When Indiana men’s soccer lost to then-No. 4 Maryland on Oct. 24 in College Park, Maryland, the Hoosiers lost their chance at a regular-season Big Ten title.
For Indiana to make the Big Ten Tournament, it will have to finish top four in the conference standings.
The Hoosiers currently find themselves in fifth place.
“With the regular-season title out of the way... we need to finish in the top four,” Indiana head coach Todd Yeagley said in his weekly press conference Wednesday. “We need positive results to keep our resume and to continue to build with our strength of schedule in the top three or four, top in the nonconference RPI.... our focus is on getting good results.”
UCLA sits two points ahead of the Hoosiers. The Bruins have just one Big Ten match remaining against Washington on Nov. 7. Indiana has two games left, and two opportunities to overtake UCLA in the standings as it holds the tiebreaker over the Bruins.
Indiana controls its own destiny. If the Hoosiers win their final two matches, they will automatically clinch a spot in the Big Ten Tournament.
Indiana’s struggles in road matches
The Hoosiers have been nearly flawless at home as they hold an 8-1-1 record at Bill Armstrong Stadium in Bloomington this season.
However, playing on the road has been a different story.
Indiana holds a record of 3-3-0 on the road, with losses at Michigan State, Washington and Maryland. All of Indiana’s losses away from home have been in Big Ten play. The Hoosiers have one conference win on the road, against Penn State on Sept. 19.
If the Hoosiers want to stay alive in contention for the Big Ten tournament, they’ll have to shake their Big Ten road woes in an environment that presents slippery, cold and wet conditions due to Northwestern’s stadium being right next to Lake Michigan.
Goalkeeper controversy
Indiana’s rotational mix between its two goalkeepers — graduate student Holden Brown and freshman Judewellin Michel — has been a competition to keep an eye on all season.
Yeagley said Aug. 5 that Michel and Brown have filled the position JT Harms occupied, who graduated last year.
Michel made his first career start Aug. 21 against then-No. 9 Clemson University in a match Indiana tied 2-2.
Indiana didn’t stay with Michel, though.
Instead, it rotated in Brown, as anticipated, who held his own in the second match of the year against the University of San Francisco, where the Hoosiers won 3-2.
Yeagley decided to stay with the hot hand in Brown after that match.
The graduate student started the next 10 games, and Indiana went 8-3.
Despite the positive record with Brown, Yeagley opted to start Michel in the Hoosiers 2-1 win over then-No. 25 Kentucky on Oct. 14. Michel rose to the occasion and held strong against back-to-back Kentucky chances in the final 10 minutes.
The freshman has stayed in the net since.
But questions arose after his performance against Maryland on Oct. 24.
Michel made a couple of questionable decisions, including leaving his net early on two different occasions that led to two Maryland goals in a match Indiana lost 3-2.
Yeagley attributed the poor performance to the environment. Yeagley said he will make the decision on who starts Friday against Northwestern as kickoff approaches.
“We want to see everybody’s health before we make a decision on who’s going to get the start (Friday),” Yeagley said. “But I do feel that both are capable and ready to help us win games down the stretch.”
A closer look at the Wildcats
Last year, Indiana beat Northwestern 6-1 on Oct. 29, 2024, to clinch a share of the regular-season Big Ten title.
The Hoosiers have won six of the last seven matchups between the two programs.
Northwestern holds an overall record of 6-5-3 this season but has been successful at home with a 4-2-2 record in Evanston, Illinois.
Yeagley understands Northwestern has played well against better opponents this season — the Wildcats beat Rutgers and tied with Michigan State and Penn State in Big Ten play.
“They’ve outplayed a lot of good opponents and have done well in conference,” Yeagley said. “It’s tough up there; the wind and the turf isn’t easy.”
It will be a challenge for the Hoosiers to come out early and control the game on the road.
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium in Evanston, Illinois. Coverage of the match will be available on Big Ten+.
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.
