IU mens soccer clinches Big Ten regular season title with 0-0 draw

All the stats were on the Hoosiers side when they stepped out on the pitch against Wisconsin in their regular season finale. Thirteen Big Ten championships, eight consecutive Big Ten games without a loss dating back to last year’s Big Ten tournament, and they were competing against a team who had not posted a win against them since 1995. \nNone of that mattered, as the No. 10 Hoosiers fought tooth and nail in their 0-0 tie against the Badgers at McClimon Soccer Complex in Madison, Wisc.\nThough the Badgers’ put up a fight, the Hoosiers’ record stayed unblemished, and their tie allowed them to clinch the Big Ten regular season title. IU became the first Big Ten team to go undefeated since Penn State in its 2005 season and the only undefeated IU team since its 2003 National Championship season. IU coach Mike Freitag said he was proud of his team’s accomplishment, and that it is nice to be the Big Ten regular season champions. \nThe Hoosiers and Badgers came into the game on different ends of the spectrum, as IU (12-4-3, 4-0-2) looked to finish the Big Ten season undefeated and Wisconsin (6-6-6, 0-3-3) searched for its first conference win. Both teams had something at stake and played like it.\nSenior midfielder Charley Traylor said the game’s toughness was \npositive. \n“Every game in the tournament, we’ll see team’s playing for the rest of their season, so every game will be like this,” Traylor said. “This game was definitely beneficial for us heading into the postseason.” \nThough there are stark differences in the teams, both played tough in a physical game. Traylor sustained an ankle injury when he was trampled by Wisconsin forward Victor Diaz. Other injured players included defender Kevin Alston, forward Darren Yeagle and midfielder Brian Ackley.\nFreitag said he’s worried about his team’s health. \n“My only concern is my team,” Freitag said. “I’m worried about Traylor, and we have to get healthy before the \npostseason.” \nDespite multiple scoring opportunities for both clubs, the Hoosiers and Badgers played to a scoreless first half. IU has only allowed one goal in the last four games and stayed true to that statistic with a steady dose of defensive pressure on \nthe Badgers.\nAt the start of the second half, IU increased its pressure on the Wisconsin defense with three corner kicks in 40 seconds and a numbers of good shots on goal. Wisconsin answered the call, but it seemed as if the Hoosiers had turned a corner that would lead to offensive success.\nThe Hoosiers couldn’t capitalize on that build up; the teams entered overtime with the score at 0-0, and it would stay that way. \nTraylor – who was injured at the end of regulation and sidelined for the remainder of the game with an ankle injury – said the Wisconsin game was tough. \n“It was a hard fought game,” Traylor said. “It was one of those games where you have to capitalize on your opportunities, and we weren’t able to do that today.” \nIn the first of two 10-minute periods, IU got another shot on goal by Alexander that went right of the goal. The game continued into a second overtime that saw IU goalkeeper Chay Cain – who has eight shutouts on the season – and Wisconsin goalkeeper Alex Horwath both make big saves to keep the game at\na stalemate. \n“We aren’t ever satisfied with a tie,” Traylor said. “We’re disappointed, and we’d like to have a win.” \nSenior defender Greg Stevning said this tie was a comforting one. \n“We knew we needed a win or a tie to win the Big Ten,” Stevning said. “We knew it’d be a battle and getting to win the Big Ten outright and having a bye, it’s a relief.”