IU soccer moves up to #3 in coaches poll

Soccer is a funny game. As sports fans we’re conditioned to believe that anything less than total victory is failure, but in this sport, on a pretty regular basis that is not the case. When you’re playing against a good team, a draw can sometimes be...well, not as good as a win, but still pretty danged good.

For example, here comes this week’s NSCAA Coaches Poll. Check it out:

For reference, last week’s poll had your Hoosiers as the #4 team in the country. And if you observe the full rankings, you’ll note that B1G rival and IU’s last opponent Maryland is the #4 team now, after being ranked fifth last week.

That game, of course, was played to a draw. Sometimes you don’t need to win in order to win.

Of Indiana’s upcoming opponents, a few feature in this week’s rankings. Notre Dame sits atop the heap as the top team in the nation, and in-state rival Butler is ranked tenth. Louisville also received votes, but didn’t make the top 25.