IUMS vs Maryland - 10/30/22 @ 1:00 on BTN

[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,959]

Rumor has it this is an important match.

Live Stats

It's shaping up to be a drama-filled final day of the Big Ten men's soccer regular season.

Indiana (8-3-5, 3-1-3 B1G) will host eighth-ranked Maryland (9-2-4, 5-2-3 B1G) Sunday (Oct. 28) on Jerry Yeagley Field at Bill Armstrong Stadium in a match that will help decide the Big Ten regular season champion.

The match will be televised on Big Ten Network with kickoff set for 1 p.m. ET. Fans can also stream the match at foxsports.com/live.

Sunday is also Senior Day for IU men's soccer as the program celebrates 11 individuals in a pregame ceremony. Additionally, the program will give away eight-star knit caps to the first 250 fans in attendance.

SETTING THE SCENE
• The chase for the 2022 Big Ten regular season championship comes down to the final day, and Indiana is in the hunt for its league-best 18th regular season crown and 33rd overall Big Ten title.
• Sunday will also decide seeding in the Big Ten Tournament. Indiana can finish between No. 1 and No. 5 in seeding depending on results throughout the conference.
• Indiana will celebrate a group of 11 seniors in a pregame ceremony on Sunday. The group includes Trey Kapsalis, Luke Boha, Alex McGill, Daniel Munie, Bryant Pratt, Nyk Sessock, RyanWittenbrink, Ben Yeagley, Herbert Endeley, Karsen Henderlong, and Jake Hooten (Manager). Members of this senior class debuted as early as the 2019 season. Since then, IU owns a 50-14-12 record and won the Big Ten Double in both 2019 and the 2020-21 season.
• Indiana is 6-1-2 at home this season and 3-3-0 against ranked opponents.
• The Hoosiers have scored 31 goals from 14 unique goal scorers this season. Redshirt senior Ryan Wittenbrink leads the Hoosiers in points (18) and shares the team-high for goals (6) with sophomore forward Tommy Mihalic.

SUNDAY SCENARIOS
• With a win and an Ohio State loss versus Wisconsin, IU would share the Big Ten title with Maryland.
• Should IU win and Ohio State tie, the title would be shared between Indiana, Maryland and Ohio State.
• If both Indiana and Ohio State win, Ohio State would win the title outright.
• The other three Big Ten men's soccer matches on Sunday will also kick off at 1 p.m. ET and can be streamed on the Big Ten Plus digital platform.

ABOUT THE TERRAPINS
• Maryland comes into the match with a 9-2-4 record and a 4-0-3 mark in Big Ten Conference play. Its last result was a 4-1 win over Delaware and its last conference result was a 1-0 victory against Michigan State.
• The Terrapins are led by 30th-year head coach Sasho Cirovski, who has compiled a 423-162-63 record at Maryland and a 449-175-70 career record over 32 seasons.
• Senior midfielder Malcolm Johnston leads Maryland in goals (5) and points (14), while redshirt sophomore forward Joshua Bolma and redshirt senior defender Nick Richardson each have a team-high six assists. Five Terrapins have recorded at least 10 points this season.

SERIES HISTORY
• Indiana has the slight better of the all-time series, winning six matches to Maryland's five, but the two teams have tied seven times.
• The two teams have met in the final match of the regular season each of the last two campaigns, going 1-1 in those matchups. In the adjusted 2020-21 campaign, IU had already wrapped up its third consecutive Big Ten regular season title when it beat Maryland via a Victor Bezerra brace.• Last season, IU and Maryland met in College Park with each having a chance at the crown. The Terrapins won, 2-0, but six-win Penn State ended up on top.
• The two teams have met five times in the Big Ten Tournament, with IU advancing in three of those instances.

[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,959]

GOAL!  Hoosiers get on the board with the first goal of the game on a free kick at 25' by Ryan Wittenbrink.  Joe Suchecki of Maryland has picked up a yellow card.

 

[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,959]

Wittenbrink's goal.

 

[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,959]

1-0 IU leads at the break.  Hoosiers 4 shots; 2 SOG; 1 corner.  Maryland 5; 2 and 1.

[Aaron 4,147]

If IU hold this lead for final 45 minutes and OSU does not score three straight goals in Madison,, the Hoosiers they would be co-Big Ten Champ. A tie they are 6 goals to the good against MSU to hold top four seed. Lose and they are one goal to good for staying in top 4 (second and third seed are all but out of play unless OSU comes back).  

[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,959]

Ohio State cuts Wisconsin's lead to 2-1. 33 minutes left to play.

Still 1-0 in Bloomington with 29 min. remaining.  Maryland has been very aggressive this half.

 

[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,959]

And just like that, Wisky takes a 3-1 lead over the Buckeyes with 25 min. left.

[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,959]

OSU cuts the Wisky lead to 3-2.  What a second half in Madison.

[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,959]

Badgers hold on and beat the Buckeyes 3-2.  Badgers did their job now we just have to hold on for another 6 minutes.

[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,959]

CRAP!  Terps tie it up with 3:05 left

[Brass Cannon 24,064]

No ability to close out games. That’s been our problem all year 

[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,959]

Game over and it's our fourth tie game of the year in conference play and our 6th tie of the entire season.  We couldn't muster any offense in the second half finishing with just 6 total shots (only 2 in the second half); 2 SOG both in the first half and 2 corners.  The Terps finished with 12, 4 and 6.

[WayneFleekHoosier 46,747]

Brutal result.  Bummer

[Aaron 4,147]

Three minutes from a Big Ten title and Maryland equalizes and IU is fourth in Big Ten and will host PSU. This is what IU is this year. A middle of the pack borderline top 25 Big Ten team that will play in first round of NCAA Tourney.

Its a good spot to be at for your worst team in a decade, but team has major issues to address if they want to get back to top. PSU has had a surprisingly terrible season despite returning everyone but one player and is well out of NCAA Tourney. IU thrashed the Lions 4-2 here earlier this year. 

For the first time IU looks less talented than the top 10 teams (ala UK, Akron, Maryland, Clemson) and to be holding on for dear life against this level of competition. While Harms had his best performance of any goalie for IU this season, the fact the Hoosiers needed to sit back so much is a testament to how much they are struggling vs. elite teams.   

[Aaron 4,147]

Its simple IU needs to fix the goalie position in the offseason today not withstanding. This is a good low point for the program that most teams would kill for but this is likely headed to a Semi-Finals defeat in Big Ten Tourney and second round NCAA exit. 

Got to address goalie in the offseason big time and another forward although I think Bezerra might be that answer by next year as elite goal scorer but goalie level IU needs not on roster. Hoosiers almost stole a Big Ten Title but ended up right where they belong based on their numbers and season. 

[Hoosierfan1901 5,795]

I was there, I witnessed the goal, I am not happy 

[Aaron 4,147]

1 hour ago, Brass Cannon said:

No ability to close out games. That’s been our problem all year 

Very hard when you can’t trust your goalies (although for once that was not their fault today). Overall IU is indeed having trouble closing games out for that reason exactly all season.

 

Number one issue to address in offseason if team wants to get back to top 10 level fans expect.

[BtownStrength 993]

This season has been incredibly disappointing. Hope we can land an impact transfer at keeper + more field talent. Letdown.