The Hoosiers struggled in the preseason exhibition schedule, losing 2–3 to St. Louis,[2] squeaking past IUPUI 1–0,[3] and then drawing with Clemson 1-1.
Aleksey Korol's goal lifted Indiana to a 1–0 season-opening win over fellow 1998 College Cup participant, Maryland, in front of 4,726 fans at Bill Armstrong Stadium.
Pat Noonan, Fundenberger, Korol and Lavrinenko each found the net in the match, and the matchup proved to be the first of three huge meetings between the squads in 1999.
IU then topped Kentucky and beat Ohio State to clinch the Regular Season Big Ten Championship with a 5-0 conference record.
[9] Indiana defeated Florida International for the Hoosiers' 13th straight win, and then dropped the final game of the regular season to James Madison.
In the semifinals, Indiana defeated Northwestern, 2-0 [10] to set up a matchup with familiar foe Penn State, for the Big Ten championship.
In the final, the Nittany Lions gained a 1-goal advantage, but the Hoosiers battled back to force overtime on a goal by Korol.
[13] With a berth to the College Cup- soccer's version of the Final Four- on the line, the Hoosiers once again hosted Penn State.
[14] The Hoosiers were joined in the 1999 men's soccer College Cup by their long-time rival and semifinal opponent, UCLA, as well as Connecticut and Santa Clara.
The UCLA Bruins had stunned Indiana in exactly the same stage of the 1997 College Cup in overtime, when the Hoosiers were 23–0 and bidding for an undefeated season.
Two second-half goals by Noonan and Lavrinenko staked the Hoosiers to a seemingly comfortable 2–0 lead, but the Bruins came storming back to tie the match.
Mack's left footed blast from the top of the 18-yard box ended the game and sent the Hoosiers to their tenth NCAA Championship match.
but the Hoosiers began to gain control of the match midway through the first half and tallied the first goal in the 30th minute off of a quick counter-attack.
Lavrinenko found himself in on goal from a bit of an angle, but was able to slide the ball underneath the onrushing Santa Clara goalkeeper for a 1–0 lead.
Santa Clara nearly equalized in the 39th minute, but Hoosiers goalkeeper TJ Hannig charged out of his goal and stopped a blast from 8 yards out.
The close calls did not end there for the Hoosiers, as a Santa Clara attacker found himself wide open about 10 yards in front of the Indiana goal following a corner kick in the 73rd minute.
[16][17] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply.
[18] Nick Garcia finished second in the Hermann Trophy voting and was named the 1999 College Cup Most Outstanding Defensive Player.
[21] In addition, nine other players from the 1999 National Champions would later go on to play professional soccer either in Major League Soccer or USL A-League (now known as USL First Division): Doug Warren, TJ Hannig, John Swann, Phil Presser, Dennis Fadeski, Ryan Mack, Pat Noonan, Matt Fundenberger, Matt Reiswerg.