IU fans hopeful of deep tourney run

It would mean fans would have to buy new men’s soccer gear. It would mean finding another spot at Bill Armstrong Stadium to hoist up a new banner.

Bringing home the eighth star for the IU men’s soccer team would mean a great deal for both its diehard Hoosier Army followers and the players who earned it.

The Hoosiers will begin another quest Sunday that, to both players’ and fans’ hopes, will lead them to Hoover, Ala., for a College Cup, an NCAA final win and an eighth star, which has eluded the program now for six years.

But the road won’t be easy.

Even with securing the last-ranked seed in the tournament — meaning the team got a first-round bye — IU could face a No. 1 seeded North Carolina team that has had a No. 1 ranking for much of the season.

The fans from the Hoosier Army think their team might just have what it takes for an upset.

“At times, they’ve fallen apart briefly in games, and I think that’s kind of what led to the losses against Louisville and Creighton,” senior and Hoosier Army member Kyle Pedro said. “But when they’re on their game, they can play with anybody in the country.”

Sophomore Michael Heilman said he felt the same, adding that compared to last year’s team, he thought the Hoosiers had a much more balanced scoring attack, making it harder for teams to defend.

“Whether it’s North Carolina or whoever else they’d face in the tournament, I think they can play alongside anybody and give them a game,” Heilman said.

The players aren’t focusing on games from this regular season but, rather, the games in front of them, one by one.

“It’s a whole new season, both for us and for any team we’ll be playing,” Meyer said. “It doesn’t matter who we’re playing, even if it may be a team in our first game that we haven’t played before or haven’t really heard of. We can’t look past anyone or take them too lightly.”

Meyer, though, said he thinks on the right day, the Hoosiers could make a serious run into the tournament, where he hopes to play in his first College Cup.

“It’s been something we’ve been talking about since we started practice back in August, and I think we have a really special group,” Meyer said. “It would be a perfect end for my time here at IU.”

Meyer knows bringing a national championship back to Bloomington wouldn’t excite just the players and coaches who have been on the field but also those in the Hoosier Army and the rest of the fans that have been behind them the whole season.

“It would show that we’re moving in the right direction, not only with Coach (Todd) Yeagley and Coach (Brian) Maisonneuve, but the players they’ve brought in,” Meyer said. “And the Hoosier Army has been behind us the whole season, and I hope we can bring them a championship, too.”