Eight and counting ...

A multitude of streaks continued for the men's soccer team Sunday. \nIU upended the Kentucky Wildcats 1-0 at Armstrong Stadium. The No. 14 Hoosiers (10-3-4, 4-0-1 Big Ten) have not lost a match since Sept. 18 at Notre Dame, when they fell in double overtime. IU has won eight consecutive games, including registering a shutout in six of their last seven matches.\nThe Hoosiers have won 21 consecutive matches at Armstrong Stadium, dating back to October 2001.\nCoach Jerry Yeagley highlighted the importance of this victory, especially in the late part of the regular season.\n"This was a big win, a big win for us," Yeagley said. "This was a game between two of the best teams in the Great Lakes Region, in my opinion. It shows how far we've come from the beginning of the season to the end of the season. We're a much better team now."\nIU lost to No. 24 Kentucky (12-5-1, 6-0-0 Mid-American) on Aug. 22 in a preseason match 2-1, in the IPFW Soccer Showcase in Ft. Wayne.\nIU recorded the only goal of the match in the first half Sunday, near the start of the contest. Senior midfielder Vijay Dias received a pass from sophomore midfielder Brian Plotkin after the two played give-and-go as Dias netted the goal to give IU a 1-0 lead in the eighth minute. It was Dias' second goal of the season as Plotkin tallied the assist on the play.\nDias described the team's confidence level after the team has gone unbeaten in its past ten matches. \n"We're on a good streak now," Dias said. "The snowball is rolling. It's getting bigger and bigger. We're just playing really well together and we're on a good streak."\nWith the assist, Plotkin tied junior forward Ned Grabavoy for first on the team in assists with seven. Ploktin also has 15 points this year.\nHe reflected on what happened on the Hoosiers goal, as he aided in the outcome. \n"I saw Vijay (Dias) and I just put it through to him," Plotkin said. "He finished it nicely. (The Wildcats) played a lot like Louisville. They played a lot of long balls and we were starting to lose balls (to them) in the air in the second half. But we were able to hang on." \nIU defeated another Kentucky team Wednesday by defeating Louisville, 2-0. \nIn the beginning part of the season IU struggled, but the Hoosiers have been winning with a simple formula over the past month and a half. They are outshooting and shutting down their opponents. IU has now outshot its opponents 261 to 154 on the season.\nDefensively, the last time the Hoosiers gave up more than one goal in a match was Sept. 6 when they lost, 2-1 to UConn in Storrs, Conn. Also, the Hoosiers have posted a scoreless streak this season of nearly 500 minutes, including posting four consecutive shutouts. Since Sept. 6, IU has notched four games where it has scored three goals.\nSunday, IU outshot the Wildcats 11-5 for the game, including 7-1 in the first half.\nWhile Kentucky was outshot by six in the first half, it responded in the second and threatened to score several times, as it recorded four shots in the second, a total that matched IU's.\nDespite another shutout, Yeagley said his team should have scored more than a mere goal. \n"We had several clear-cut opportunities that you've got to put away." Yeagley said. "We did a good job creating those opportunities, like we have been, we just had breakdowns. I thought our ball movement was good today, especially in the back of the team." \nWith the win, Yeagley needs seven victories to tie the record of all-time Division I collegiate soccer wins list. He has 537 career victories. \nNext on the schedule for IU is Penn State, which will close out the regular season. The Hoosiers match against Penn State was rescheduled for 7 p.m., Saturday at Armstrong Stadium. On Sept. 26 in Bloomington, the game was called after a two-hour weather delay in the middle of the second half with the Hoosiers leading 2-0, after thunder was heard and lightning spotted. The game was played through 66:30, just three and a half minutes short of a complete game.\nIU needs a win in that contest to win the Big Ten regular season title outright. Michigan currently has a conference mark of 5-1-0 and has 15 points, compared to IU's 13 points. \nDias detailed the approach and demeanor the team is taking with the winning streak.\n"We're taking each game one game at a time," Dias said. "We're treating each game separately. We're not looking too far ahead. Next up is Penn State. We're focused on them right now"