No. 25 Indiana had just finished off Rutgers 5-0 in their best performance against a Big Ten opponent this season, but didn’t get the help needed to make the Big Ten Tournament. UCLA upset Washington on the road to claim the fourth and final place in the conference tournament.
For a program of Indiana’s pedigree, a fifth-place finish and no conference tournament appearance may be worrying. One might expect to see some disappointment from head coach Todd Yeagley and his squad.
The reality was anything but — Indiana feels fantastic with where it currently sits.
“It’s all controllable at this point for us,” Yeagley said following Indiana's decisive win over the Scarlet Knights, who came into Bloomington on the NCAA tournament bubble. “Obviously it’s a bummer we don’t get a chance at the second prize of the year, but the biggest one is the most important, and always will be for our program.”
The Hoosiers have quickly turned the page. In fact, they’re even looking at no conference tournament games as an advantage ahead of the national tournament. And who can blame them?
“With the strength of schedule that we’ve played, there’s no doubt in our minds that we’re battle tested,” forward Palmer Ault said. “(We’re) IU soccer, we’re expected to win.”
Yeagley indicated that this Indiana team’s done enough and may in fact be a better off not going than they would be having a rematch with Maryland.
“We could’ve gone there and won it and been a top-four seed,” he said. “But at the same time I think we’re in a great spot.”
Indiana boasts one of the best resumes in the country. The Hoosiers have three wins over ranked opponents, all against non-conference opponents, score over two goals a game -- good for sixth in the nation -- and rank ninth in RPI. A trip to the Big Ten Tournament wouldn’t exactly help their case.
“Our game experience, we have it,” Yeagley said. “Now it’s can we fine-tune some parts of our game? That’s where the extra training and being fresh and in a controlled environment, not traveling, all those things can be somewhat of an advantage.”
What the Hoosiers may have gotten from the Big Ten Tournament, an okay performance to grow and learn from, they already got just a week ago.
“What you want is a little bit of a correction late in the year, kind of a tough feeling…We got that kind of reset with the Northwestern result.”
Indiana made the trip up to Evanston, Ill. to play the then-10th place Wildcats. Despite 22 total shot attempts, the Hoosiers were blanked and wound up losing 2-0.
Yeagley saw it as the wake up call his team needed. They played well, but didn’t get the outcome the performance deserved, lighting a fire in the players that Yeagley sees as positive.
“They’re a little upset in a good way,” he said. “I like that.”
With the win over Rutgers, the Hoosiers are heating up at the right time. Ault continues his MAC Hermann Trophy campaign, scoring his nation-leading 16th goal in the regular season finale. Holden Brown, who Yeagley said is the starting goalkeeper down the stretch until proven otherwise, picked up Indiana’s first clean sheet in conference play. Clay Murador and Colton Swan also both got on the scoresheet.
“We’re checking a lot of boxes this time of year,” Yeagley said. Form, confidence, feel of the group, we’re defending well, we’re scoring goals. We just want the next opponent.”
Indiana won’t know who that next opponent will be until Nov. 17, when it will also find out where it is seeded to begin its next run at the ninth national championship in program history.
