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NCAA Division I Men's Tournament Bracket NCAA Division I Men's Conference Tournament Scoreboard
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Alvarado-Ralph penalty kick, Gaudette's saves send St. John's past Maryland 1-0 in semis. Men's College Cup Yeagley will go out in title match after Indiana edges Santa Clara 1-0 in sudden death.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (Friday, December 12, 2003) -- Jerry Yeagley's coaching career will come to and end Sunday when Indiana plays for its sixth NCAA championship. Sophomore midfielder Pat Yates scored his second straight game-winner, this one in a second sudden-death period, lifting No. 7 Indiana to a 1-0 decision over 11th-ranked Santa Clara tonight in an Division I Men's College Cup semifinal before 3,468 at Crew Stadium. "What can you say? It's been an unbelievable season," said Yeagley, who started the IU program and has compiled a 543-101-44 (.821) record in 31 seasons. "All our players played with heart and all (Santa Clara's) players played with heart, too. A lot of guys stepped up big time in a high-pressure situation. It's a test of a championship team -- can you win a tough game?" Indiana (16-3-5), which had a losing record after nine games but is 14-0-3 in its last 17 outings, will play in its 12th national championship match Sunday against sixth-ranked St. John's at 2 p.m. (ET) with ESPN2 televising the game. The Red Storm (17-5-3) defeated No. 2 Maryland 1-0 on Sebastian Alvarado-Ralph's first-half penalty kick. "No one expected this young team (to get into) in the national championship game except the players and the coaches," Yeagley said. "It's a wonderful accomplishment. St. John's looked great tonight. We played them in a wonderful game two years ago that we won in two overtimes. I'm sure they haven't forgotten. It will be a difficult challenge for us." With six minutes remaining before the match would be decided by penalty kicks, freshman midfielder Josh Tudela flicked junior goalkeeper Jay Nolly's goal kick to sophomore midfielder Brian Plotkin. Plotkin chipped a pass to the left post where Yates, having timed his run perfectly, lunged forward and knocked a header past keeper Kent Harkness into the net for his seventh goal and the 1-0 triumph at 103:48. "I got into midfield and made a run to the net," Yates said. "I got ready to get hit pretty hard by the goalie, so I flipped the ball up, but he never came and I was fortunate enough for it go to in." Yates found net in the 78th minute to send the visiting Hoosiers past No. 1 UCLA in a quarterfinal Saturday. He has four game-winners for the season. Santa Clara (16-4-4) outshot the Hoosiers 10-9 in regulation, but IU had four shots to two for the Broncos in overtime. Harkness made a season-high seven saves for SCU to five for Nolly. "Our defense has been consistent since early October," Yeagley said. "I think we've only given up seven goals since early October, and tonight we played great." Sophomore midfielder Jordan Chirico attempted IU's first shot on goal in the 36th minute, but it was saved by Harkness. In the 42nd minute, Nolly punched away a Santa Clara corner kick by Jason Cunliffe. The ball deflected off Hoosiers defender Jed Zayner's head and caromed off the crossbar, bouncing directly in front of the goal before Nolly snagged it. Harkness saved a shot by freshman Kevin Robson a minute before intermission. "We had a great run and it took a great goal to beat us," SCU coach Cameron Rast said. "Having said that, we are thankful for the chance to play in (the College Cup)." The Hoosiers nearly won at the end of regulation. Tudela played a nice ball ahead to forward Jacob Peterson in the six-yard box, but the freshman lost his balance. As he fell, Peterson triggered a shot that went just wide right with 1:36 left. Nolly made a remarkable save in the closing seconds. Santa Clara junior midfielder Will Weatherly blasted a shot on target and Nolly tipped it with his fingertips, bobbled the ball as he fell to the ground, but managed to knock the ball away with his left hand. "I remember hearing the countdown and I thought I could catch the goalkeeper out of position," Weatherly said. "Unfortunately, the goalkeeper was a big guy and I was unlucky." IU last advanced to the NCAA championship match in 2001, the last time the College Cup was held in Columbus. North Carolina won that game 2-0. |
