Competition heats up in conference play

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- No member of the men\'s soccer team knows what losing a Big Ten game feels like. In fact, the Hoosiers haven\'t lost a Big Ten game in 38 matches. The unbeaten streak extends back to Oct. 13, 1995, when IU lost to eventual national-champion Wisconsin 2-0.\nSunday, in their 1-0 win against No. 20 Ohio State, the Hoosiers learned the rest of Big Ten is improving -- giving IU something to worry about.\n"When I was a freshman, we were really knocking teams around," senior forward Matt Fundenberger said. "We were winning 3, 4-0. And now the teams have gotten better. Wisconsin, Penn State, they\'re top-20 teams. It seems like every Big Ten game is a tough game."\nSunday\'s match, which IU won on a penalty kick by Fundenberger, proved to be one of those tough games. The Buckeyes tied the Hoosiers in shots with 13, dominated the midfield and tired the Hoosiers on its new sand-blasted field.\n"I hope every Big Ten game is like this: up for grabs," IU coach Jerry Yeagley said. "I\'d like to see them a little prettier, but I\'d like to see them up for grabs. I\'d like to see both teams in there scratching and clawing, trying to win it. That\'s great for the conference, and the other Big Ten teams are getting better."\nOhio State coach John Bluem credits the Buckeyes' progress on better funding, recruits and facilities. If Ohio State had upset the Hoosiers Sunday, the Buckeyes (7-3-4, 1-2-2) would have likely taken over the top spot in the Midwest regional poll. Other Big Ten teams have pulled off upsets and climbed the national polls. Penn State, for example, was ranked No. 2 before it was upset by the Hoosiers, and Wisconsin knicked Ohio State 2-1 Oct. 1.\nFundenberger credits the improved conference on increased nationwide interest in soccer, which has spurred more athletes to participate in the sport.\nWhile IU has won eight of 10 Big Ten titles, Ohio State saw a different Hoosier team -- one without the foreign talent that produced national championships.\n"I think this is more of a blue-collared team for Indiana than the ones in the past," Bluem said. "(Yeagley) doesn\'t have the Dema Kovalenkos and Yuri Lavrinenkos and Aleksey Korols that he's had in the past. And so they make up for that with teamwork and pressure and working hard together."\nWisconsin coach Kalekeni M. Banda has said the Hoosiers lack the superstars of past rosters, making IU dangerously unpredictable. Bluem said sophomore midfielder Pat Noonan caused the Buckeyes problems Sunday, but he\'s not a superstar. Big Ten Player of the Week Ryan Mack, a junior, was unusually quiet in the midfield.\nJust over a week ago, the Hoosiers came out unfocused against winless Northwestern, which scored a goal in the first 45 minutes. IU won 4-1.\n"If we\'re not in the game, other teams can beat us," Fundenberger said. "A lot of teams can beat us. This team has to be more focused than the teams in the past have been."\nThe Hoosiers have won 10 consecutive games since losing three of their first six games, but the players knew they would improve after the losses, Fundenberger said. And they can\'t be satisfied with a lackluster performance Sunday, he said.\nWith the improved competiveness in the Big Ten, it was asked if the rest of the conference could ever stake an exclusive win over the No. 2 Hoosiers (13-3, 5-0).\n"Jerry\'s just going to reload, isn\'t he?," Bluem said. "He uses a lot of good players, but he's always right there. His recruiting classes have always been among the best in the country, and it\'s hard to recruit against Indiana with the tradition there."\n"We were looking for that kind of upset (Sunday), but it didn\'t happen"