With the opportunity to win the Big Ten regular season title Sunday, No. 10 IU men’s soccer will travel to East Lansing, Michigan to take on Michigan State.
In its final regular season match at Jerry Yeagley Field, IU defeated Ohio State University 5-1 on senior night. This pushed IU to 36 consecutive unbeaten games in Bloomington.
“Everyone’s locked in, and this gives us the best chance,” IU head coach Todd Yeagley said. “We’re in a good position to continue to get good results.”
The Hoosiers have the opportunity to win their fourth straight game and claim the No. 1 seed for the Big Ten tournament. To do that, here are three things to know.
The potential scenarios that could make or break title IU's opportunity.
IU is 40-8-5 all time against Michigan State and hasn’t lost a road match to MSU since 2012. In the last five matches IU is 3-0-2, outscoring Michigan State 9-4.
A win would give the Hoosiers their second consecutive conference regular season title. A tie with the Spartans plus a tie or loss from the Nittany Lions also gives the Hoosiers the title.
If the Hoosiers and Nittany Lions lose their respective matches, IU claims the title.
Both teams will share the title if the Hoosiers tie and the Nittany Lions win. IU, however, would be the No. 1 seed in that event.
Should Penn State win and IU lose, then Penn State will earn the title.
IU’s defense needs to remain locked down.
From their three-game home stand, the Hoosiers surrendered two goals while scoring 13 themselves. Although they have been unable to put up a clean sheet, their backline has kept balls away from the box and limited corner kick opportunities.
“Our defense sets up our offense,” Yeagley said. “We ask a lot of our players defensively with our pressing, our second ball spacing, our double downs, our ability to push them around the field. It’s a lot.”
Michigan State is nearly dead last in the conference in goals scored with 12 compared to IU’s 33. It is also sixth in the conference in shots taken with 174, and IU is first with 233.
Hoosier freshmen need to continue hot steak.
Out of the 13 goals scored during IU’s current three-game win streak, seven were scored by the team’s freshmen. For the season overall, the freshmen scored 18 of IU’s 33 goals.
Freshmen forwards Victor Bezerra and Joshua Penn lead the team with five goals, which is good for fifth in the conference.
Freshman midfielder Aidan Morris and freshman forwards Herbert Endeley and Maouloune Goumballe all have two goals on the season. The three players also combine for 12 of the roster’s 32 assists.
“To have a game where you have a title and a trophy on the sideline, is good for a young team to have that extra pressure,” Yeagley said. “In the next phase, you either win and advance, or you’re done.”
