The two will play in Bloomington 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
“They’re a storied program,” IU senior Patrick Doody said. “That’s what makes the rivalry and the game so great.”
IU leads the all-time series against St. Louis 20-9-4. The last time St. Louis beat IU was in 2007. The last time they did it in Bloomington was in 1999.
This season both teams are representing their respective programs well. IU (5-1-3) is ranked No. 16 in the NSCAA poll while St. Louis (7-1) is ranked No. 8.
In the initial NCAA RPI rankings released Tuesday, IU was ranked No. 11 while St. Louis was ranked No. 6.
“It’s always an honor to wear the IU badge, and I’m sure it’s the same for them,” IU freshman defender Grant Lillard said. “It’s kind of a little rivalry game between the top two teams historically, so I’m sure it’ll make it more interesting.”
A primary reason for the Billikens’ success has been the play of senior forward Robert Kristo. In seven games, Kristo has scored six of St. Louis’ 13 goals this season.
The IU defense has only allowed six goals all ?season.
“Shutting down the other team’s offense is very important,” Lillard said. “Especially if they have a special guy we have to keep an eye on. It presents a good challenge, but we’ve done pretty good so far this year so I’m sure we’ll be prepared to play against them.”
St. Louis has also tallied 17 assists on its 13 goals this season. Juniors David Graydon and Marco Heskamp have accounted for four of those assists each, while senior Raymond Lee has added three assists of his own.
IU’s opponents have only managed three assists all season.
“We’ve got to keep the ball out of the net,” Doody said. “We did that for 89 minutes against Northwestern. It’s going to be a team defensive performance that’s going to help the ball stay out of the net.”
St. Louis has also been winners of five straight matches, including wins against Louisville, which is ranked No. 6 nationally, and Creighton, which is ranked No. 11 nationally.
“Playing against a team that’s rolling is always tough,” Lillard said. “They’ll have a lot of confidence pinging the ball around. We’re a confident side, though, and we’re not afraid to play against any team.”
One reason IU may not be intimidated by St. Louis is it has played top talent before this season.
IU has already played three teams ranked in the top 15. It lost against No. 3 Penn State 1-0, tied No. 7 Georgetown 1-1 and defeated No. 12 Marquette 1-0. They also defeated No. 5 Washington in the preseason 1-0.
“That’s why we schedule like we do,” IU Coach Todd Yeagley said. “So we don’t get blindsided with a game like this.”
St. Louis has been excellent defensively as well. Just like IU, St. Louis has only allowed six goals this season. Four of those goals came in one match, a 4-0 loss at Memphis.
IU has found the back of the net 11 times this season and knows it is capable of more.
“I don’t think we’re going to feel the pressure,” IU senior Jamie Vollmer said. “But I know that we all know in the back of our heads that it’s time to start scoring some goals.”
The match Wednesday will come only three days after IU’s last match, a 1-1 draw against ?Northwestern.
A match of this magnitude coming so soon after one as taxing as the match against Northwestern would have some coaches worried but not Yeagley.
“It’s a program rivalry,” Yeagley said. “It’s a team that has had a fantastic year, and they have a lot of good talent. These are the games it’s easy to get up for and recover mentally and physically when you know you have to be at your best.”
