Hoosiers face test with Notre Dame on ESPNU

The IU men's soccer team begins a two-game road trip tonight when it travels to South Bend to face in-state rival Notre Dame. The No. 5 Hoosiers understand the importance of a win over the Irish and are not looking past Notre Dame with games against No. 3 University of Maryland and No. 1 University of Akron on the horizon.\n"Notre Dame is always a tough opponent," sophomore defender Charley Traylor said. "They haven't had the best season, but it's a regional game so it's very important for our standings and the NCAA tournament, so we aren't taking them lightly."\nGoing into the final weeks of the regular season, the Hoosiers are looking to regain the No. 1 seed and a top four seed in the NCAA tournament. Locking up one of the top four spots would mean IU would not have to leave Armstrong Stadium before the College Cup.\n"Its going to be a tough game. It's a local game and a regional game so it's going to be important for us," junior defender Julian Dieterle said. "They are in need of a big win and it's always tough to go to South Bend so it should be a good game."\nThe Hoosiers (9-1-5) own a 22-3-1 overall advantage against the Irish (9-5-2) including a 2-0 victory last season in Bloomington. While the all-time advantage is overwhelmingly in favor of the Hoosiers, the two teams have split the last four contests. Notre Dame beat IU 1-0 the last time the Hoosiers went to South Bend 1-0.\n"Notre Dame is very good at home," IU head coach Mike Freitag said. "They are always a very well-organized team. They are hard to play -- they are not going to give you the game, you are going to have to earn it. That's what we are going to have to."\nPlaying a midweek game five hours away from Bloomington means the team will travel to South Bend in the afternoon and will fly back home after the game. While travel will be difficult, it will not affect the team's performance on the field, senior foward Brian Plotkin said. Plotkin, an MAC Herman Trophy candidate, leads the Hoosiers with nine assists on the season.\n"They are going to be organized so we are going to have to go out and compete with them," Plotkin said. Flying in on the day of the game will be something different for us, but we have to put all the obstacles aside, but it's just a 90-minute game and we have to go out there and find a way to win."\nThe game is being televised on ESPNU and is the third of four IU games on TV this year. The Hoosiers are 13-4-1 on television in the past eight years, however, the only IU defeat of the season came in front of a national television audience when Penn State beat the Hoosiers 2-1 on Sept. 30. Despite the coverage, the team is not shifting its focus from winning its 10th game of the season.\n"It is an in-state rivalry so they are going to bring their best against us like everyone does," senior midfielder Mike Ambersley said. "We have seen them play a few times this year and they have a good team. They have a solid offense and some new defenders in the back. It's going to be another battle"