On a Will Bruin strike 20 seconds into the second half, the fourth-seeded IU men's soccer team took a lead it would not give up as it defeated fifth-seeded Wisconsin 2-0 Thursday in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal at Bill Armstrong Stadium.
Senior forward Darren Yeagle put the game away for good 22 minutes later off a Bruin miss.
IU recorded 22 shots on the game, while Wisconsin only had seven.
Freshman keeper Luis Soffner got the start for IU replacing an injured senior Nemanja Kostic. Soffner benefitted from solid defense as he made his first save of the contest with nine minutes to play in the second half. It was his seventh shutout of the season.
Now 10-8-1, the Hoosiers' NCAA Tournament hopes become more realistic, as the team's record is good enough for selection eligibility and the strength of schedule is in the top-10 nationally.
Despite this, the Hoosiers say their eyes are on the program's 17th Big Ten Championship.
In order to get there, IU has just over 24 hours to rest before meeting first-seeded Ohio State in the semifinal Friday at 2 p.m.
IU fell to Ohio State 1-0 at home Nov. 1.
