IU’s No. 9 ranking and presence in a conference with just three ranked teams total brings with it a certain expectation when it comes to results.
However, the Hoosiers struggled on Saturday in another matchup with an unranked Big Ten opponent. IU Coach Todd Yeagley may be right that the Buckeyes are better than their record indicates, but there comes a point when IU has to start performing like a top-10 team against lesser opponents.
The Hoosiers were looking to build off of their 2-1 midweek win at Louisville. Now they have to collect themselves again and wait for their next opportunity.
At the moment, IU is in a three-way tie in the Big Ten standings. IU has 10 points along with foes No. 19 Michigan State and unranked Wisconsin
Luckily for the Hoosiers, they control their own destiny for the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten tournament and matchup with both of those squads to close out the conference slate.
Maryland officially clinched the No. 1 seed for the tournament Saturday, as well as the regular season title outright, after Penn State upset Michigan State in overtime.
IU senior goalkeeper Colin Webb mentioned after the Penn State match they’d like to get a rematch with Maryland again this season after they settled for a draw to open the Big Ten slate. If the Hoosiers take care of business against the Badgers and Spartans, that rematch would come by way of a Big Ten championship game.
For that to happen, IU needs to solve its Big Ten woes.
Saturday’s struggles against Ohio State came after struggles against Northwestern, Rutgers and Penn State, teams that sit below IU in the standings.
The Hoosiers played catch up all day against the Buckeyes.
IU, a team that’s prided itself on its defense, has allowed nine goals in five games after allowing just three in its first nine.
If the defensive identity of this team alters a bit throughout the season, so does its offensive identity.
Yeagley has talked about bending but not breaking on defense.
Saturday IU bent, but if it wasn’t for IU senior defender Billy McConnell’s equalizer in the 83rd minute, it might have been a story of breaking.
Wisconsin on Friday and Michigan State on Oct. 30 will tell a lot about where this team stands.
