11/12/2018 other sports Edit

Indiana Men's Soccer: IU Earns No. 2 Seed In 2018 NCAA Tournament

Stu Jackson • TheHoosier

Staff Writer

Stu Jackson covers Indiana University basketball, football and recruiting for TheHoosier.com. He also hosts Heard on The Hoosier, the site's official podcast.

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The Indiana men's soccer program captured the No. 2 overall seed in the 2018 NCAA Tournament, finding out during selection show streamed on NCAA.com and the massive video board inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. IU will face the winner of Wednesday's UConn-Rhode Island contest Sunday at 1 p.m. eastern time at Bill Armstrong Stadium.

"We're obviously excited," Indiana head coach Todd Yeagley said. "To be in the top four is a goal of the group. It means we've had a great season and it allows you to be at home for a tournament run, so we're pleased with that."

The NCAA tournament appearance is the Hoosiers' 32nd-straight and 43rd overall in school history. It also matches the highest seed obtained in program history, matching the No. 2 seed it received last season and in 2004.

Indiana enters its quest for its ninth College Cup 17-2-1, capturing the Big Ten regular season title and the Big Ten Tournament championship in the same year for the first time since 2006.

Captain and redshirt senior midfielder Trevor Swartz said IU through its conference tournament run learning it can win in different ways.

"We had to go to overtime, we had to go to (penalty kicks), and we took care of business in the final," Swartz said. "Just having that confidence of knowing that, even if it goes to overtime, even if it goes to PKs, we can still win. We can win in regulation. I think that's big moving forward."

Indiana's regular season experience will also prove to be as beneficial as its postseason experience. It already faced UConn, Kentucky and Notre Dame in non-conference play and met Michigan and Maryland in both the regular season and Big Ten tournament, and all five schools happened to fall on Indiana's side of the bracket Monday afternoon.

"We're familiar with a lot of the opponents, which is a good thing," Swartz said. "We know how to play against them. I think it's a good thing looking forward, but we've just got to take care of business one game at a time."

UConn earned an at-large bid after finishing 11-5-2 and reaching the American Conference Tournament Semifinals. Senior forward Abdou Mbacke Thiam shares seventh nationally with 14 goals, while the Huskies as a team share 46th nationally with 30.

Rhode Island, meanwhile, reached the field of 48 after going 15-4 and capturing the Atlantic-10 Tournament championship. The Rams own one of the most dangerous offenses in the nation, tied with UNC-Wilmington for 12th in goals scored with 39.

Whoever they face on Sunday, the Hoosiers' approach won't change according to redshirt senior midfielder Francesco Moore.

"Honestly, no matter what seed we are, what rank we are, we're going to approach every single game the same way," Moore said. "But at the end of the day, it's a reflection of what we've done so far this season."