Hoosiers defeat Kentucky

In the second to last game of the regular season, the IU men’s soccer team showed the Kentucky Wildcats just how dangerous it is. \nRiding high on a three-game win streak – including wins in five of their last six games – the Hoosiers defeated the Wildcats with a score of 4-0 in Lexington on Wednesday night. Freshmen Rich Balchan and Daniel Kelly, sophomore Eric Alexander and junior Brad Ring all scored a goal. Balchan also recorded an assist on Alexander’s goal in the 51st minute. \nJunior midfielder Billy Weaver was also a major contribution to the Hoosiers’ offensive attack, as he tallied three assists on the night. \n“We looked great,” Weaver said. “Defensively, we didn’t give them time to do anything. They were stuck kicking balls out of bounds.” \nRecently IU has had trouble finishing, most notably in the recent 0-0 tie with Ohio State despite 18 shots, seven of which were on-goal. Weaver said that although scoring has been an issue for his team lately, he wasn’t sure what was different in the game versus Kentucky that led to their offensive domination. \n“I really don’t know why we played like we did tonight,” Weaver said. “Everything was going right for us.” \nAlexander agreed with his teammate and said that his team looked great on the pitch tonight. \n“We played really well,” Alexander said. “We had more energy. It was definitely one of our better games.” \nNot only the players were pleased with their play. IU coach Mike Freitag said he was worried coming into the game because Kentucky has been a physical and demanding team in the past, but Freitag was happy with the result. \n“I am very pleased with the effort tonight,” Freitag said. “They played well. They made the ball do the work. It was definitely one of our better games.” \nThe Hoosiers will head to Wisconsin this weekend with the hope of clinching the Big Ten regular season title outright. With a victory in Madison, IU would be 5-0-1 in conference play and the only undefeated team in the Big Ten.\nAlexander said his team is enjoying the win streak and looking forward to tournament time, both conference and national. \n“It feels good (to win versus Kentucky),” he said. “We’re really getting excited about the Big Ten Tournament and the NCAA’s.”