IU mens soccer not looking past Evansville game

When the IU men’s soccer team – who won last year’s Big Ten tournament – faces Evansville – a team that went 9-8 last year – fans expect a win.\nHowever, despite the teams’ stark differences and game expectations, IU will be approaching the match against the Purple Aces, at 7 p.m. today at Bill Armstrong Stadium, just like any other. \nIU coach Mike Freitag said his team is aware of the expectations placed upon them. \n“It’s a game a lot of people expect us to win,” Freitag said. “But I know it’s going to be a battle.”\nThe Hoosiers faced \nsimilar expectations in their Oct. 10 loss to Louisville – a team that went 5-10-3 last year. That defeat ended IU’s four-game winning streak, and the Hoosiers don’t want to repeat that result. \nFreitag said he knows that each year teams are different, and he doesn’t try to make year-to-year comparisons based on past results. \nIU could be in danger of losing focus coming into the Evansville game. The team’s chance to go undefeated in Big Ten play could be it’s biggest distraction.\nHowever, junior goalkeeper Chay Cain said his team has been trying to keep the focus squarely on Evansville. \n“Every game in the Big Ten is important,” Cain said. “We can’t take the last two games against Penn State and Wisconsin lightly, but we can’t look that far ahead, and we have to take it one game at a time for the rest of the season.”\nIU has struggled offensively at times this season. \nTheir last game illustrated that as the Hoosiers played to a 0-0 draw at home against Ohio State. The Hoosiers outshot the Buckeyes by five and registered a total of 18 shots, including seven shots on goal. They failed to capitalize on those opportunities, however, despite playing two overtimes.\nJunior midfielder Brad Ring said his team needs to improve on concentration in front of the net and on creating better chances around the goal. He said the team knows this game is important.\n“This game is huge,” Ring said. “Because college soccer’s changed over the years, this game is really important. Anyone’s capable of being beat now, so this game is just as big as any upcoming games on our schedule.”\nIn the Hoosiers’ tie with Ohio State, the IU defense played exceptionally well, and Cain, who collected three saves in the contest, said the defense will continue to sustain the same attitude it has every time it goes out on the pitch.\n“Every game, our goal is to shut out the other team completely,” Cain said. “We’ll come out and put the same effort in against Evansville.”