Indiana and Pittsburgh will meet on Friday night with a trip to the national championship game on the line.
Indiana has not suffered a loss in 11-straight matches, but in order to keep that streak alive in Cary, N.C., the Hoosiers will need to slow down an upstart Panthers squad.
Pitt is coached by ACC Coach of the Year and former IU player Jay Vidovich. They will be playing in their first College Cup after running through their first three opponents in the 2020 NCAA Tournament by a cumulative score of 13-1, including a 3-0 victory over No. 8 Washington in the Quarterfinal Round on Monday afternoon.
The Panthers are led by sophomore midfielder Valentin Noel. The ACC Offensive Player of the Year scored a team-best 14 goals and added two assists. Sophomore midfielder Veljko Petkovic led the Panthers with eight assists to go along with nine goals. Graduate keeper Nico Campuzano, an All-ACC First Team selection, surrendered 22 goals (1.13 GAA) while starting all 19 matches this season. He has 65 saves and (0.747 save percentage) to go along with six shutouts.
Vidovich played for one season at IU straight out of high school in 1978 under legendary IU coach Jerry Yeagley and then transferred to Ohio Wesleyan for his final three seasons of collegiate eligibility. Today’s coaches Vidovich and Jerry’s son Todd Yeagley have both won national championships: Vidovich at Wake Forest in 2007 and Yeagley at Indiana in 2012.
The Hoosiers and Panthers have met just one prior time, a 3-2 overtime Indiana victory to open the 2019 season that saw IU rally from a 2-0 deficit.
MATCH ESSENTIALS
- No. 2 Indiana Hoosiers (11-1-2) vs. No. 3 Pittsburgh Panthers (16-3-0)
- 2020-21 NCAA Tournament national semifinals
- Friday, 8:30 p.m. ET
- Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C.
- Televised on ESPNU
To see the live NCAA Tournament bracket, GO HERE.
BEZERRA A HERMANN TROPHY FINALIST
Indiana men’s soccer sophomore forward Victor Bezerra was named one of three finalists for the 2020 Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy on Wednesday afternoon, United Soccer Coaches announced. The three finalists were determined by voting from NCAA Division I soccer coaches.
Bezerra is joined by junior forward Gloire Amanda (Oregon State) and sophomore midfielder Valentin Noel (Pittsburgh) as the three finalists for the prestigious award. The MAC Hermann Trophy has been awarded annually since 1967.
The Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year has been electric on the offensive side of the ball during the 2020-21 season. Bezerra has 12 goals, three assists, and 28 total points to his credit during his second season in Bloomington. His goal total marks the highest in a single season by a Hoosier since Eriq Zavaleta secured 18 scores in 2012. Since 2006, only two Hoosiers have scored more goals than Bezerra in a single season: Will Bruin (18 in 2010) and Zavaleta (18 in 2012).
The Chicago native scored five goals in the three Big Ten Tournament matches, the most ever by a Hoosier in a single B1G tournament run, on his way to being selected the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Tournament.
Nationally, he ranks fourth in goals per game (0.91), tied for third in game-winning goals (4), and tied for sixth in points per game (2.00).
Bezerra is the third Hoosier in the last four seasons to be named a MAC Hermann Trophy finalist. Andrew Gutman took home the coveted award in 2018, while Grant Lillard was the 2017 runner-up for the award. Current assistant coach Danny O’Rourke is the only other Hoosier to win the award under its current name, winning the MAC Hermann Trophy in 2004.
The MAC has honored the top player in collegiate soccer since 1986. Prior to 2002, the Missouri Athletic Club and Hermann Trophy were two separate awards.
Two IU players earned the MAC Player of the Year trophy on three occasions with Ken Snow taking the honor in 1988 and 1990, and current IU head coach Todd Yeagley in 1994. Hoosiers collected five Hermann trophies with Angelo DiBernardo in 1978, Armando Betancourt in 1981, Ken Snow in 1988 and 1990, and Brian Maisonneuve in 1994.
The winner of the prestigious award will be announced on May 27 at a banquet in St. Louis.
THREE HOOSIERS ARE ALL-AMERICANS
Indiana sophomores Bezerra and Roman Celentano and redshirt senior Spencer Glass earned United Soccer Coaches’ All-America accolades, the organization announced Thursday.
Bezerra was named to the first team. Celentano was tabbed a second-team selection, while Glass earned a spot on the third team.
A total of 23 programs are represented on the list of 34 All-America selections. Indiana is one of nine teams to have multiple selections. Only the Hoosiers and the Georgetown Hoyas have three players selected to a team.
The three Hoosier selections mark the most in a single season since Griffin Dorsey, Andrew Gutman and Trey Muse all claimed All-America honors in 2018. IU also had three-plus selections in 1977, ’94, ’97, ’98, ’99, 2002, ’04 and ’05.
Indiana has placed at least one player on an All-America team in seven-straight seasons and 10 of the last 11 seasons. The Hoosiers have now had 48 players earn 75 All-America plaudits.
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