No. 10 Indiana Soccer To Face First Ranked Foe, Hosts No. 22 Washington Friday

Indiana will encounter its first ranked opponent of the 2023 season on Friday night at home. The Hoosiers and Washington Huskies are consensus top-25 teams, appearing in each of the three popular men's college soccer polls this week. The two teams last met in the 2021 NCAA Tournament Round of 16, when Washington prevailed 3-2 in overtime.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Following No. 10 Indiana’s 2-0 shutout victory over DePaul Tuesday in its home opener, the Hoosiers welcome No. 22 Washington to Bill Armstrong Stadium Friday night in the first of two non-conference matches of the Adidas/IU Credit Union Classic.

The rankings above are taken from Tuesday's United Soccer Coaches top-25 poll. Indiana and Washington likewise appeared in the Top Drawer Soccer top-25, and the College Soccer News top-30 polls this week. It’s consensus that Friday’s clash will showcase two top-25 teams.

Indiana’s Todd Yeagley and Washington’s Jamie Clark assumed head coaching roles at their respective programs one year apart: Yeagley began in 2010, and Clark in 2011. They are two of four active Division-I men’s soccer head coaches with at least 175 wins since 2010. Since then, the Hoosiers and Huskies have made several prolonged runs in the NCAA Tournament.

The Hoosiers have qualified for the postseason in all of Yeagley’s 13 prior seasons, boasting an abnormal four trips to the College Cup in the past six seasons. Meanwhile, the Huskies have qualified for the postseason in 10 of Clark’s 12 seasons. Washington has contended yearly since 2015, reaching the Elite Eight twice and the College Cup once in that order for three straight seasons from 2019-2021. 

"Friday is a game that you want to come to," Yeagley said Tuesday. "Washington now is a pretty consistent, deep, tournament team. They have been. I think they'll continue to be that team. Well-coached, they're going to be good. So, I think soccer fans, obviously IU fans, are getting really treated for a great match Friday and hopefully, we can pack this place."

Indiana is 4-1-0 versus Washington in the all-time series, knocking out the Huskies three times in the 1992, 1999, and 2000 editions of the NCAA Tournament. Yeagley even participated in the 1992 matchup during his sophomore season at Indiana. Washington’s lone victory in the series occurred in the most recent encounter in the 2021 NCAA Tournament Round of 16.

The No. 2 Huskies bested the No. 15 Hoosiers 3-2 in overtime and eventually reached the NCAA Finals before losing to No. 8 Clemson. Indiana junior Sam Sarver, who suffered an ankle sprain during the Washington match in 2021, said Tuesday that he views Friday as “a bit of a grudge match” and later, “there's a lot of personal things I'd like to get after or get one back.”

Yeagley doesn’t share that viewpoint, but won’t keep players from using that mentality to elevate motivation or performance. The head coach referenced matches he played in that naturally “itched” more than others and reiterated Washington would pose an exceptional test.

“I think we're a team that embraces competition,” Sarver said. “I know for a fact every single one of my teammates would rather play top-25 teams than top-50 teams because I think we really play up to those teams’ levels and I'm sure those teams feel the same way about us.”

Sarver has assisted two of Indiana's three goals so far this season through two matches, both scored by freshman forward Collins Oduro. 

Washington has won the Pac-12 regular-season title the past two seasons. This past year, the Huskies went 15-2-3 overall and 7-1-2 in conference play, posting three more wins than second-place Stanford. Washington received the No. 2 national seed for the 2022 NCAA Tournament; Stanford the No. 5; and both West Coast teams lost in the Second Round. Washington fell 3-1 to Creighton, which made the College Cup alongside Indiana. The Huskies return six players this year that started in the loss.

Washington beat South Florida 2-0 on Aug. 24 in the team’s season-opener and most recently was beaten by the same score at home to San Diego. Indiana tied 1-1 in the team’s season-opener at Notre Dame and shutout DePaul 2-0 on Tuesday. Friday marks the first of five Indiana men’s soccer matches that will be nationally televised on Big Ten Network.

Kick-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET Friday night at Bill Armstrong Stadium. Students gain free admission by showing their valid student ID, and ticket costs will be reduced to $5 at the entry gates to those who present their Indiana-Ohio State football ticket. Friday’s match is also the IU Dance Marathon "For The Kicks Night." The IUDM family-friendly tailgate begins at 7 p.m. 

Related stories: 

• INDIANA DEFEATS DEPAUL 2-0 IN HOME OPENER: The Hoosiers earned their first win of the season Tuesday night at Bill Armstrong Stadium and improved to 32-10-9 in home-openers all-time. Indiana staggeringly outshot DePaul 31-1 in 90 minutes. Collins Oduro and Quinten Helmer scored the two second-half goals. CLICK HERE 

• JT HARMS FEATURE: JT Harms dove into goalkeeping at 9 years old. He trained with far older players at academies, but his progress stalled at Duke. At Indiana, a position battle brought humility — and confidence. CLICK HERE
• INDIANA DRAWS 1-1 AT NOTRE DAME: Indiana's season began Thursday night in South Bend. Once freshman Collins Oduro tallied the equalizer in the 28th minute, the Hoosiers survived scares throughout the rest of the match, especially late. In the last few minutes, Notre Dame applied pressure with countless set pieces, but the Hoosiers held on for the draw in muggy conditions. CLICK HERE
• INDIANA PICKED 2ND IN PRESEASON BIG TEN POLL: The Big Ten men's soccer preseason poll was released Monday, and No. 2 Indiana was slotted second. In the same release, three players from each team in the conference were chosen for the players-to-watch list. From Indiana: Patrick McDonald, Sam Sarver, and Collins Oduro. CLICK HERE