Indiana Earns No. 16 Seed in NCAA Tournament

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Indiana men's soccer team was awarded an at-large berth into the 2011 NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament and was selected as the No. 16 seed. The Hoosiers receive a first-round bye and will face the winner of Liberty/Old Dominion on Sunday afternoon in Bloomington with the time still to be decided.

"Being a seeded team is a great reflection of the regular season we had," said head coach Todd Yeagley. "We are very pleased to be rewarded with a bye and a home match. Both Old Dominion and Liberty will be difficult opponents. They had good results both in their conference and nationally and the team will be excited to match up with either on Sunday."

Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for youths and IU students. Tickets can be purchased at the box office on game day.

"We are excited to make the tournament and get that first-round bye," said senior defender Tommy Meyer. "We need to take things one step at a time. This is a new start for us.

The Hoosiers finished the regular season and Big Ten Tournament play with a 12-3-5 record, 3-1-2 in Big Ten Conference action. The Hoosiers went 1-0-1 in the Big Ten Tournament with a 2-1 win over Michigan State and a 1-1 tie with eventual champion Northwestern. Indiana again faced a tough schedule in 2010 as five of Indiana's 18 regular-season opponents made the tournament field, including No. 2 seed Creighton, No. 9 seed St. John's and No. 12 seed Louisville.

Indiana was one of two Big Ten teams to make the tournament field, joined by Big Ten champion Northwestern. The Wildcats will face defending national champion Akron on the road in the first round.

The Hoosiers are making their 25th-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament and 36th overall. Indiana has an NCAA-best .738 (77-26-4) winning percentage in the tournament, while the 77 victories is also tops in the NCAA. Indiana has appeared in 17 College Cups, which leads all Division I teams, and won seven national titles, most recently in 2004.

Either Liberty or Old Dominion would be a first-time opponent for Indiana. Indiana has never played a team from the Big South Conference (Liberty), but is 4-1 against teams from the Colonial Athletic Association. The Hoosiers have wins over William and Mary (2002), VCU (2003), George Mason (1983, 1989) and a loss to James Madison (1999).