IU men's soccer coach is stepping out of his father's shadow and creating his own legacy

BLOOMINGTON – Speaking to his team minutes before the 2012 national championship game against Georgetown, IU men’s soccer coach Todd Yeagley drew on his program’s storied history for motivation.

“Remember that name on your chest, guys,” he told his players. “There is an expectation to win. That’s what we do.”

Five years later, Yeagley is one win away from his second College Cup appearance at Indiana. He’s coached the Hoosiers to the NCAA tournament’s No. 2 overall seed, he recently passed 100 career wins in Bloomington and his 2012 team won that national title.

Since his hiring in 2009, Yeagley has won everything there is for him to win — a Big Ten title, a Big Ten tournament title and a national championship. He says he tries not to think too much about the tradition-rich program he runs, but in truth, he’s beginning to carve out his own place in its history.

“I actually don’t think about it much, because it’s a little bit overwhelming to think about what’s come before,” Yeagley said Tuesday. “I try not to focus on that, because of the unbelievable success my father has set. You’ll always feel like you’re chasing something that may not be attainable.”

The sentiment is understandable.

Yeagley’s father, Jerry, won six national championships at Indiana. He started IU’s men’s soccer program from scratch, and since it was made a varsity sport in Bloomington in 1973, no other program in the country has won as many national titles as the Hoosiers’ eight.

Todd Yeagley enjoyed an illustrious career playing for his father, and twice stood where his team now does: playing at home for a chance to reach the College Cup, college soccer’s version of the Final Four.

“I had the fortune to be on the field twice to go to the final four here in Bloomington,” Yeagley said. “There’s nothing quite like it, and I want (this year’s team) to have that.”

Yeagley didn’t win a national championship as a player, falling in the final his senior season to Virginia. But he has already won three as a coach — one as an assistant under his father in 2003, another as an assistant under Mike Freitag the next year, and then one as IU’s head coach nine years later.

Former Hoosiers have been a staple of Yeagley’s staffs since his arrival.

Brian Maisonneuve played with Yeagley and has coached with him since he returned to IU. Kevin Robson was on both the Hoosiers’ 2003 and 2004 national title teams, before returning as a volunteer assistant. He was elevated to full time when Ernie Yarborough, another former Hoosier, left. Yarborough is now head coach at Marian.

“There’s a lot of trust, there’s a lot of support,” Yeagley said of his staff. “Our expectations are naturally high to begin with. We all played here. We all had success here. If we just do things and stay to the plan and do things with, again, the right mentality and preparation, then it often takes care of itself.”

Will any of this mean anything if Indiana can’t defeat Michigan State on Friday night, and advance to this year’s College Cup in Philadelphia?

A legacy is always a fluid thing. But in eight seasons in charge in Bloomington, Yeagley has never failed to make the NCAA tournament. He has won all the trophies there are to win. He is 90 minutes from his second College Cup appearance in the last six years.

The suggestion that Yeagley must do something to step out of his father’s shadow ignores the larger picture:

Some college programs are large enough to accommodate multiple shadows. Todd Yeagley is beginning to cast his own.

Follow IndyStar reporter Zach Osterman on Twitter: @ZachOsterman.

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