Hoosiers look to avenge tournament loss to Spartans

The last time the IU men's soccer team dropped a match was Nov. 12, 2004 versus Michigan State when the Hoosiers lost 2-1 in the Big Ten Tournament.\nAfter playing three top 25 teams in the first six matches this season, at 1 p.m. Sunday, IU returns to Yeagley Field to open Big Ten play against the Spartans.\n"Every time we walk out onto the field we're very confident -- we know we are going to win," IU junior midfielder Josh Tudela said. "Going into Michigan State, despite what happened last year, we're going to be ready to go and we're going to walk out onto that field knowing we're going to win."\nIU (4-0-2 overall) tallied three wins against three of those top 25 teams -- Wake Forest University, Southern Methodist University and California State University Northridge -- while tying Saint Louis University and Oregon State University. The Hoosiers have been ranked No. 1 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll all four weeks of the season.\nIU head coach Mike Freitag said the team's match against Oregon State last weekend was an eye opener for the team as it tries to fulfill predictions of winning a Big Ten title this season.\nThe Big Ten declares its official champion as the team that wins the conference's post-season tournament. That team then receives the Big Ten's automatic bid to the NCAA \ntournament.\nWhen IU lost to the Spartans in the Big Ten tournament last season on a frigid afternoon in Ann Arbor, Mich., it was the first time the Spartans beat the Hoosiers in 33 tries, tying once.\nSpartan senior and Munster, Ind., native Ryan McMahen, tallied both goals for MSU off free kicks. Freitag said Michigan State is a good team when it comes to restarting the ball, and this was one area of focus for the cream and crimson during practice this week.\nIU senior Brian Plotkin got three shots off against the Spartans in last season's second-round match, and he currently ranks first in the Big Ten in points with 12. Plotkin said to win the Big Ten after sharing the regular season title with Ohio State last season is going to take a strong effort because every team in the conference is tough.\n"You just have to approach each game one at a time and hopefully you get the results," Plotkin said.\nDespite the loss to the Spartans during the Big Ten tournament, the Hoosiers did pick up the 3-1 regular season victory over Michigan State last season as junior forward Jacob Peterson scored a hat trick. \n"(Michigan State is) a tough team to play against," Freitag said. "I've thought over the years some of our most heated halftime talks have been in a Michigan State game on a Sunday afternoon"