Indiana Wins 2nd NCAA Men's Soccer Title

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Indiana Wins 2nd NCAA Men's Soccer Title
By Associated Press
Dec 12, 2004 - 9:41:00 PM

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CARSON, Calif. - Jay Nolly saved two penalty kicks and Indiana won its second straight NCAA Men's College Cup title Sunday, beating UC Santa Barbara 3-2 in a penalty kick shootout.

Indiana's Danny O'Rourke, Jay Nolly and Drew Moor, from left, run off the field with the trophy after defeating UC Santa Barbara on penalty kicks to win the 2004 NCAA Division I Men's College Cup, Sunday, Dec. 12, 2004, in Carson, Calif. The game was tied 1-1 after regulation and two overtime periods. (AP Photo/Ric Francis)

The teams were tied 1-all after regulation and two 10-minute overtime periods, forcing the shootout.

The second-seeded Hoosiers won for the 10th time in 11 games and earned their seventh NCAA title, the first under coach Mike Freitag, who replaced Jerry Yeagley this season.

"It feels kind of weird," Freitag said. "As the assistant coach, I'd be running around like crazy. But I'm not overly excited right now. It was meant to be, I think."

Yeagley retired after the 2003 Men's College Cup, finishing with a Division I record 544 victories in 31 seasons.

"To fill Coach Yeagley's shoes is a big task," Indiana midfielder Danny O'Rourke said. "To come out his first year with the national championship shows just the type of coach he is. It's the first of many and I'm just proud to be part of the first one."

Each team converted two penalty kicks before Indiana's Mike Ambersley slipped a shot under the crossbar to put the Hoosiers ahead.

Nate Boyden tried to fake Nolly out of position on Santa Barbara's final kick, but Nolly dived to his left and deflected the shot away.

Before Boyden's kick, Nolly dived to his right, blocking a shot by Tony Lochhead.

"I never look at the moves," Nolly said. "My focus is on the ball. There's a few tendencies that strikers do that give away a few things � how they line up, how they stand. I get a read right away on what I'm going to do and commit fully."

John Michael Hayden and Greg Badger also converted for Indiana against reserve goalkeeper Kyle Reynish, who replaced starter Dan Kennedy for the penalty kicks.

"Penalty kicks are all about length and Kyle is 6-foot-4 and has long arms," Santa Barbara coach Tim Vom Steeg said. "Danny has to guess a little more. If someone puts it in the corner, he doesn't quite get to that ball."

Drew McAthy and Ivan Becerra made penalty kicks for the ninth-seeded Gauchos (21-3-1).

The Gauchos had the best scoring chance in overtime, but Andy Iro headed Lochhead's corner kick over the crossbar from 6 yards in the 102nd minute.

McAthy tied the game in the 82nd minute with his third goal of the Men's College Cup and his 18th of the season.

Unmarked, McAthy secured the rebound of Ivan Becerra's blocked shot and scored inside the left post from 8 yards. The goal made McAthy Santa Barbara's career scoring leader with 115 points.

Jacob Peterson gave Indiana a 1-0 lead in the 27th minute. Jed Zayner sent a long pass to Peterson, who beat Iro and stretched his right leg to volley the ball just outside the 18-yard penalty area.

Kennedy charged forward and deflected the ball with his right hand into an open net.

Nolly was named the most valuable defensive player, and McAthy was the most valuable offensive player.