The No. 4 Hoosiers now sit at the top of the Big Ten standings after defeating No. 14 Michigan last week. With Maryland in town Friday night, IU has a chance to continue its hot start to conference play.
Maryland will travel to Bloomington with a 4-4-3 overall record and a 2-2-0 mark in Big Ten play.
Here are three things to know about the Terrapins before they play the Hoosiers.
Road Warriors
Usually, teams play better at home due to having a home crowd and a familiar environment around them. For Maryland, life on the road has featured better results.
The Terrapins are 3-1-1 on the road compared to just a 1-3-1 record when playing at Ludwig Field in College Park, Maryland.
The only loss on the road for Maryland came in the first match of the season when then-No. 24 Washington won 2-0. In its third match of the season, Maryland tied then-No. 7 Virginia 0-0 on the road as well.
Maryland also won its first two Big Ten road games against Northwestern and Rutgers. The Terrapins outscored both teams by a combined score of 4-1.
Freshman Phenom
Freshman midfielder William James Herve didn’t start in Maryland's first three matches of the season.
Since entering the lineup, he’s led the Terrapins in goals and has registered a shot in each game except the win against the Scarlet Knights. Even in that game, he still had an assist in Maryland's 2-0 win.
Herve has three goals on the season and was named a Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week last month after scoring twice against Northwestern.
If Maryland wants any chance at pulling off the upset win over IU, Herve will have to play a major part.
Struggling on the attack
Maryland has scored only nine goals this season and has given up the same amount to opponents as well.
The Terrapins have been shutout in their last two matches against No. 13 Michigan State and Georgetown. Prior to those two games, Maryland had won four of five matches.
Only one player other than Herve has scored more than one goal this season. But, Maryland does have a well-balanced attack as six different players have scored a goal through the nine matches.
IU has only given up eight goals this season, and three of those came last week against then-No. 4 Kentucky. Given this, the Terrapins may have a tough task in front of them with the IU backline.
