No. 17 IU (5-1-2, 1-1) has three points in Big Ten play and currently sits behind No. 7 Penn State. The Nittany Lions have six points in conference play.
Three points are awarded for a win, one for a tie and none for a loss.
“(Those three points) are huge, right now we’re sitting at a decent spot, but we’ll be sitting in a much better spot if we get those three points,” freshman defender Grant Lillard said. “They’re vital three points. Every point matters in the Big Ten and we need to get them early.”
Lillard scored his first career goal in Wednesday’s 4-2 win against Central Florida.
“Grant needed to get on the board,” IU Coach Todd Yeagley said. “He’s been dangerous on his restarts, and we need him to score goals. I thought this year he’s a three- or four-goal scorer for us on restarts.”
Despite the team’s win, players came away feeling like they could have played better and are hoping to improve on their performance Sunday.
“We cannot wait to play Sunday because we know we can play ?better,” senior defender Patrick Doody said.
“It’s a Big Ten game, which is awesome, but we want to just get back out on the field and play a 90 that we have been doing, just be better on all phases.”
Yeagley echoed this and said this was one of the things he ?talked to his team about after Wednesday’s game.
“I think our guys are ready and kind of hungry that they left (Wednesday night) feeling good about some things, but they want to get out and perform ?better,” Yeagley said.
Northwestern (4-1-3, 0-1-1) is coming off of a win against DePaul.
In its previous Big Ten game, it played to a scoreless draw against Michigan. The Wildcats’ first conference game came against Ohio State in Columbus, which saw the Buckeyes win 2-0.
“Northwestern is a great defensive team, and they have a great goalie,” Doody said. “So we have to be sharp again in the attacking half on Sunday.”
Northwestern is led by juniors Joey Calistri, who has tallied three goals and an assist this season, and Cole Missimo, who also has three goals.
Senior goalkeeper Tyler Miller has six shut-outs so far this season and has allowed just three goals while saving 24 shots.
“Every Big Ten game, every match, (is important),” Yeagley said. “There’s just no one on our schedule where you can say, ‘Well, OK, if we don’t do so well this game we’ll recoup it in game 10 or 11.’”
“I mean, look at our stretch coming up, we’re playing some of the toughest teams in the country, and Northwestern is always very disciplined and tough to break down, so I’m looking forward to it.”
