The final stretch of the regular season is here for IU and there is still a lot to play for.
The Hoosiers currently sit in a tie for second place in the Big Ten standings at 10 points with Wisconsin and Michigan State. After Maryland wrapped up the Big Ten title last weekend, the battle is on for the second seed in the Big Ten Tournament.
Luckily for the Hoosiers, they control their destiny as they play their final two Big Ten matches of the season against Wisconsin and Michigan State. IU Coach Todd Yeagley said it’ll be crucial to get two wins to lock down the No. 2 seed for the tournament.
“They all get bigger as we get later in the season,” Yeagley said. “The early games will be important on our resume, but the margins are still big because there are a lot of factors in play. We need to finish strong to have a good seed in the Big Ten tournament and continue to put positive results on our NCAA resume.”
Saturday at Ohio State was a game of catch-up for IU. Although IU ended up getting a late goal to force extra time and did get a result, it could be looked at as a missed opportunity.
Moving forward, there is no room for error. The No. 7 Hoosiers have done what they needed to do outside the conference with wins against Butler and Louisville to boost their RPI. Now, the struggles in the Big Ten need to end.
“We had the majority of the game,” Yeagley said about Saturday’s draw. “I thought we gave them a soft goal to start the game. We gifted them a few areas, but controlled the rest of the game. Tough to walk away with a tie because I thought we had enough of it for a win.”
The Big Ten Tournament will bring a sense of uncertainty for the Hoosiers. They have struggled within the conference, but the tournament is still a few weeks down the road. They will have a chance to get things back on track.
Avoiding No. 1 seed and Big Ten champion Maryland until the championship has to be the number one priority for the Hoosiers. They will have a bit of a home field advantage with it being played in Westfield, Indiana, at Grand Park.
“The last two or three games there is always something on the line,” Yeagley said. “These are big and these are really big teams we are playing.”
One potential cause for concern could be the defense. IU junior defender Grant Lillard has recovered from injury and finally feels well enough to play, the only issue is that after allowing three goals in the first nine games this season, IU has now allowed nine goals in the last five games.
On offense in the last five games, the Hoosiers have scored multiple goals in three matches. If they can get both the offense and defense on track at the same time, this could be a dangerous team down the stretch.
“Anything can happen in college soccer, it’s tight,” Yeagley said. “Maryland is a really good team, but I think they would be the first to say that they have gotten some key breaks this year. Some years that works with you and some years it doesn’t.”
The Big Ten has been an interesting conference all season long. Just three points separate the two seed from the six seed in the conference.v
Northwestern’s overtime win against No. 2 Notre Dame on Tuesday is an example of what this conference is capable of.
Every match is a battle and just like IU senior goalkeeper Colin Webb said before the season, if you aren’t having a good technical day, teams can find results.
That is exactly what IU has learned this season. Playing well in the last two matches will be very important for the Hoosiers moving forward.
“I think the Northwestern game is a good example,” Yeagley said. “We’re capable of beating anyone in the country — teams in our conference — whether at the top, middle or bottom. It’s a tight league, it’s tough.”
