Well, we’re a little more than halfway through the semester.
Lord help us.
But for fall sports, with the exception of football, it’s almost postseason time.
Some sports, though, are in better positions than others heading into the end of the season. Here’s whom you should still be keeping an eye on.
Field Hockey
I’ve written it pretty much monthly this semester, but the field hockey team is on the rise and is really coming together.
With three games left — two of which are Big Ten games — the Hoosiers have some breathing room heading into the tournament.
First up are the Ohio State Buckeyes. We’ve finally found a sport in which the Buckeyes come in at 0-6 on the conference level and 5-10 overall.
The Hoosiers sit at 3-3 in the conference right now, so assuming they keep up their work, making the jump to 4-3 on Senior Day on Friday shouldn’t be a problem.
Before the Hoosiers close the regular season in Syracuse, New York, they’ll have to face off with the No. 6 Penn State Nittany Lions, who are 12-2 overall and 4-2 in the Big Ten.
The Lions ended the Hoosiers’ run in the Big Ten Tournament last year after IU posted a 5-3 conference record during a comeback season.
IU will have to overcome whatever effect last season’s matchup had on them to get themselves in the proper mindset to face No. 3 Syracuse in its regular season finale.
The only difference is this season, they faced a tougher schedule of eight ranked teams, compared to last year’s seven, and still have two to go.
Men’s Soccer
No. 7 IU was clearly shaken by its 4-0 loss to No. 2 Notre Dame on Oct. 4. Since then, though, the Hoosiers have had two wins and a draw and have three games remaining against Wisconsin, St. Louis and Michigan State.
Wisconsin is slightly behind IU in the standings with a 3-2-1 conference record, but those three overall losses stand out compared to IU’s one against what was a top-2 team in the nation.
Then come the No. 20 Spartans. Their record is slightly more impressive than the Badgers’, but the Hoosiers still have them beat in the Big Ten and national standings.
So regardless of those three games’ outcomes, the Hoosiers are ready going into the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments. They’re not done yet.
jzega@indiana.edu
@jzegss
