what we’re made of and prepared well this week. I think you saw all the guys out on the field, even the ones that came off the bench, were dedicated to win today.”

Louisville posted 13 shots Thursday, but freshman keeper Luis Soffner kept the favored Cardinals out of the net by chalking up two saves, one of which was a one-on-one opportunity against Kenney Walker in the first half.

“I love when he comes out, that 6’4”, and he just comes and plucks balls,” Freitag said. “That’s a beautiful picture for a coach. You know, it’s nice to have a big 6’4” goalkeeper.”

As the Hoosiers continued to stifle Louisville scoring opportunities, the game became increasingly physical and yellow cards began to be dispensed. Four yellows cards were given in total. Three of them were against Louisville for hard fouls, the fourth was against Yeagle for delay of game.

Louisville committed a total of 12 fouls to IU’s 10.

Soffner said all that was needed to get the win was offensive success.

“Once Darren scored that first goal, we knew we could beat them,” he said. “We had confidence going into the game, and at that point we were up on them. Once he put the second one in, all emotions just kind of let loose – especially for me. I was just screaming and yelling back there.”

The Hoosiers’ next contest will come against Butler at 2 p.m. Sunday. The last time the Bulldogs came to Bill Armstrong Stadium, they upset IU 2-1 in double-overtime Oct. 7.

Butler, who finished the year at 14-2-2, had a first-round bye after earning a No. 12 seed. 

For the second consecutive game, IU has the opportunity to avenge a regular season loss.

“We’re going to take these next couple days to regroup, rejuvenate and get ready for Butler,” Freitag said. “Butler’s another good team. They’re a team that won’t beat themselves. You’ve got to go out and beat them. That’s why they’re ranked and they’re a seeded team.

“We’re happy we’re at home, though.”