Todd Yeagley named coach of the year

The IU men’s soccer team won its eighth national championship 29 days ago. On Monday, Soccer America named IU Coach Todd Yeagley as NCAA Division I Coach of the Year.

There are 204 coaches eligible for the honor.

“It’s a nice honor,” Yeagley said Tuesday by phone. “Any time your team has success, nice awards come after it. This is a reflection of what the team was able to accomplish. It’s a program award.”

The Hoosiers finished with a 16-5-3 record, but they backed into the NCAA Tournament, losing three of their final five games. IU secured the No. 16 seed.

“I think it was well deserved, and we know it gets us an opportunity to rest and get ready for a really difficult matchup Sunday, whomever it might be,” Yeagley said Nov. 12.

The redemption tour began with a home match against Xavier in which Indiana prevailed 4-1 behind junior midfielder Nikita Kotlov’s hat trick.

A week later, Indiana avenged their Nov. 26 loss against Notre Dame, upsetting the No. 1 seeded Irish in South Bend, 2-1. The Hoosiers trailed for 56 seconds during the match, the only time they were on the short end of the scoreboard during the tournament.

North Carolina awaited the Hoosiers, and for the third time in four years, the Hoosiers would play the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill during the NCAA Tournament. IU prevailed 1-0 and advanced to its first College Cup since 2004.

It was the first of three consecutive 1-0 matches for IU, as staunch defense and timely offense completed their quest for the program’s eighth national title.

IU’s 16 wins are the most since the 2004 national championship squad.