Red-hot IU to face Kentucky

IU seeks to extend its season-high, seven-game win streak and 20-game home unbeaten streak when it welcomes border rival Kentucky Sunday for a third consecutive non-conference match.\nThe red-hot Hoosiers, now No. 14 in the latest NSCAA/adidas poll, finished 6-0-1 in October, a month they began unranked and with the program's worst record after nine games.\nIU (9-3-4, 4-0-1) has posted shutouts in five of its last six games and has outscored its opponents 16-2 during the seven-game win streak.\n"Now the team is starting to gel," freshman Josh Tudela said. "At the beginning of (the) season none of the bounces were going our way but now the conditions have changed and the bounces are going for us. We are playing with a hell of a lot more confidence and we know we can win every time we step on the field."\nThe Hoosiers last lost to the Wildcats in 1995 and own a dominating 15-1 overall mark against the them. The Cats roll in with an 11-4-1 record, undefeated at 5-0 in Conference USA, and 6-1 on the road. Since a three-game mid-season losing streak, Kentucky has reeled off seven wins in its last eight games.\nUnlike Saint Louis, where IU focused its defense mainly on two guys, six Wildcats have at least two goals, while freshman Riley O'Neill leads the team with six.\n"They have good balance. They are not one-dimensional," IU coach Jerry Yeagley said. "The one dimension I'm concerned about is their direct play and the ball in the air, which is not necessarily our strength."\nWith the same number of losses, the Hoosiers and Wildcats have both scored 27 goals while both have allowed a mere 11.\nThe Hoosiers and Wildcats are currently atop their conference standings, as the Hoosiers will battle Penn St. Nov. 2 to conclude the Big Ten regular season.\n"We are playing well during the winning streak," sophomore Brian Plotkin said. "We are just looking forward to these next two games to finish the regular season to put us in the postseason."\nIU has not lost a match since its Sept. 18 1-0 double-overtime defeat of Notre Dame in South Bend. \n"Our confidence is here now," Plotkin said. "Before, we were young and knowing what to expect, but now we found ways to win games. We are such a young team that has matured so quickly." \n-- Contact staff writer Daniel Cohen at djcohen@indiana.edu.