With only three games left in the regular season, the No. 2 Hoosiers have a chance Friday night to move one step closer to achieving one of their goals.
IU will travel to Rutgers with hopes to remain on top of the Big Ten standings and undefeated in Big Ten play.
Here are three things to know about the Scarlet Knights before the matchup.
Containing Hall
The biggest challenge of the night for IU will be trying to stop junior forward Jordan Hall.
Hall leads the conference and is No. 5 in the nation with 12 goals scored. He’s also tied for most shots in the conference with 46.
Out of 14 matches this season, Hall has scored in all but five. He’s also had a brace, where a player scores two goals in one game, in three of the past six matches. In Rutgers' last match against Lafayette, Hall scored a pair of goals off a free kick and a penalty kick.
Other than Hall, Rutgers has struggled at times this season to find goals outside of his. If IU can limit his opportunities, then leaving Yurcak Field with a victory shouldn’t be an issue.
Senior knight
It’ll be senior night for Rutgers when IU comes into town.
The Scarlet Knights have struggled within the confines of Yurcak Field as they only have a 1-5-1 record on their home field.
Rutgers has been outscored 19-7 in those seven matches and the lone win came last week against Northwestern, 2-1. Hall scored the game-winner in the 88th minute off a penalty kick.
The two lone losses for IU this season have been on the road, but both have been to top-10 nonconference opponents. IU has only played a pair of conference road games but defeated Wisconsin and then-No. 14 Michigan by a combined 4-1.
Lackluster defense
In 2018, Rutgers has been outscored a combined 34-21 with 2.43 goals scored per game average given up to the opponents.
The Hoosiers lead the Big Ten with 31 goals and 38 assists this season. They also have only allowed nine goals overall and three goals in conference play.
Rutgers will also have to contain senior defender Andrew Gutman, who’s second in the Big Ten with eight goals. Gutman was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week Monday after he picked up a brace against Maryland last week.
“It’s really been their defensive part of their game they’ve been inconsistent,” IU Coach Todd Yeagley said. “If we’re strong defensively then we’ll be in a good spot. It’s a lot to play for. We’re playing to hopefully move closer to a title and they’re playing for positioning for seeding purposes. We know we’ll get Rutgers best.”
