IU mens soccer team hopes to clinch conference regular season title

Before every season, teams make lists of goals they hope to accomplish by season’s end. This weekend, the No. 9 IU men’s soccer team travels to Wisconsin in hopes of checking off the first goal on its “To-Do” list – clinching the Big Ten regular season title. \nIf the Hoosiers (12-4-2, 4-0-1) defeat the Badgers (6-6-5, 0-3-2), they will clinch the conference title outright. They are currently in contention for the top spot with Ohio State and Northwestern. The Hoosiers hold a major advantage over both of these teams, however. IU is undefeated in conference so far this season, whereas both of these teams have at least one loss.\nSenior Charley Traylor said the team is feeling good going into this weekend’s game and hopes the winning momentum carries over to Sunday’s game. \n“We’re feeling very confident,” Traylor said. “Our first goal of the season is to win the Big Ten regular season, and I think we have a really good shot at it. We’re going into Wisconsin on a roll right now.”\nThe Hoosiers are currently riding a six-game unbeaten streak, including wins in their last three games. IU most recently defeated Kentucky by a score of 4-0.\nShowing their offensive depth, four different Hoosiers scored goals on the night. Junior midfielder Brad Ring was one of those four players, netting his fifth goal of the season. Earlier this week, Ring was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week. Ring said the team looks forward to continuing the recent streak and is confident it can do so. \n“We played well against Kentucky,” he said. “We got a good result there. We’re hoping to go to Wisconsin and do the same thing.” \nAlthough the team has the opportunity to clinch the title away from Bill Armstrong Stadium, Traylor said he still expects a strong turnout of Hoosier faithful. \n“We have such a good fan base,” Traylor said. “They travel everywhere. It almost feels like it’s a home game everywhere we go. We don’t really worry about the venue, we just go out there and have the same mentality every game.” \nJunior midfielder Billy Weaver also feels his team is up for the challenge they face this weekend. Although they know how potentially big this game could be, Weaver said no one feels jittery. \n“We don’t get nervous.” Weaver said.