USD Gives the Hoosiers the Boot : College soccer: Toreros advance to the semifinals of the national men’s soccer tournament with a 2-0 victory over Indiana.
SAN DIEGO — What a way for the University of San Diego men’s soccer team to show respect for 16 NCAA tournament appearances and three national championships.
The Toreros, who only could boast of one NCAA playoff invitation before this year, decided their record books needed some updating.
With a 2-0 West Regional victory over Indiana at sold out Torero Stadium Sunday afternoon, the men’s soccer team became the first team in USD history to reach the semifinals of any national tournament.
Indiana Coach Jerry Yeagley was disappointed that USD and not the Hoosiers would represent the West this weekend at Davidson College in North Carolina--the Toreros play Davidson and Virginia meets Duke in Friday’s semifinals. However, Yeagley is confident USD will represent the region well.
“Davidson is hot right now, but so is USD,” said Yeagley, Hoosier coach since 1972. “(To win) you have to be hot, you have to be lucky and you have to be healthy. A lot of what you cause is by hard work and USD is this way. . . . It’s quite something what (USD Coach) Seamus (McFadden) and USD have achieved this season. They’ll do fine.”
It looked overtime would be needed to determine a regional winner. Both teams were listless in the first half and played slightly more spirited second half.
“I thought we’d go into overtime when it got down to 10 minutes to play,” Yeagley said.
The Toreros (18-4) thought otherwise.
At 82:55, the Hoosiers (14-6-4) appeared to score on a kick by Todd Yeagley, but it was immediately waved off by referees who ruled USD goalkeeper Scott Garlick had been fouled.
“To me, it looked fair,” Todd Yeagley said. “But it’s a judgment call.”
The Hoosier coach said the call may have favored the Toreros because it was at USD, but Garlick disagreed.
“When they hold my arm down and you don’t make the call, you shouldn’t be (officiating) the game,” Garlick said. “I think he made a good call.”
The Toreros took possession and striker Guillermo Jara scored the winning goal 15 seconds later in a most peculiar fashion.
USD forward Chugger Adair started the play from midfield, where he headed the ball toward David Beall, who passed it left to Jara. Standing about 15 yards outside and to the far left of the goal box, Jara sent the ball back across the field where Indiana’s Blake Rodgers was caught in the cross-fire. The ball hit Rodgers’ leg and spiraled into the top of the net, over the shoulders of Indiana goalkeeper Ernie Yarborough.
“I sent it across, it hit someone’s foot and I got lucky,” said Jara. It was the freshman’s 16th goal, which leads the team.
Rodgers had kept the Toreros from scoring on a similar play earlier in the second half. Adair had emerged from a pack at midfield and sent the ball screaming down the center of the field. Rodgers followed it in and jumped high enough to stop the shot.
“He saved one,” Yarborough said. “Ten minutes later he comes back and it hits off his leg. He felt terrible.”
The Toreros had similar feelings about is lackluster play in the first half. The Toreros admit they often are slow to ignite, but that needs to change next weekend.
“We need to pick it up in the first half,” said sweeper Roger Lindqvist, responsible for much of USD’s strong defense.
The Toreros are convinced that once they get going, they cannot be stopped.
Case in point: three minutes after Jara’s goal, USD scored again. Beall scored his seventh goal of the season with USD on the counterattack. Beall took a crossing pass from Jara from 15 yards out in the left wing and shot the ball easily past Yarborough for the 2-0 advantage.
“Once we get a goal, we’re confident we can score again,” forward Doug Barry said.
