Local Sports Headlines: December 12, 2022

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Indiana University Men’s Soccer faces Syracuse in National Championship Game The ninth star is within reach. The No. 13-seeded Indiana men’s soccer team (14-4-6, 3-1-4 B1G) will play in the NCAA national championship match tonight against No. 3 Syracuse (18-2-4, 5-1-2 ACC) at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary North Carolina. Kickoff is set for 6pm.  Fans can watch the match on ESPNU with streaming available on the Watch ESPN digital platform. Indiana Athletics will also host a watch party at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall beginning at 5:30pm this evening. Indiana defeated Pittsburgh 2-0 Friday night with first half goals from Ryan Wittenbrink and Tommy Michalic and gives the Hoosiers an NCAA Record 100th tournament win in 50 years as varsity program.

The Hoosiers have advanced to the title match for the 17th time in a program history another NCAA Tournament record for the Hoosiers and the second time in three seasons. Meanwhile, Syracuse will play in the program’s first-ever final amidst its second College Cup appearance. With a win, Indiana would become the only program to win a national title in each of the last five decades.
The eight-time champion Hoosiers last won the title in 2012, the third year of the Todd Yeagley era. Indiana has not conceded a goal through its four NCAA Tournament matches, a total of 360 minutes. IU is the first team since Maryland (2018) to make a championship game without conceding a goal throughout the NCAA Tournament and the seventh team all-time to achieve that feat. Redshirt senior forward Ryan Wittenbrink has tallied a goal contribution in eight of his last nine matches played, with four goals and four assists in that span.

Syracuse enters Tonight’s match with a 18-2-4 record and a 5-1-2 mark in ACC play. The Orange defeated Penn, No. 14 seed Cornell, Vermont and Creighton to advance to the championship match. SU has not lost a match since October 4, a 2-1 defeat to No. 22 Cornell.
The Orange are led by 13th-year head coach Ian McIntyre, who has compiled a 122-87-40 during his time at Syracuse and a 229-150-72 career record in 24 seasons as a head coach. Syracuse’s senior forward Levonte Johnson (first team) and sophomore forward Nathan Opoku (third team) each earned United Soccer Coaches All-America honors. Johnson leads the Orange in goals (11) and points (28), with Opuku right behind him (10 goals, 27 points). Tonight’s match will mark the first-ever meeting between the two programs.

#14 Indiana Men’s Basketball falls to #10 Arizona in Las Vegas The 14th ranked Indiana Hoosiers lost to the 10th ranked Arizona Wildcats 89-75 in Las Vegas Clash at the MGM Grand Graden Arena Saturday night. IU (8-2) withstood a series of Arizona runs that might have broken most teams. It fought back again and again, but never overcame an early 17-0 Wildcat surge that produced a 19-point deficit. Forward Race Thompson led the Hoosiers with 16 points (making 4-of-7 three-pointers) and nine rebounds. Guard Xavier Johnson’s maturity and poise helped spark IU’s second-half comeback. He finished with 11 points and 11 assists. Foul trouble and aggressive Arizona defense limited forward Trayce Jackson-Davis to 11 points and five rebounds before fouling out for the second time this season and his career.
 
Forward Miller Kopp (14 points) and guard Tamar Bates (13 points) also reached double figures. Back spasms again sidelined freshman guard Jalen Hood-Schifino. IU had spent the season dominating inside. Not against a big, fast Arizona team. The Wildcats (8-1) finished with a 42-22 points-in-the-paint advantage, plus had an 18-6 edge in points off turnovers. Arizona, which ranks third nationally in scoring at 91.5 points, set a furious pace that the Hoosiers, who are built for full-throttle play, couldn’t match. Free throws were another big factor. Arizona was 17-for-25 from the line. IU was 7-for-9.

A high-intensity start saw early baskets from Trey Galloway, Jackson-Davis and Thompson. Still, Arizona led 7-6 after four minutes. Seconds later, Johnson picked up his second foul and had to come out. With Hood-Schifino sidelined, Bates got an early playing chance.
Arizona went on the attack, pushed the pace and surged ahead 27-8 after nine minutes. The Hoosiers were just 4-for-15 from the field with five turnovers. Woodson called a timeout to settle things down. Johnson came back in and hit a couple of free throws to end a 17-0 Wildcat run.  Then Indiana made a move. Thompson hit three three-pointers. Johnson was 4-for-4 from the line to offset 0-for-5 from the field. IU began getting back on defense to slow the Wildcats as it hadn’t before. A 19-point deficit was cut to five, at 36-31, with 3:37 left. Arizona pushed back for a 13-point lead before IU got it to 46-36 at halftime. The Hoosiers’ eight turnovers resulted in a 16-2 Wildcat edge in points off turnovers. Add a 22-10 Arizona edge in points in the paint, and Woodson had plenty to discuss.
 
The Hoosiers paid attention. IU opened the second half by forcing an Arizona turnover then getting inside baskets from Thompson and Johnson to cut the lead to six. The Hoosiers closed to 47-42. The Wildcats responded with an 8-0 run for a 13-point lead. The Hoosiers countered with their own 8-0 run, then got three-pointers from Johnson and Bates. IU trailed 59-56 with 12 minutes left and had plenty of momentum. Arizona took it back with three-point sharp-shooting to build its lead to 74-60. Kopp hit a three-pointer. Bates added a jumper. Thompson hit his fourth three-pointer. Kopp hit his fourth 3-pointer. The Hoosiers were within six, then five. They needed a couple of stops to have a chance. They never got them. IU has a week break for finals before playing at No. 6 Kansas (9-1) on Saturday.

Indiana University Football’s Jaylin Lucas named Walter Camp first team All-American Awards keep rolling in for Indiana football true freshman Jaylin Lucas as the Walter Camp Football Foundation has tabbed the running back first-team All-America. The all-purpose back is the only true freshman on its 52-person All-America squad and the first true freshman to earn the distinction from the WCFF since 2013. Lucas is the first Hoosier to earn All-America honors from Walter Camp since Tevin Coleman in 2014. The last Indiana kick returner to garner All-America status was Marcus Thigpen during the 2006 season. He is the first IU return specialist to earn All-Big Ten honors and the first true freshman to win the Rodgers–Dwight Return Specialist of the Year (both began in 2015). The last true freshman honored by Walter Camp was punter Austin Rehkow of Idaho in 2013.

Along with the Walter Camp honor, CBSSports.com named him a first-team All-American and The Athletic tabbed him a first-team Freshman All-American. With two return touchdowns, Lucas is No. 2 on both the IU single season and career charts after one season on campus. He trails Thigpen (2005-08), who returned all three of his career kickoffs for scores during the 2006 campaign. His two kickoff return touchdowns rank tied for No. 7 among active FBS student-athletes, as well. With 591 kickoff return yards, Lucas finished No. 12 in a single season in program history and led the Big Ten in the category. His 28.1 yards per return rank No. 4 nationally. He added 271 yards rushing and 82 yards receiving to total 994 all-purpose yards on the season to lead the team. That total is the most in a season by an IU player since Whop Philyor (1,094) in 2019. The Houma, Louisiana, native is the first Hoosier since Coleman in 2014 with three 70-yard scoring plays in a single season. Both of his kickoff return scores covered 80-plus yards and he added a 71-yard rushing touchdown in the season finale versus Purdue as part of his first career 100-yard rushing game.

2022 Postseason Honors
Aaron Casey – Third-team All-Big Ten (Pro Football Focus), honorable mention All-Big Ten (B1G media).
James Evans – Honorable mention All-Big Ten (B1G coaches & media).
Cam Jones – Honorable mention All-Big Ten (B1G coaches & media).
Jaylin Lucas– All-America (CBS Sports, 1st; Pro Football Focus, 1st; Walter Camp, 1st), Freshman All-America (The Athletic, 1st), Big Ten’s Rodgers–Dwight Return Specialist of the Year, first-team All-Big Ten (B1G coaches & media, Pro Football Focus, Associated Press).
Tiawan Mullen– Honorable mention All-Big Ten (B1G coaches & media).

Indiana University Men’s Soccer player Daniel Munie repeats as All-American After becoming the first Hoosier to repeat as the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, Indiana men’s soccer redshirt senior Daniel Munie has secured United Soccer Coaches All-America honors in consecutive years as announced by the coaches association on Friday.
A third-team selection, Munie has led the Hoosiers to eight clean sheets this season including three in as many NCAA Tournament matches to reach the 2022 College Cup. Indiana’s captain has recorded two goals and an assist, all which came during conference play.
 
Forty-nine Hoosiers have totaled 78 All-America honors over the program’s 50 varsity seasons. Indiana has had an All-American in 12 of the last 13 seasons, with 20 honors in that span. Munie is a member of a defensive dynasty at IU. Four Hoosiers have won five of the last six Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year awards and in each of its previous six seasons, IU has finished top-10 nationally in the total shutouts category.

Indiana University Men’s Tennis signs Facundo Yunis for 2023 spring semester Indiana Men’s Tennis head coach Jeremy Wurtzman has announced the signing of Facundo Yunis. Yunis will join the team in January and will compete for the Hoosiers in the spring season. The team’s newest recruit is a native of Munich, Germany. He will be the first German player to compete for Indiana Men’s Tennis since the 2009-10 season. Yunis is currently the No. 70 ranked player in the ITF’s Singles Rankings.
 

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