No. 23 Indiana Soccer Opens Big Ten Play Friday Against Wisconsin

Indiana will host Wisconsin in the Big Ten opener Friday night. Though the Badgers previously beat then-No. 2 Kentucky 1-0, they've since gone winless in their subsequent three matches. Indiana most recently lost to South Florida and has had a week to rest.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — On Wednesday, Indiana men’s soccer coach Todd Yeagley reflected about his team’s shutout loss at South Florida last week. 

They looked weary, which Yeagley explained isn’t unusual this early in the season. Nonetheless, they lacked what Yeagley calls the controllables: giving up too many chances, communication and transitional play.

Included within that is also the team’s enthusiasm. Yeagley felt that South Florida craved the win more than Indiana did, which irritated him. Excluding that match, however, the head coach believes that the Hoosiers have executed the controllables, and should they continue to do so, better soccer will soon dock in Bloomington. 

Next up for No. 23 Indiana is Wisconsin on Friday night.

Indiana has had the whole week to rest for the Big Ten opener and retains considerable home-pitch advantage, per the series history. Indiana has won 17 consecutive home matches over Wisconsin. The latest was in 2021 when then-freshman Tommy Mihalic scored the double-overtime winner. Indiana also bested the Badgers 2-1 last season on the road to resume its current six-match win streak.

Wisconsin's roster has more diverse personnel this season than in years past.

“They’re pretty darn balanced,” Yeagley said. “They’re not quite as big as they have been, so it used to be restarts [corner and free kicks, throw-ins] and it was such a focus … Those wing backs that can get up and down the field, they have some some older players, they have a really good rotation of front runners that they can keep fresh and their pressure has been very good this year. They've made teams play a little faster than they want.”

The Badgers began the season by winning their first three matches all at home, culminating in their 1-0 victory over then-No. 2 Kentucky, which slingshotted them into the top-25 rankings. Since then, however, Wisconsin dropped two matches on the road to Illinois-Chicago and Marquette and tied with Mercer. The Badgers were outscored 5-1 combined in those three winless contests and have since vanished from the national polls.

Indiana and Wisconsin generally share the same attacking numbers, though the Badgers have played one more match this season. The Hoosiers have 86 shots; the Badgers have 85. The Hoosiers have put 30 of those on target, compared to 35 from the Badgers, whose shots-on-goal ratio of 41% surpasses Indiana's 35%. Indiana has had 30 corner kicks to Wisconsin's 45, but Indiana hasn't scored from any corner. The Badgers have once.

Fewer shots on goal lessen the opportunity for balls to rebound back to Indiana’s attackers. Indiana and Wisconsin are averaging fewer than one goal per match at 0.80 and 0.83, respectively. Yeagley discussed that the team’s shot-finishing must improve, and that’s why someone like common substitute and redshirt senior midfielder Quinten Helmer – who scored one of the team’s four goals from more than 20 yards out – is planned to receive more minutes. Helmer scored in last year's 2-1 victory. 

Indiana's services from the corner spots have had mixed accuracy this year. Perhaps the 0-for-30 Hoosiers are in luck that Wisconsin is smaller than in years past, which Yeagley said had posed challenges on restarts. That's not to suggest the Badgers don't have players with size or restart specialists at the corners – Yeagley said they still do. Yet, it could provide Indiana an advantage that wasn't there beforehand, from which the Hoosiers could benefit to score their long-awaited first restart goal. 

The Big Ten opener between Indiana and Wisconsin will kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET at Bill Armstrong Stadium Friday night. The match will air on Big Ten-plus, and the first 500 fans that arrive at the stadium will receive free Indiana soccer-themed tank tops.

Related stories on Indiana Soccer: 

• ATTACK PRODUCTION ON PACE WITH 2022, WHERE ARE THE GOALS?: The Hoosiers, now 2-2-1, are averaging fewer than one goal per match, yet are on pace to match or surpass last year's attack numbers in shots and shots on target. CLICK HERE
• INDIANA SOCCER BLANKS SETON HALL: Indiana followed up Friday's shutout loss to No. 22 Washington by beating Seton Hall Monday night, 1-0. As the Hoosiers outshot the Pirates 14-4, Sam Sarver's goal seemed more than just relief. CLICK HERE
• NO. 10 INDIANA FALLS TO NO. 22 WASHINGTON: Consensus top-25 teams Indiana and Washington met Friday night for the first time since Washington's postseason victory in 2021. The Hoosiers put up five shots on target in the second half, though they conceded the lone goal of the match in the 77th minute. 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