Column: IU soccer’s Mr. November

Mr. November is a term that was given to baseball player Derek Jeter for his dominance in the playoffs in the early part of his career.

To a lesser extent, junior midfielder Nikita Kotlov has also earned that nickname.

After struggling through a large stretch of the regular season, Kotlov has turned on the jets and given IU the extra spark it needed.

And it couldn’t have come at a better time.

IU is in the College Cup for the first time since it won its last title in 2004, and Kotlov is a big reason why.

In three tournament games, Kotlov has scored four goals and two assists, doubling his production from the entire season preceding the tournament.

He put up three of those goals in IU’s second round matchup against Xavier, propelling his team to a 4-1 win. He then put up a goal and an assist against No. 1 Notre Dame in their third round matchup.

This is a far cry from his early season production or lack thereof.

Kotlov had nine goals last year after coming off the bench in most of those games.
This was the year he needed to step up and be IU’s second option behind striker Eriq Zavaleta.

Instead, Kotlov started off his first dozen games without a goal.

IU’s identity was not so elite. At that point, the only hope for the team rested with Zavaleta and goaltender Luis Soffner.

Production from other players was at a standstill, and IU desperately needed its second option to pick it up.

And then it happened.

Kotlov broke through with his first goal after about seven weeks of the season passed by in a tying effort against Louisville on Oct. 10.

Still, IU went just 2-3-2 in between Kotlov’s first goal against Louisville and IU’s Big Ten Tournament loss to Michigan State on Nov. 7.

They needed more from their second option.

Once the tournament started for IU against Xavier on Nov. 18, Kotlov was ready to break through.

With his four goals and two assists in the tournament thus far, Kotlov has been directly involved in six of IU’s seven tournament goals.

In the regular season, IU scored 32 goals, six of which involved Kotlov directly.
On top of that, Kotlov has been getting more and more chances because he’s putting the ball on net.

In the regular season, Kotlov attempted 38 shots, 14 of which were on net.

In the tournament, Kotlov has put six of his 11 shots on net and has proved that good things can happen when you put the ball on goal.

This is what we should expect from Kotlov.

In 2011, he only had one goal through his first dozen games before scoring eight times in the final eight games of the season.

Kotlov and company will play Creighton on Friday in their semifinal matchup.

If IU wins, the team will play the winner of the Maryland-Georgetown game in the finals.

­— zstavis@indiana.edu