No. 1 Seed Indiana Soccer Hosts Wisconsin Friday in Big Ten Tournament Opening Round

The men's soccer Big Ten Tournament begins Friday, and the top-seeded Hoosiers will host Wisconsin. The two teams met in September, which marked one of the frustrating draws for Indiana. Arguably, it's likely win-or-miss the NCAA Tournament for both.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — By thrashing Rutgers 4-1 Sunday in Bloomington, Indiana clinched a share of the Big Ten regular season title with Penn State, the program’s 18th all-time. Since the Hoosiers beat the Nittany Lions 2-1 in October, which commenced their 12-point month and climb in the standings, Indiana is the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament.

The Hoosiers will host No. 8 seed Wisconsin at home Friday night, and will continue to host should they continue to advance. In mid-September, Indiana hosted Wisconsin in the Big Ten opener, and both sides tied 0-0. Head coach Todd Yeagley altered the attack positions for that draw and kept the same personnel, though the Hoosiers were blanked for the third time in four matches.

Following that match, Yeagley was asked what he said to his players postgame. His hushed response, “See you tomorrow.” Indiana retained the better chances, and Yeagley still thought his team didn’t create enough. In hindsight, the Hoosiers were fine and turned it around by the season’s end to win the league, partially by finding another production channel in set-piece goals on free kicks and throws.

Since the September matchup in Bloomington, the Badgers encountered varied and relatively mediocre results. They tied three times in the Big Ten down the stretch, and won and lost twice to finish tied with two other teams. Following the Indiana match, the Badgers won once on the road in three attempts. Wisconsin tied with Penn State to end the regular season, which helped Indiana. Penn State would've won the conference outright by beating the Badgers. 

“They've maybe adjusted a little bit to their lineup, but not much,” Yeagley said Wednesday. “They’re really disciplined and difficult to break down … they have some really good guys in transition and some experience up the middle of the field, in particular, [Tim] Bielic … They have a good side, and we’re gonna have to play well and execute in a lot of areas. But I don’t see a big difference from earlier in the season with their personnel and overall performance.”

Indiana defender turned-midfielder Hugo Bacharach, the reigning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, only transitioned to the center of the field for the Penn State match in October. An intriguing storyline to monitor is how Wisconsin prepares for this position change, and how Bacharach fares in response. He has been commanding the space continually with his size.

Though the Hoosiers won the conference, they aren’t guaranteed an NCAA Tournament bid presently, since their RPI would tank by losing to Wisconsin at home and, in turn, probably wouldn’t look suitable in the sights of the selection committee. 

Beating Wisconsin and advancing past the semifinal with another win versus bubble-team Northwestern likely means Indiana is in the postseason. But on the other hand, Wisconsin won’t get in unless it wins the Big Ten Tournament.

Arguably, both sides are playing for their season's life on Friday. The match begins at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at Bill Armstrong Stadium and will air on Big Ten-plus. Tickets can be bought here.

Related stories on Indiana Soccer:  

• INDIANA WINS SHARE OF BIG TEN TITLE: The Hoosiers got the help they needed Sunday. Northwestern lost to Michigan, Penn State tied with Wisconsin, and Indiana beat Rutgers 4-1 at home. CLICK HERE
• ANDREW GOLDSWORTHY MAKES FIRST CAREER START: In Goldsworthy's five-year college career, he has played in only 11 matches and never started. But the veteran from Bloomington got the call on Senior Night Friday in Indiana soccer's 2-0 shutout of Trine, with his family in attendance. CLICK HERE
• INDIANA FALLS AT NORTHWESTERN: Indiana's three-match conference win streak was snapped Tuesday, as signs of the old, unable-to-convert Hoosiers returned at Northwestern. CLICK HERE
• OCTOBER NOTEBOOK: The Big Ten sprint is on. Indiana is in second with 11 points, two shy of co-leaders Michigan State and Penn State. Here's an October Notebook about the team's win streak and key contributors. CLICK HERE