Like the previous season, 2018 was a historic year of record setting and conference domination for IU men’s soccer.
The team earned their 13th Big Ten title and reached the NCAA tournament for the 43rd time in program history, an NCAA record. The program’s 20th NCAA college cup appearance was also an NCAA record. Despite the recent success, the program is still on a quest for the ninth star. That will begin with navigating another loaded Big Ten conference schedule.
IU enters 2019 as the No. 2 ranked team in the country despite having to replace 10 out of 11 starters from last year. The team also recently hired Christian Lomeli as the new assistant coach and is bringing in the No 2. recruiting class in the country, according to Top Drawer Soccer.
Senior goalkeeper Sean Caulfield said players have been working on their chemistry, trying to incorporate each player into the team, even just by going out to eat and getting to know one another. He hopes the improved chemistry with new players will translate onto the field.
"There's not a lot of time when you get back together, especially with 14 new players but we're going to have to find out stride quick," Caulfield said.
Before overviewing some of IU’s opponents for this upcoming season, here is a breakdown of how IU improved from 2017 to 2018 and where it ranked last season among Big Ten competitors.
Category |
2018 Season |
2017 Season |
Overall Record |
20-3-1. (12-0 at home) |
18-1-6 (12-0-2 at home) |
Conference Record |
8-0 |
5-0-3 |
Big Ten Ranking |
1st |
2nd |
Goals Scored |
47 (on 13% shooting) |
49 (on 11% shooting) |
Goals per game vs. Goals Allowed |
1.96-.054 |
1.96-.028 |
Outscoring Opponents (by period) |
24-2 in first period and 20-10 in second |
21-2 in first period and 25-4 in second |
Defensive Shutouts |
15 (best in nation) |
18 (best in nation) |
Percentage of Shots Saved |
79 percent |
90 percent |
IU led the Big Ten in goals (1.96 per game), shots (15 per game), points (6.38 per game) and assists (2.46 per game).
Among Big Ten schools, there were two IU players in the top 5 for total shots, five players in the top 14 for total goals and two players in the top 9 for goals per game.
The Hoosiers also had three players in the top-10 for assists, four players in the top 10 for assists per game, three players in the top 10 for points and points per game, and two players in the top 5 for game winning goals.
Maintaining the same success record-wise and against their conference will be a demanding challenge for the No. 2 Hoosiers this season. IU won’t have a conference matchup until Sept. 20 against Wisconsin at home.
Among those listed on the United Soccer Coaches poll for preseason rankings are: No. 1 Maryland, No. 7 Michigan State, No. 8 University of Kentucky, No. 9 Notre Dame, No. 18 Denver University and No. 24 Michigan — all opponents for IU in 2019.
For redshirt junior and forward Ian Black, these preseason rankings have no bearing on the team’s approach for this new season.
“We understand that those rankings mean absolutely nothing to us,” Black said. “I think it shows that we had success last year and that a lot of people want to put us up high so they can knock us back down.”
IU defeated Michigan State, Notre Dame, Denver and Michigan in their most recent regular season matchups. After defeating Maryland twice before, IU fell to the Terrapins 2-0 in the College Cup. Kentucky also defeated IU 3-0 last season.
In their last 10 regular season matchups with each of these teams except DU, IU has a combined record of 24-13-13. As an overall historical regular season record against all six of these teams, Indiana is 122-25-19.
For Caulfield, the preseason is IU’s brief opportunity to graft the 14 new players in with the team before their regular season opener Aug. 30 against the University of Pittsburgh for the IU/Adidas Credit Union Classic.
“Obviously we lost a lot of guys but we’re Indiana soccer so we have talent coming off the bench and we have depth,” Caulfield said. “The freshmen are going to be a good addition, but it’s just really important to get them to mold quickly with us as we go through this short preseason.”
