SANTA BARBARA, California – On the right side of the stands, the IU fight song was loud and clear after the game clock struck double zero.
Senior midfielder Austin Panchot and senior defender Andrew Gutman were the first players to walk toward the IU marching band and fans, each raising his hands, nodding his head and patting his chest in admiration of the fans who made the cross-country trip to support them and the rest of the team.
IU had fallen to Maryland, 2-0, in the College Cup to put an end to a historic season.
After the sound of the band and fans faded, IU Coach Todd Yeagley talked to his team one last time on the field before the rest of the players turned around and did exactly what Panchot and Gutman did, thanking the Hoosier faithful.
“Tonight, the ball wasn't bouncing,” Yeagley said. "We couldn't find that bounce that we needed."
It was the third time the two teams matched up this season as IU won the first two games down the stretch thanks to a late goal from Gutman and a 4-3 advantage in PKs. Coming into the game, IU was confident and looking forward to the challenge that playing Maryland a third time presented. This time around, the game was completely different than the first two.
The Maryland backline constantly swarmed Gutman and the IU attack almost every time it seemed like IU would possibly find a goal. Coming into the game, neither team had allowed a single goal in the NCAA Tournament, but Maryland made sure to make a statement early on.
In the 37th minute, IU failed to clear a corner kick and as the ball was lost in the shuffle. Before IU was able to find it, Maryland's Matt Di Rosa put his left foot on it and sent it to the left side of the net as a defensive miscue put IU down early.
Heading into the game, Maryland was 9-0 since mid-October in games that it scored the first goal in. Yeagley still felt confident heading into the second half that his team would find the goal that never did come.
“There were moments we could’ve been better,” Panchot said. “Today just wasn’t our day.”
The performance the Hoosiers had in the second half was much more reminiscent of what they showed throughout the dominate NCAA Tournament run to this point.
IU was outshooting Maryland and kept knocking on the door for a goal. In the 63rd minute, senior midfielder Rece Buckmaster crossed the ball to sophomore midfielder Justin Rennicks who had a goal from point-blank distance, but the defender barely beat him for the ball at the goal line to clear it.
As IU continued to build momentum toward a possible equalizer, Maryland put the game out of reach with a little under 11 minutes remaining after another set piece defensive mistake from the Hoosiers.
On the free kick, Maryland sent the ball in from almost midfield toward the box and as no one could put a head on it, junior defender Donovan Pines made a sliding effort to tap the ball into the back of the net.
Once Maryland scored the second goal, it felt like the air was sucked out of the Hoosier faithful.
With eight seniors getting set to graduate, this year seemed like the best opportunity for IU to finally find that ninth star, but the quest for nine will continue for another season.
“It’s really hard to go all the way and win a championship, but I told them, particularly the senior group, that I feel they’ll go down as one of the best teams that’s ever worn the uniform,” Yeagley said.
