Hoosiers seek win to secure NCAA bid

After four consecutive conference losses, today could potentially mark the end of the IU women’s soccer season as the team plays its first-round game of the Big Ten Tournament against Ohio State in Minneapolis.\n“We haven’t finished these last couple of games off well, so it’s important in getting a bid for the NCAA tournament,” sophomore forward Kristin Arnold said. “We don’t want to finish our season after this Ohio State game, so we have to come out and play really well.” \nA win against Ohio State could fortify a spot in the NCAA tournament whereas a loss would leave the Hoosiers’ fate in question.\nIU goes into the Big Ten Tournament seeded fourth in the conference with a 5-4-1 record in Big Ten play and an overall record of 12-5-2.\nThe Hoosiers find themselves in a similar situation to last year where they had a strong season that ended with four conference losses and went into the conference tournament seeded fourth. Last year’s campaign finished with a loss in the first round of the tournament, narrowly missing an at-large bid for the NCAA tournament.\nThe most important factor for the Hoosiers heading into postseason play will be their Ratings Percentage Index, or RPI.\nThe Hoosiers’ RPI is third highest in the Big Ten, ranking 18th nationally. A team’s RPI is determined by its winning percentage, strength of schedule and its opponent’s strength of schedule. \nThe NCAA committee, which determines who makes the NCAA tournament, factors a team’s RPI into its decision to offer at-large bids.\nThe Hoosiers’ only losses have come to teams with RPI rankings in the Top 36, including Penn State and Purdue who rank first and 13th, respectively. Helping the Hoosiers’ RPI is the team’s win over No. 9 USC, which accounted for one of the Trojans’ two losses on the season.\n“Finishing with a couple of ‘W’s’ could seal the deal for us,” IU coach Mick Lyon said. “Our RPI and our record over the last 10 games are good. I think most of that is sealed.”\nIn IU’s last few games, a “W” has been hard to come by.\nAfter dropping their first game of the season to then-No. 13 Florida on the road, the Hoosiers rattled off a 13-game unbeaten streak, including going undefeated during the month of September, capping off an unbeaten season at home.\nSince then, however, IU has lost its last four Big Ten games – all on the road against the conference’s top foes – including the final game of the regular season, a 7-0 loss in West Lafayette. IU has also struggled with injuries among its top contributors heading into the Big Ten Tournament.\n“We had a tough day last Friday, and we need to come back and show who we are,” senior midfielder Katy Stewart said. “We have a lot of character on this team. We’ve shown that by coming back from behind and winning games.”\nThe Hoosiers’ match with Ohio State begins at 2 p.m. If IU wins, it will then take on the winner of No. 6 Penn State and Iowa. The Hoosiers have not won a Big Ten Tournament game since 1998.\n“We have been close with games going into overtime, and all kinds of things,” Lyon said. “But we need to get a win in the Big Ten Tournament, not just for the team but for the whole program.”