Colin Rogers stood on the field in Charlotte, N.C., stunned by the fluky goal that had just ended Indiana’s season. Stunned that Creighton was celebrating instead of he and his teammates. Stunned that the marathon NCAA semifinal match had lasted three overtimes. Stunned that his dream season was over.
The Hoosier goalkeeper had been saved twice in the sudden death by potential game-winning shots glancing off the goal post. But 3:53 into the third extra period, Creighton’s Brian Mullen blasted another shot off the left post, only to have it rebounded into the net by teammate Mike Tranchilla. The Blue Jays moved on to the NCAA Tournament final.
It was the first time since 1997 the Hoosiers failed to qualify for the championship. It was 11 months ago today.
Indiana (12-3-1) will begin another postseason run tomorrow in the Big Ten Tournament in Madison. For Rogers, it provides a chance to avenge a 2000 tournament loss to Ohio State — the first step on a road of redemption he hopes will lead further than the NCAA semifinals.
“I’d like to prove myself,” Rogers says. “[Prove] that I can be the goalie on a team that wins a national championship.”
Rogers watched from the bench in 1998 and 1999 as former IU goalkeeper T.J. Hannig did just that.
Hannig’s name litters the Indiana career charts, but Rogers has arguably put up better numbers since taking over for the senior in September last year. Hannig injured his ankle against rival Penn State, forcing Rogers into the first real action of his career. Then a junior, the 175-pound netminder went 7-0 and helped the Hoosiers sweep the remainder of the Big Ten season, posting an 0.75 goals against average.
But Indiana’s attempt to three-peat was a disappointment, and it is not lost on Rogers that he was the only significant difference from the previous championship team.
“T.J. was a great goalie and helped our team win some national championships,” Rogers says. “But at the same time I definitely think there’s some extra motivation, having been there last year and being so close, to get back there and win it this year.”
The expectations and pressure of replacing Hannig followed him into 2001. Entering his first season as the unquestioned starter, Rogers dropped the first game at home to St. Johns, 2-1.
“That was definitely tough to take for me personally,” Rogers said. “Because the two goals that were scored were mistakes that I made.”
But the senior responded. Indiana has not allowed more than one goal in any game since, and Rogers shut out 12 opponents. His GAA average is a microscopic 0.40 and just 0.20 against the Big Ten. But not all his numbers are in line with the nation’s other top goalies.
“I’m not saving a lot of shots,” says Rogers, who has 39 saves. “My job on our team as a goalkeeper is organizing our defense and preventing things, because our defense plays so well and we don’t give up a lot of scoring opportunities.”
By contrast, Wisconsin’s Moriba Atiba Baker has a meteoric 83 saves, but has given up 36 goals — 30 more than Rogers. The Badger defenders force Baker to work a lot harder to keep the score low, whereas Rogers has the benefit of some of the nation’s top backs.
“Our two marking backs, Ryan Hammer and John Swann, having been marking some of the best scorers in the country all year,” Rogers explains. “You look at our schedule, we’ve played some of the top-ranked teams who have great scorers and both of them have done such a great job.”
Rogers and the Indiana defense will have to continue to contain top teams in order to make the run he expects. He points at wins over Kentucky, Washington, Penn State and Rutgers as turning points that convinced him Indiana has the character to win the championship.
But Rogers knows there are a few more teams standing in the way, like No. 1 SMU, or defending champion UConn. He looks forward to meeting those teams in the NCAA Tournament, and adds that it would be just as sweet to defeat the teams Indiana has lost to this year.
Of course, there is still a score to settle with Creighton.
