The IU men's soccer team sat outside the Henke Spirit of '76 Club and watched the scoreboard inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall as the team awaited its seeding for the NCAA Tournament.
It took about 10 minutes for the entire 48-team bracket to be announced, and the Hoosiers sat still with a few quiet claps when they were given the No. 2 seed.
It was business as usual for the Hoosiers.
"Once we saw Wake Forest got the first seed, I think we kind of assumed we were going to get the two seed," senior midfielder Trevor Swartz said.
IU will face the winner of Connecticut and Rhode Island Sunday in the second round.
On Sept. 2, IU defeated UConn 1-0 after senior defender Andrew Gutman scored in the 40th minute and sophomore goalkeeper Trey Muse had three saves.
If IU defeats the winner of UConn and Rhode Island, then it'll play the winner of Denver and either Air Force or Central Arkansas. Denver senior forward Andre Shinyashiki leads the country with 28 goals. Shinyashiki and Gutman are in the running for Player of the Year, but Gutman said he cares about his team's results more than any individual accomplishment.
Other teams on IU's side of the bracket include Maryland, Michigan, Notre Dame and Kentucky. IU lost to Kentucky 3-0 and beat the other three teams by one goal each in the regular season.
The other side of the bracket includes Wake Forest, North Carolina, Michigan State, Stanford and Louisville. Last season, IU lost in the National Championship match against Stanford.
"Honestly, it doesn't matter what seed we have," senior midfielder Francesco Moore said. "We expect to win every game, and we are going to approach every single game the same way. At the end of the day, it's a reflection of what we've done this season, and I think we've had a pretty good season so far."
With having the No. 2 seed, the Hoosiers will play within the confines of Bill Armstrong Stadium all the way up until the College Cup, which is the final four teams, in Santa Barbara, California.
"We're obviously excited to be in the top four and it allows us to be at home, so first we're pleased with that," Coach Todd Yeagley said. "For this group, they've done such a good job at managing the next challenge that all they are really looking for is that next game, and obviously that's UConn or Rhode Island."
