Hoosiers to face Spartans in Michigan

Two games stand in the way of the Hoosiers fulfilling their preseason goal of a Big Ten regular season title.

The first will be this Sunday in East Lansing, Mich., against the Michigan State Spartans.

“The Northwestern game that would determine the title can lose a lot of its meaning if we don’t take care of Michigan State on Sunday,” junior midfielder A.J. Corrado said.

“We’re focused for the game ahead of us right now, and we’ll see what happens in Northwestern’s other games. So, right now, we are going to analyze the MSU game, because that is a big step we need to take.”

The Hoosiers travel to Michigan State after going 4-0-1 in away games this season.

The Spartans, who are 3-4-1 at home, have won four of their last five
matchups.

Their 7-7-1 record this season, IU Coach Todd Yeagley said, is not a true testament to the team’s ability to give top opponents trouble.

“We schedule tough teams all the time,” he said. “You can see that in our RPI. Not one of our opponents is below 100. Our guys know that every game is tough, and even the lower-tier teams are dangerous in our schedule.

“They can read between the lines and know that with any number of teams we play, their particular record is not indicative of their talent or ability.”

Despite Yeagley’s attitude toward the Spartan skill set, they have tied their opponents in overall goals scored.

The Spartans have 16 goals total so far this season. IU’s top scorer, sophomore forward Eriq Zavaleta, has 14 goals alone.

In addition to that statistic, the Hoosier defense recently had a night against Evansville in which it allowed only four shots on goal throughout the entire match.

In last season’s regular season matchup against the Spartans, the Hoosiers outshot MSU 27 to six in a 2-2 draw.

Sophomore midfielder Kerel Bradford said although the domination is a positive asset to the Indiana defense, it has the potential to demotivate and anger the Hoosiers.

“It’s frustrating when we can’t get that first, second or third goal despite outshooting teams,” he said. “But it all comes down to our discipline and composure to stay focused and get the result.”

Junior midfielder Nikita Kotlov continued his late-fall scoring surge with a far-post bender from a tight angle within the six-yard box against the Evansville Purple Aces on Wednesday night.

“He is playing really well, and I think he’s gotten a little bit of his confidence back,” Corrado said. “For him, that is huge, because if he does have it, he is very hard to stop.”

Despite the two game tell-all for the Hoosiers’ conference title, Yeagley said he expects his team to perform as it did in the beginning of the season.

“Early in the season, you have to take the one-game approach,” he said. “You don’t know what that one game means for the season outcome. It’s clear to us now what it means, so I think the guys will play with the same mentality knowing what we have to do.”