After nine straight games of IU looking like the best team in the country, something unexpected happened.
The No. 2 Hoosiers didn’t look like themselves in a 3-0 loss to No. 4 Kentucky on Oct. 3 in Lexington, Kentucky. But, was it all that bad that they lost?
Far too many times in sports there have been teams that go undefeated all season just to lose near the end. In 2007, the New England Patriots finished the regular season 16-0, then went on to Super Bowl XLII to lose its first game of the year to the New York Giants, 17-14.
More recently, in the 2014-15 NCAA basketball season, Kentucky went 31-0 in the regular season only to be knocked out in the Final Four to Wisconsin, 71-64.
Albeit this IU men’s soccer team wouldn’t have been completely undefeated because they lost the opening match, but not losing from Aug. 26 to Dec. 9 is quite an ominous task.
Frankly, that’s what happened to IU last season.
The Hoosiers won the first game Aug. 25 and didn’t lose their first match until the last match of the season — the National Championship loss to Stanford on Dec. 10.
IU tied six times last season, but never a blemish in the loss column. This season so far, there have been no ties, and although the opening loss to current No. 1 Wake Forest, it looked as if IU was on the unbeaten path once again.
Until Kentucky punched them in the mouth.
It was a punch that doesn’t keep someone down though, but rather a punch that gets the adrenaline pumping and gets one to come back for more.
This mid-season loss is more important than the opening loss. IU has six games left in the regular season — three on the road and three at home — and the first one is against No. 14 Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The Wolverines won the Big Ten regular season title last year after finishing 6-1-1 in conference play. IU tied Michigan 1-1 in Bloomington last year and had a chance to win the conference if it weren’t for tying Michigan State in the final match of the regular season. So, thanks to the two Michigan Big Ten schools, IU found itself in second place with a 5-0-3 Big Ten record.
This year, the Wolverines are 8-1-1 and 3-0-1 in the conference, which has them atop the Big Ten standings. Guess who’s second? IU, with a 3-0 conference record and 9-2 overall.
The Hoosiers and Wolverines have played two common foes — Penn State and Northwestern. Both teams defeated Northwestern, but Michigan tied Penn State 1-1, while IU defeated Penn State 2-0.
In terms of winning the Big Ten, this game could be the difference maker. If the Hoosiers win, they’ll surpass the Wolverines for the top spot, but if big blue wins, the cream and crimson will fall another game back with just about four weeks remaining in the regular season.
It will be a tough environment for IU, but like Coach Todd Yeagley said after Kentucky, he’s not worried, and he shouldn’t be.
Any IU coach, player or fan for that matter will say it wasn’t a good thing that IU lost to Kentucky. Why should they? A road win against the No. 4 team in the country would have been a big resume builder. But losing that game, just six games before tournament time, gave IU that room for error — that off game — that they didn’t have the luxury of last season.
It’s about how they bounce back. Just like the opening loss to Wake Forest, IU bounced back to beat then-No. 3 North Carolina on the road and rallied off eight straight following that game.
After losing to the Wildcats, the Hoosiers can bounce back against the Wolverines, and if history repeats itself, their win streak will put them right where they want to be.
Sunday's game is about getting back to the IU soccer style of play and reclaiming the top spot in the Big Ten.
