No. 2 Hoosiers finish homestand against Big Ten foes

The postseason of the men's soccer team hinges on the Hoosiers' two Big Ten games this weekend at Bill Armstrong Stadium. \nIf IU knocks off Wisconsin and Northwestern, the Hoosiers are assured the top seed in the Big Ten tournament, as only Penn State (9-3, 3-1) has few losses in the conference like the Hoosiers (9-3, 3-0).\nIU faces Wisconsin 7:30 p.m. today and Northwestern 2 p.m. Sunday -- two teams headed in separate directions this season that have recently shown different offensive styles against the Hoosiers.\nThe Badgers (7-4-1, 1-1) boast an international flair with six players on their roster from outside the United States. They play what IU coach Jerry Yeagley calls, "Banda Ball," a highly explosive offense named after Wisconsin coach Kalekeni M. Banda. \n"I think they're going to be ready to play and come straight out on us," sophomore midfielder Phil Presser said. "I think they're going to be packing it in, so we have to be ready for that. \n"Northwestern, last year, they just came out and packed the box. In the first half, they'll keep all the guys back and maybe leave one guy on top to get a good transition off. Other than that, they\'re not going to come out and try to play with us like Wisconsin will."\nThe Wildcats (0-10, 0-3) often play 11 in the defensive third against the Hoosiers, in hopes of scoring off counterattacks.\nWisconsin is coming off a 2-0 loss to Penn State Sunday, a game in which the Badgers played close with the No. 13 Nittany Lions. \nThis season, Wisconsin has knocked off No. 19 Ohio State 2-1 and played top-30 Marquette to a scoreless tie.\nThe Hoosiers displayed their most explosive offensive performance against Michigan in a 7-0 win Sunday. For the first time this season, IU had a lead in a first half, as the Hoosiers scored five goals in the first 45 minutes. In just two of IU's 12 games this season, the Hoosiers have scored in the first half.\nLack of composure and bad luck have caused the scoring woes, Yeagley said. The win against Michigan ended the offensive troubles for at least 90 minutes, but Wisconsin appears to be a tougher team than the unranked, first-year varsity Wolverines.\n"I'd like to think now we found the formula, and we can reproduce it," Yeagley said. "They showed composure. Of course, it\'s a lot easier playing with a lead. People are less nervous, are less anxious, and getting those early goals settled people down. We haven't had that in any game."\nNorthwestern hasn't won a game this season and has been outscored 35-11. The Wolverines also couldn't win in the Big Ten last season, but played the Hoosiers scoreless until the final minute in last year's game in Evanston, Ill.\n"They seem to step up against us regardless of what their record is," Yeagley said. "They've given us some real tough games. If you look back on the last few years, we've struggled to get the wins in close matches. I expect them to use their thing of packing it in and countering."\nThe Hoosiers hope to avoid the lapses that have allowed other nationally ranked teams to be upset this season. Washington upset No. 5 and previously unbeaten Stanford last weekend, and former top-ranked UCLA fell to No. 6 in a national poll after falling to Stanford.\n\"We have to be focusing on what we have to do," said senior forward Matt Fundenberger, who scored three goals in the Michigan win. "We can beat anyone on any given day, if we're focused"