In Indiana's last Big Ten game of the regular season it defeated Northwestern 5-1 securing at least a share of the Big Ten championships, the 19th regular season title in program history.
This one was an all-around performance from the Hoosiers, with IU scoring at will, while also playing solid defense throughout the game, all resulting in another Big Ten title for Todd Yeagley's team.
Yeagley said postgame that “it's really fun to celebrate with the guys tonight” mentioning that even with so many titles under his belt, this really is a team that is special to him.
Just like it was special to Yeagley, it was special to all involved. From the players, to the fans, to the entire athletic department, even with so many Big Ten titles, this one still means as much as if it was their first,
Sam Sarver got the Hoosiers on the board early with a sensational strike from outside the box. The shot landed in the bottom left corner of the net, making it Sarver's fifth goal of the year and possibly the most important so far.
Sarver said postgame "getting on the board that early, I think, was vital," illustrating that his vision was to get on the board first and get on the board first he did.
As a senior leader, Sarver has been around several IU teams, most of which have been just as successful as this team, but he thinks this one is different.
He said "I think that's what's great about this team. It's not one guy just, you know, carrying everyone. It's everyone playing their role," explaining how well rounded this group is, which has led to their success.
While the team is well rounded, Sarver has been a vital part of the offense all year and was a vital part of the offense against Northwestern, scoring what was really a phenomenal goal to put the Hoosiers in front in the 17th minute.
Later on in the first half, Tommy Mihalic added on to the IU lead with a goal that matched Sarver's in terms of magnificence, as he sent a bullet from outside the box and it found the top right corner of the net to make it 2-0 for the Hoosiers.
Mihalic's goal was his ninth of the season, making him one shy of netting double digit goals, but it didn't take long after that to get the all important 10th goal of the season.
Just three minutes after Mihalic scored a banger from outside the box, he scored a penalty goal to extend the lead even more for IU, making it 3-0 at the halftime break.
While Mihalic was happy in his own performance, he was more pleased with what this win means for his team, saying, "Well, when you when you win games like this, obviously putting putting away a lot of goals, let alone the championships, but the games in themselves, it shows that, you know, we can beat anyone, and we can, you know, put a lot of goals past any team."
This shows the mentality of the Big Ten champion Hoosiers, a mentality that has allowed them to win titles year in and year out, but one that really showed itself in this one against Northwestern.
In the second half, the Hoosiers kept cruising their way to a Big Ten title, as IU tacked on three more goals after the break.
Two of those were scored by Justin Weiss, a transfer forward from Northwestern, making this performance special to him.
Weiss said postgame “you come to Indiana for championships like this” mentioning that this is the exact moment he had in mind when he made the decision to transfer.
Northwestern got a late goal, but it was too little too late for Wildcats, as with Charlie Heuer’s garbage time goal, the score would go final at 6-1.
This, of course, gave the Hoosiers yet another Big Ten title, one that many people may have not seen coming because of the slow start to the year.
Coach Yeagley said, though, “I think there were some people that, you know, were writing this off a bit and saying, you know, Indiana, this and that, I go, it's a dangerous thing to do.”
And dangerous it sure was as, for the 19th time. Indiana is your Big Ten men’s soccer champions, doing so by beating Northwestern in dominant fashion.
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