Hoosiers face tough test on the road

Penn State against IU has perennially been the deciding game in the Big Ten regular season. The match tends to determine who wins the top seed and coveted bye in the first round of the Big Ten tournament. And perennially the Hoosiers have come out on top.\nIU coach Jerry Yeagley said the winner of this year's match will have an early advantage toward getting the top seed in the conference.\n"Whoever prevails in this will be in the driver's seat in the Big Ten early on for the top seed," Yeagley said. "All the games are getting tougher, but many times the Penn State versus Indiana match has been that pivotal match."\nAs No. 5 IU travels to University Park, Penn. for this year's regular season match-up at 7:30 p.m. tonight, they will face a rare obstacle considering the long and storied history of IU men's soccer-- a losing record all-time in University Park. Penn State has claimed a 4-3-2 record over the Hoosiers in games played on the Nittany Lions' home turf.\nThe Hoosiers will have recent history on their side, however, as IU has a 3-0-2 record at Penn State since 1994, including tough conference wins in 1998 and 2000. Last year the Hoosiers downed Penn State 3-1 in Bloomington as senior Pat Noonan notched a pair of goals.\nYeagley expects this year's match-up to be no easier than those of previous seasons.\n"Happy Valley has been a difficult place for us," Yeagley said. "We have a few wins in a row up there, but they have been tough. Penn State is well coached and prepared and they have a young exuberance about them this year. They start a couple of young players who have stepped up and done quite well for them."\nNo. 12 Penn State enters the contest winning their last two matches, including a 1-0 shutout of Michigan to open the Big Ten season. The Nittany Lions (5-3) also boast the conference's leading scorer in sophomore Chad Severs who has 16 points on seven goals and two assists. Severs is just two points ahead of Hoosiers Noonan and senior Ryan Mack who each have 14 points.\nThe match will also feature Penn State sophomore goalkeeper Ryan Moate who is the reigning Big Ten defensive player of the week, while IU's Noonan is the two-time reigning Big Ten offensive player of the week.\nIU sophomore forward Mike Ambersley said nothing will come easy for the Hoosiers against Penn State, especially on the road.\n"They are a disciplined team, especially in the back," Ambersley said. "More than anything, it is going to take a lot of hard work from everybody to get past them at their home place where they play us really tough. I am sure their fans will be all over us, because we are Indiana and they want to beat us every time we play."\nHistorically, the Hoosiers own a 20-5-2 record against the Nittany Lions, including nine consecutive wins dating to 1996 when the two teams tied both games they played. IU currently owns a 31 game consecutive winning streak in regular season Big Ten play and Penn State was the last team IU did not defeat in conference play when they battled to a 1-1 tie on Oct. 4, 1996 in University Park.\nSenior back John Swann said the Nittany Lions will be eager to get another chance to dethrone the Hoosiers.\n"Penn State is definitely one of the hardest places to play in the country," Swann said. "Their fans are right there on the field and there are a bunch of hecklers. There is definitely no love lost between the two teams. Since I have been here, they haven't beaten us and I know that their seniors definitely want to get a win going out against Indiana"