Heads down, hands on knees.
This was the position most Indiana men’s soccer players took after the No. 14 team’s 3-2 loss against No. 4 Maryland in College Park, Maryland.
This loss officially eliminated Indiana from contention to win the Big Ten regular season title.
Last year, the Hoosiers had to claw their way back into the Big Ten and national picture after a slow start to the year. However, Indiana was able to win its final five games against Big Ten opponents and eventually won a share of the Big Ten regular-season title with Ohio State.
This year, the circumstances were much different.
Coming into the match, Indiana had just won 4-1 over Wisconsin Tuesday night. While this win was important to keep itself in the Big Ten regular-season title race, the Hoosiers focused their attention on Maryland.
Maryland was undefeated in the Big Ten through its first seven conference games — a tough task for Indiana to overcome Friday.
The Terrapins were second in the Big Ten, having tallied 17 total points during conference play to Indiana’s 12. Maryland was in second place; Indiana was in fourth heading into the match.
The top four teams in the Big Ten standings make the tournament, with the first-place team playing host.
With fifth-place UCLA a point behind Indiana, and Indiana’s goal to catch Maryland near the top of the Big Ten standings, it was vital for the Hoosiers to secure a victory and three points Friday night.
Indiana head coach Todd Yeagley said on Oct. 21 that Maryland is “usually always a great game” and that both programs love playing against each other. But he expected it to be a “battle.”
Despite hopes of an aggressive start that could push the Hoosiers forward throughout the rest of the match, the first 60 minutes were slow and sluggish on the Indiana side of things.
But after a goal by sophomore midfielder Charlie Heuer in the 64th minute, Indiana continued to have plenty of opportunities.
In the end, Indiana wasn’t able to pull out the victory in what felt like a must-win match considering the circumstances of the Big Ten.
The Hoosiers had a few crucial miscues.
One was Indiana’s backline allowing sophomore forward Stephane Njike to run behind it in the 75th minute. Indiana freshman goalkeeper Judewellin Michel came out of his net, but as Njike received the pass he chipped the ball over Michel and into the empty net — this was the game-winning goal for Maryland.
While Indiana, and senior forward Palmer Ault scored again, it wasn’t enough.
Even after the hard-fought loss at the hands of Maryland, Indiana now must turn its attention to the final two games down the stretch.
Indiana plays at Northwestern on Oct. 31 and hosts Rutgers on Nov. 7.
While the Hoosiers miss out on the Big Ten regular season championship award, the final two games of the year are the most crucial.
These final two Big Ten games could be indicative of Indiana’s hopes to not only participate in the Big Ten tournament, but also could affect its seeding in the NCAA tournament — which could give the Hoosiers a tougher draw in a one-game elimination scenario.
Follow reporters Elakai Anela (@elakai_anela and eanela@iu.edu) and Mateo Fuentes-Rohwer (@mateo_frohwer and matfuent@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana men's soccer season.
