Men's soccer welcomes unbeaten Butler for top 25 tilt

Perfection matches up against the Hoosiers tonight.

But midfielder Matt McKain, a freshman who has played in just six matches, said he isn’t scared of facing what is, on paper, a flawless soccer team.

Actually, he said he is not really scared of anything on the soccer pitch.

So the fact that an undefeated Butler team will face off against IU is not frightening.
It’s motivational.

“We’re not nervous,” McKain said. “We’ll play anybody. As long as we play straight up, I can see us going toe–to-toe with anybody in the country.”

The 13-0-1 Bulldogs will take on the Hoosiers tonight at Bill Armstrong Stadium at 7 p.m. for IU’s last non-conference match of the season. Butler is ranked No. 8 in the nation.

“If anything, it excites us and makes us play better,” McKain said. “We’re not intimidated. It just gives us a better opportunity to beat a team in the top 10.”

IU (8-4-2, 3-0-1 Big Ten) is currently riding a three-game winning streak against ranked teams, beating then-No. 20 Penn State on Sept. 24, then-No. 11 Creighton on Oct. 9 and then-No. 16 Michigan State on Sunday.

A non-conference matchup isn’t a break for them. It’s a big game.

Junior midfielder Tyler McCarroll said the team wants to keep the momentum of beating Michigan State on the road and take it into Sunday’s game against Northwestern, where the Hoosiers could clinch the Big Ten regular season title for the first time since 2007.

But regardless of IU’s momentum, it’s clear to say Butler’s momentum has been in full swing all season, and McCarroll isn’t discrediting Butler’s ability.

“They’re a good team,” McCarroll said. “I wouldn’t say their perfect record is a fluke by any means. It’s a big game. We’re coming off a big win, and it’d be great to get another win to keep that flow going.”

That flow is the one the Hoosiers had throughout September when they had their first three-game winning streak of the season. But first-year IU coach Todd Yeagley isn’t preparing a speech about how to keep momentum going. He said his players remember the 2-1 double overtime loss last season.

“Oh, I don’t think they’re going to need to hear tons from me,” Yeagley said. “This group is motivated right now, and they know what is there for the taking. We have a hungry, edgy group right now that’s excited about this next phase.”

The next phase is champions of the Big Ten, then champions of the Big Ten tournament and then at least an appearance in the NCAA’s College Cup, a place in which the team hasn’t found itself in six years.

Big games lay ahead of Yeagley and his team, but for now, they’re focused on erasing perfection.

“I know we’re going to work really hard and show our fans what this team can do,” Yeagley said. “This game will prove to be another really good test.”