Men's soccer aims to regain momentum against Brown

The IU men’s soccer team has struggled to find its footing this season, and a win this Friday at home could put the Hoosiers on solid ground.

Four of their first six matches so far went into overtime and left the squad out of the win column each time.

Despite recent struggles, senior captain Jacob Bushue said the team just needs to focus on their game and get the job done.

Their next chance to prove themselves will be against the Brown Bears Friday at 7:30 p.m. The Bears are 1-2-1 so far this season and are in the midst of a two-game losing streak.
Despite their record, Brown has kept the ball out of the net by only allowing three goals in regulation.   

“It’s going to be a real disciplined team,” IU Coach Todd Yeagley said. “They’ll probably sit numbers around the ball. They’re fairly big and they play pretty direct. We have to be smart on restarts and not give them anything on our back third. I think we’ll get our chances, but we have to execute better when we get them.”

The last time the two teams played was in 2010, and that game ended in a 2-1 Brown victory. Jacob Bushue was a freshman then and remembers that game and the Brown style of play.  

“It’s going to be tough (to score) because they are going to sit a little bit more than the teams we’ve played against,” Bushue said. “We’re just going to have to be patient and make sure that we don’t get frustrated if the first one doesn’t come because it’s going to be hard to break them down. They’re a really good team.”

The Hoosiers will take on the Bears with the help of senior Kerel Bradfrod. After suffering an ankle injury during Friday’s win over Bakersfield, he was sidelined for Sunday’s overtime 1-1 tie against UC Irvine. He was back practicing with the team
Wednesday and said the team has been working on mental toughness.  

Bradford said a big focus right now is not getting discouraged this early in the season.

“I feel good. I just took some good rest, some rehab, and I feel good,” Bradford said. “I’ll be good to go on Friday. We’ve just been working on what we need to work on as far as staying together as a team and not letting the results get us down and just moving forward.”

Going into the season ranked No. 1, as well as being the defending national champions, brings many expectations, senior A.J. Corrado said. But he said although the pressure is there, the team needs to focus on getting back on the winning track and play each game one at a time.  

“No question there’s pressure, but at the same time you can’t think like that, and you’ve got to go out there and play as if it’s any other game,” Corrado said. “Also as a senior there is a little bit of pressure because I know that this is my last season. I think you have to take games one at a time, and this is the next game on our schedule.”

Follow reporter Alyssa Extin on Twitter @Alyssa_Extin.