IU has hands full with 2 tough road tests

October 13, 1995, was the last time Wisconsin beat IU. It was also the last time the Hoosiers lost a Big Ten regular season game. This weekend they head up to Madison, Wisc. and Evanston, Ill., looking to extend their 41-game conference undefeated streak. \nIU (3-3-4, 1-0-1 Big Ten) will battle the Badgers tonight at 7 p.m. and less than 48 hours later will face Northwestern to conclude the weekend trip and three-game conference road swing. \n"This is the last time we will go on a road trip like this one," IU coach Jerry Yeagley said. "You won't see IU in the future playing a Friday and Sunday game in the conference. It will be a tough weekend."\nFacing the brutal weekend road trip, the Hoosiers will try to carry the momentum stemming from freshman forward Jacob Peterson's overtime goal last Sunday against Michigan into the McClimon Soccer Complex in Madison. \nWisconsin (7-6-0, 1-1-0), however, is fresh off its own enormous win upsetting Penn State 1-0 in Happy Valley. The Badgers have not allowed a goal in their last five victories and have won seven of 10 since opening the season with three loses. IU owns a 25-3-3 all-time record against Wisconsin in a series that began in 1975.\n"We will have our hands full at their place," Yeagley said. "We need to continue to play with confidence and hopefully after the Michigan game, we will be more confident." \nAfter a short bus trip to Evanston, the Hoosiers will play a Wildcat team (4-3-4) Sunday that they have never lost to. Their 19-0-0 all-time mark against NU began in 1983 with an 11-0 pummeling in Bloomington. But IU also entered its first conference game against Michigan State with a 30-0-0 all-time record and finished the game with a draw. \n"In years past we could play Northwestern with just a days rest and generally beat then with our reserves," Yeagley said. "But Northwestern is not the Northwestern of old."\nThe Hoosiers are in second place in the Big Ten, having played one less game than Michigan State (1-0-2 Big Ten). Junior forward Ned Grabavoy continues to lead the team with 13 points on five goals and three helpers. \n"I think we've been working hard the last couple games and playing well and finally got a big win in michigan, junior midfielder Danny O'Rourke said. "I think the momentum will keep on rolling. It is just that we are so accustomed to winning that when we don't win people get down on themselves."\nEven if IU runs the table for the remainder of the season, the 11 wins would be its lowest since its 10-win regular season in 1992. \n"The breaks have not been going our way, so hopefully we can (slow) the momentum and get on a roll," senior midfielder Vijay Dias said. "These games are important because they are both Big Ten games on the road. We will have to be ready."\n-- Contact staff writer Daniel Cohen at djcohen@indiana.edu.