Seven teams will compete for the Big Ten men's soccer tournament title starting today. The Daily Collegian summarizes each team's season.
No. 1 Indiana
The Hoosiers easily went through the Big Ten schedule, going 4-0-2 with wins over Penn State, Northwestern and Michigan State. Indiana also has non-conference wins over Notre Dame and UCLA. Indiana has had a solid season from midfielder Brad Ring, who has had a calming influence on the defense as well as a solid offensive campaign.
No. 2 Ohio State
The Buckeyes tied Indiana in the two schools only meeting this season and beat Penn State and Michigan. Ohio State also has non-conference wins against West Virginia, Old Dominion, and tied Akron. The Buckeyes did lose 4-0 to Northwestern, and also has losses to UCLA and Green Bay.
No. 3 Northwestern
Head coach Tim Linehan has successfully turned around the Wildcat program in his short tenure in Evanston, as Northwestern got as high as the No. 3 team in the country this season before losing at Penn State in late September. Northwestern won at Ohio State and against Michigan State at home but had a tough 1-0 loss on the road against the Hoosiers.
No. 4 Penn State
The Nittany Lions struggled for a good portion of the season, especially with key injuries to Geordie MacNeill early in the season and an injury to Jason Yeisley late in the year, which forced Penn State to play freshmen Treavor Gelsinger, Jon Davidsson, Casey Derkacz and Robert Bohlen. Penn State had an up and down season but comes into the tournament on its first winning streak since late September.
No. 5 Michigan State
The Spartans started the season 11-1-3, a record that includes a tie with the Nittany Lions and wins over Notre Dame, Wisconsin and Michigan. Michigan State, though, comes into the tournament on a three-game losing streak, being shut out 2-0 in all three games to Northwestern, Cincinnati, and Ohio State on the road.
No. 6 Wisconsin
It was a tough season for the Badgers, who finished last in the conference in shots, goals, points, goals per game, assists and assists per game. Wisconsin also led the league in yellow cards and was last in conference in attendance. The Badgers have Brian Bultman, who is tied for fourth in the conference in goals (4) and Victor Diaz, who is tied for fourth in the conference with 16 points.
No. 7 Michigan
The Wolverines had a good season out of conference, going 10-2-0 with a win against Akron at home, as well as shutout wins over Rutgers, Hofstra, Kentucky and Detroit. But Michigan had a tough stretch in conference, going 0-4-2 with losses at Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan State. The Wolverines also were shut out in four of the six losses this season, including a 5-0 shutout against the Spartans on Oct. 14.
