Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Jerry Yeagley got the sendoff for which he was hoping.
Indiana scored twice in four minutes to beat St. John's 2-1 Sunday, delivering the retiring Yeagley his sixth NCAA soccer championship.
"I've been trying not to think about me. This is about this team. Maybe in a few days I'll collect myself," Yeagley said.
Ned Grabavoy, who spent all of Indiana's postseason competing in the world youth championships in the United Arab Emirates with the U.S. under-20 squad and rejoined the Hoosiers around midnight, scored on a free kick in the 16th minute. Jacob Peterson made it 2-0 in the 20th for the eighth-seeded Hoosiers.
Yeagley started Indiana's varsity program in 1973, and he leaves with more victories and a higher winning percentage than any other men's college soccer coach. He led the Hoosiers to 16 appearances in the College Cup.
"I did have the strangest feeling after the game was over ... it was almost like a surreal-type experience," Yeagley said.
St. John's, playing in its first NCAA final since winning the 1996 title, scored with 12 minutes left. Tim O'Neill sent a pass across the penalty box to Chris Corcoran, who volleyed the ball toward the goal. Ashley Kozicki knocked it in from 6 yards.
Trying to send it to overtime, St. John's took a variety of desperation shots in the final 10 minutes on a field covered by an icy, white blanket.
"I was getting a little nervous because everything was starting to get wet and they were just starting to pump balls into the box," Indiana goalkeeper Jay Nolly said.
The steady snow made a soggy field more slick. Before kickoff, a tractor and dozens of people, including Crew Stadium general manager Mark McCullers and Major League Soccer's Columbus Crew general manager Jim Smith, used rakes and shovels to clear away the 3 inches of snow that fell overnight but didn't deter 5,330 from attending. Three-foot snowbanks lined one side of the field.
Indiana was awarded a free kick after Peterson was taken down by Chris Leidner while making a run for the goal. Peterson had no one between him and the goal when he was fouled.
On the free kick, Grabavoy set up from 18 yards out across from the middle of the goal. The shot bent right, over six St. John's players and into the bottom right corner of the goal.
It was 2-0 four minutes later, as Peterson got the ball at midfield and broke free from Jeff Carroll, who slipped while turning downfield. Peterson dashed toward the goal and unleashed a shot from 18 yards, splitting defenders Chris Wingert and O'Neill.
The ball went under the arm of diving goalie Bill Gaudette and into the bottom left corner.
FOOTBALL: Clemson defensive back Buddy Williams was dismissed from the team for an unspecified violation of team rules and is not expected to return. Williams played every game this season, mostly on special teams, and had 17 tackles. Williams returned to his home in Tallahassee, school officials said. The Tigers play Tennessee on Jan.2 in the Peach Bowl.
VOLLEYBALL: Florida (35-1), which swept Penn State in the NCAA region final and is ranked No.3 by the American Volleyball Coaches Association, faces No.2 Hawaii in the Final Four in Dallas on Thursday. The other semifinal is top-ranked USC and No.13 Minnesota.
The Rainbow Wahine (36-1) defeated No.7 Georgia Tech 32-34, 33-31, 30-24, 30-25 in front of 9,412 Saturday. Hawaii sealed the win in a tight Game 4, reeling off a 5-1 run to close it. Kim Willoughby led Hawaii with 36 kills, 13 digs, four blocks and a .394 hitting percentage.
Hawaii is making its third trip to the NCAA Championships in the past four years. Florida, making its second straight semifinal appearance, has not lost a game in this year's tournament.