“We’re done with nonconference, and we need to get out of last place in the Big Ten,” junior goalkeeper Colin Webb said. “We have three games where we need to get the results to end up where we need to end up in the Big Ten.”
The team knows three wins will definitely push them higher up the table, but it is not looking that far ahead and is taking the last games one step at a time, Webb said. That starts with Michigan this Saturday.
“We are definitely just focusing on Michigan right now,” Webb said. “That’s the only thing on our mind, and we know we have three games to go, but the only thing that we have in control right now is Michigan on Saturday.”
IU Coach Todd Yeagley said the team can see the light at the end of the tunnel now and it may be a little easier for the players to mentally prepare for Michigan, compared to the start of the season .
“It’s easier to focus now on each game,” Yeagley said. “Earlier in the season, (the end) was such a long way away, but now it’s around the corner, and it’s easier to say this game is the important game, and it’s easier to conceptualize that as a player. So I think they’ll be really focused on Saturday to get the best result we can.”
A win against Michigan on Saturday could potentially move the Hoosiers up to sixth in the nine-team league.
In terms of offense, Yeagley said he knows the Hoosiers will create chances, but defensively Yeagley said he believes the Hoosiers need to be wary of the athleticism of the Wolverines’ offense.
“They’re very athletic in their front three,” Yeagley said. “We have to be really smart defensively at where we allow space and when we press and when we don’t.”
Yeagley and the team have been working on making it as difficult as possible for the Michigan offense to breach IU’s goal Saturday, but he also identified some areas he said he believes the team would do well Saturday.
“Michigan is a really good Big Ten team, but there will be parts of the game where we will do well,” Yeagley said. “Transition will be important and the ability to keep the ball in our front half to make them chase a bit and to also bring their attackers forward will also be important.”
Yeagley said last Tuesday night’s victory against Louisville was important for the team.
He also said he was looking to get three wins in the final three Big Ten games after that game.
However, Yeagley also said one game is not the be-all and end-all. A win Saturday is important, and he said he knows that the team knows that too, and they have not been too concerned about getting a result but rather working to get the desired result.
“I’m not talking about how important it is,” Yeagley said. “We are just trying to get the details down as best we can and put our best foot forward on Saturday.”
