IU men's soccer begins Big Ten season

Inside the lounge of the No.19-ranked IU men’s soccer team is a dry-erase board that has many random writings on it, but one statement on the board stands out from the rest. \nThe board reads “good luck this season,” and the Hoosiers just might need it as they head into a tough conference schedule that begins 7 p.m. Saturday in Ann Arbor, Mich., against No.10 Michigan, who is 8-0-1 on the season.\nThe Hoosiers, who won the Big Ten last season and were picked to do so again by conference coaches, enter this game ranked behind the Wolverines and No. 3 Northwestern. IU (4-3-1) only has a better record than 2-4-1 Penn State entering the Big Ten season.\nThis may not be the way the Hoosiers wanted to begin the season, but sophomore midfielder Lee Hagedorn said the Hoosiers will try to ride the momentum from their recent win over Butler to a good start in the Big Ten. \n“We just want to get off to a fast start at Michigan,” Hagedorn said. “I think we can go out to their place and give them a good game. After this win (against Butler), I think we’ll be really confident and take it to them.”\nThe Hoosiers have recently fallen on some hard times, but sophomore forward Darren Yeagle said they are not fazed by the losses. \n“Our team forgets about losses,” Yeagle said. “We forget about the past, and we just focus on the next game.”\nDespite the confidence the players exude, IU coach Mike Freitag said the trip will be a tough one because of the untimely turnaround from their Butler contest.\n“It’s going to be a tall order,” Freitag said. “People don’t realize how physically demanding it is to go out and run for an hour and a half and recover for a game two days later. It’s not easy.”\nIU has a wealth of depth at many positions, and some players are not exactly getting the playing time they expected. Freitag talked about what it takes to get that time on the field for IU. \n“I think the message got out to the kids this week that the guys who are going to get on the field are the guys who get it done, guys who are going to hustle,” Freitag said. “(Freshman forward) Neil Wilmarth doesn’t come from a great soccer background, but he brings a hustle that I hope will be contagious to my team.”\nThe Hoosiers will need that hustle, because they have experienced some offensive woes this season. This is illustrated in their shot on goal \npercentage, which sits at 38 percent. IU also has a shot percentage of .088 – .002 points below their opponents’ .090.\nGetting healthy could be a major offensive asset for the Hoosiers, who are missing junior midfielders Brian Ackley and John Mellencamp. Yeagle, who recently returned from an anterior cruciate ligament injury is happy to be on the field. Yeagle said watching his team perform was the toughest part of his rehabilitation.\n“Sitting on the bench and watching the team play (was hard),” he said. “In the summer, I had rehab every day, so it was pretty tough, but you have to go through, it because this is what I want to do.”\nThough he doesn’t have a set date for a full return, Yeagle said he said he is thrilled about the Big Ten season.\n“I’m very excited,” Yeagle said. “Big Ten’s a big part of our season because of the NCAA (tournament), and it affects our confidence going in.”