Big Ten soccer tourney begins

Two losses last weekend in California dropped the men's soccer team from contending for a top-four seed in the NCAA tournament to contending for a seed -- period.\nAlthough unlikely, the Hoosiers could be excluded from the NCAAs for the first time since 1987 if they don't win at least one game this weekend in the Big Ten tournament.\n"The guys, they definitely know where we stand and where we are," coach Jerry Yeagley said. "There's sort of a somber seriousness among the team.\n"I don't think there's a loss of confidence in the team, but just a realization that we've got to be sharper, we can't make the defensive mistakes we did, and we've got to capitalize on our opportunities."\nIU gets a chance to do those things today when it faces Ohio State in the Big Ten semifinals.\nThe fifth-seeded Buckeyes advanced to the semifinal by beating fourth-seeded Wisconsin 2-1 yesterday in the first round. The Hoosiers earned the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye. \nYeagley said Ohio State gave IU perhaps its toughest match of the Big Ten regular season, a 1-0 IU victory.\n"We probably had our worst game of the season and still came out with a victory," sophomore midfielder Phil Presser said. "I think if we come out ready to play, it shouldn't be too hard for us to get a victory."\nYeagley said his team's intensity disappeared somewhat throughout the latter half of the season. The Hoosiers won several close games but did so without showing fight.\nThat fight resurfaced in the second half Sunday against Cal-Berkeley, after IU fell behind 2-0 at halftime. The Hoosiers lost 2-1, but dominated the Bears in the second half.\nYeagley said senior midfielder Justin Tauber was responsible for IU's rejuvenated intensity, and he expects Tauber to lead the way this weekend.\n"He's going to have to step up. We're going to look to him to provide the spark and leadership by example through his own play and through his leadership," Yeagley said. \nThe stipulations surrounding this year's Big Ten tournament are different from what Tauber is accustomed. The past three seasons, the Hoosiers have used the Big Ten tournament to secure their seed for the NCAA tournament -- not fight just to get one.\nAlthough Tauber and the Hoosiers enter this Big Ten tournament with a different approach, he said the team is capable of winning this weekend and securing a tournament berth.\n"It's definitely a different feeling," Tauber said. "The last three years, we didn't actually have to win a Big Ten game to get in. But I think we all feel confident.\n"(The second half against Cal) gave us a big boost of confidence, knowing now we have to play with that intensity for the rest of the season or we won't have a rest of the season. If we play with that sense of urgency for 90 minutes, we'll be fine"