Men's soccer faces road test at UAB Friday, plays West Virginia Sunday

This weekend the No. 8 IU men’s soccer team will face its first true road test of the season before returning to Jerry Yeagley Field.

The Hoosiers play No. 18 University of Alabama-Birmingham at 8:30 p.m. Friday in Birmingham, Ala. The last time the Hoosiers were in Alabama, they brought back a national championship trophy.

Although a championship is not at stake, the Hoosiers are looking to bring back a win.
After losing to UCLA 1-0 in overtime last weekend, the Hoosiers have worked on finding an offensive spark before they contend with UAB and West Virginia Sunday in Bloomington.

“Our spirits are high going into this weekend, ready to just get back at it,” senior midfielder Harrison Petts said. “The loss was tough, and we thought we had a better game.

“It was an unfair result, we thought, in the end, but it makes you that much hungrier to come out next week and get a result.”

The IU squad scored two goals last weekend, while UAB combined for nine goals in wins over No. 24 VCU and High Point. Sunday’s opponent, West Virginia, also beat Central Connecticut State 3-0 and tied with Radford 2-2 in its opening games.

On Wednesday, practice for IU was all about the offense preparing for both UAB and West Virginia. The Hoosiers practiced crosses on corner kicks and penalty kicks, and just scored goals around dummy defenders. 

“We’re still kinda trying to get to know each other and how our tendencies work on the attack,” senior midfielder Jacob Bushue said. “I think once we figure things, and we’re very close, we just have to get the fine tuned details with it. We’re going to be very, very dangerous.”

Petts and Bushue said playing tough teams like UAB and West Virginia keep the team motivated, especially in practice.

They both said there isn’t an easy game on this season’s schedule, and that forces the team to be on top of their game at all times.

Petts said the Hoosiers can’t afford to take either opponent for granted this weekend.
“Every time we take the field, we expect to win,” Petts said. “That’s just kind of the IU mentality.

“At the same time, we know these two teams are good, and we respect both of them. If we don’t come out with our A-game, we might not get the win on the day, so we have to bring our best.”

IU Coach Todd Yeagley said he’s excited to go back to Alabama with his squad for their first road game. He said UAB plays an interesting formation that will be a good challenge for his team along with playing near to where his team earned its eighth championship last year.

“It’s one of the reasons we scheduled this,” Yeagley said. “We think we’ll have a great crowd there. Our guys had a great experience in Birmingham last time, but that was last year, as we know, and everything is different. You want to be tested on the road, and that is going to prove important in Big Ten play.”

Follow reporter Alyssa Extin on Twitter @alyssa_extin.