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Indiana heads into the College Cup this weekend, a place it knows quite well, taking on Pitt as one of the last four teams standing.
Friday will not be new for the Indiana soccer program, a program that has been to the College Cup a record 22 times. That includes four times in the last six seasons and two National Championship appearances (2017, 2021) over that span.
Instead, it will be about the basics and the experience for this specific team.
"We've been fortunate to have appeared quite a bit in our history," IU head coach Todd Yeagley said. "And yet, it's like it's your first time with the excitement."
The 13th-seeded Hoosiers (13-4-6) meet unseeded Pitt (12-4-5) for a chance to advance to Monday's night Championship game.
For Indiana, the team that has added pressure with its experience and history, there is just one goal in mind; Advance.
"We're going to make it as simple as we can," Yeagley said. "We just need to advance. We don't want to get too emotional in games. Passion is different. You need that. You need enthusiasm. Emotion can get in the way of performance. We try to take that away. Our focus is advancing."
The Hoosiers have made it to Friday's matchup in part to its terrific defensive performances. Indiana has not given up a goal through its three NCAA Tournament matches thus far.
Pitt comes in having upset top-seeded and undefeated Kentucky and has scored eight goals in four NCAA Tournament games. It's a potent offensive attack attack that has scored at least two goals in four of the last six games -- and 42 on the season. Midfielders Valentin Noel and Filip Mirkovic, both All-ACC First Team selections, lead the charge.
Indiana has posted eight shutout games this season and are led by back-to-back Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Daniel Munie and goalkeeper JT Harms.
Regardless, no opponent at this stage will surprise Indiana. It's a team that has faced seven ranked opponents throughout the season and been very battle tested at this point. These are the moments that Indiana prepared for.
"We put a heck of a schedule in front of them," Yeagley said. "We knew it would be challenging, and it was. They grew. We hit some bumps and kept getting better. We're hitting our stride now."
Indiana takes the field at 8:30 pm ET on Friday looking for a chance to compete in the National Championship on Monday -- and potentially win a ninth national title.
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