After shutting out Rutgers in its second consecutive victory, No. 10 IU men’s soccer will take on Ohio State for the final home game in the regular season.
Seven freshmen started for the Hoosiers in their 3-0 takedown of the Scarlet Knights. This was the largest number of freshmen to start in the Todd Yeagley era and gave the Hoosiers a bounce-back win against a conference team.
With the 6-7-1 Buckeyes slated for Tuesday, here are three things to know:
Hoosiers own the history
IU is 42-5-4 all time against OSU and 17-3-2 when playing in Bloomington. The program is also 8-1-1 in the last 10 games, outscoring OSU 18-5 in total goals.
IU’s defense has kept OSU off the scoreboard for three consecutive matches. In those matches, OSU only took 16 shots combined with just five on target.
“We keep saying defense will win titles, a good attack wins you games, and we gotta have guys make some special plays,” IU head coach Todd Yeagley said.
During last season’s 1-0 victory for the Hoosiers, they took 16 shots and their lone goal came from alumnus Andrew Gutman.
The Buckeyes have goalscorers
Two Buckeyes are in the top 10 for goals scored in the conference.
Sophomore Devyn Etling leads OSU with five goals, which is fifth best in the Big Ten. Senior midfielder Jack Holland’s four goals is ninth in the Big Ten and his seven assists are the highest in the conference.
Other scoring threats include junior forward Matteo Bennati and sophomore midfielder Xavier Green. Bennati has three goals and two assists while Green has two goals and is top-5 in shooting percentage for OSU.
IU’s tiger is no longer caged
Yeagley referred to freshman midfielder Aidan Morris as “a caged tiger” during last week’s 5-1 win over the University of Evansville.
Morris had been sidelined with an injury from practice and was hopping all around the sideline wanting into the match.
Morris entered in the second half when the Hoosier offense was stagnate. Minutes later, they scored a goal and the tiger was left to cause migraines for the Purple Aces.
In IU’s shutout of Rutgers, Morris scored a goal and racked up two assists in a full 90 minutes of play. His playmaking also bumped him to third in the conference with five assists.
“He’s a dominant personality and one that we want to have the ball a lot,” Yeagley said. “He wants to win, he wants to be pushed and he’s still only 17.”
Tuesday’s tilt begins at 8 p.m. at Jerry Yeagley Field. This will be the final home match before the final road and regular season conference game against Michigan State.
With these two conference foes and the Big Ten tournament in the near future, Yeagley said the team is buckling down and preparing to push for another conference championship.
“There’s a title in two weeks that someone’s going to raise,” he said. “We’re starting to feel that part of the season.”
