Men's soccer tries to break 4 game losing streak

The slump continues.

The defending national champs have lost five of their last six games with the most recent loss coming from No. 7 Louisville on Tuesday.

IU has also yet to win in the month of October.  

The injury-plagued team is playing without freshman forward Tommy Thompson, and has seen limited action from senior midfielder Harrison Petts.

To get back on the winning track, the Hoosiers (4-8-1) will first have to go through VCU, who has won each of its last three games in Richmond, Va.  

The Hoosiers have yet to win a road game this season.

“We need to make sure everyone has bought into what we’re trying to accomplish,” junior midfielder Dylan Mares said. “We just have to take it game by game, and I know everyone wants to win.”

IU Coach Todd Yeagley said he didn’t think the end score against Louisville accurately displayed how the team played.

Yeagley said he just wants his team to be rewarded for their efforts, but the ball hasn’t bounced in their favor thus far.

“Playing a team that’s only lost two games, been ranked, a nice team, you walk away again a bit wondering where things could have been better,” Yeagley said. “And we do know where they could have been better. We just have to keep working on it.”

Yeagley said the team has been working hard to keep a positive psyche going into each match.

VCU has outscored its competitors 9-2 in its last three matches.

The Rams have proven that they can score with different weapons on the field because they have scored with at least three different players each game in their past three matches.

Kharlton Belmar leads the team with four goals, and Jose Manel is right behind him with three goals while also tallying three assists.

Junior defender Drew Schall said the Indiana defense is capable of being a great unit.

“I think a lot of the pieces can mesh well together,” Schall said. “I think continuously losing, you kind of get down on yourself, but we need to get out of this slump.”

Follow reporter AlyssaExtin on Twitter @alyssa_extin.