It was nearly over.
Fourteen minutes separated IU from its first win at Bill Armstrong Stadium in more than 21 months, and junior defender Annelie Leitner’s fourth-minute goal appeared to end the winless streak.
Louisville freshman forward Allison Whitfield had other ideas.
Whitfield equalized for the Cardinals in the 76th minute, and after two scoreless extra time periods, IU was officially denied their long awaited home win.
“We fought hard today,” IU Coach Amy Berbary said. “But at the end of the day, we have to find a way to put the ball in the back of the net.”
Leitner, who started the match at forward, quickly put IU on the scoreboard with the third goal of her career. She capitalized on a loose ball in the Louisville penalty area by firing it off senior goalkeeper Taylor Bucklin and into the goal.
“It was like a confidence booster, one shot and one goal,” Leitner said. “It’s just take the chance you have, and if you have one chance, then take that one chance.”
IU nearly doubled their lead four minutes later, when junior midfielder Kayla Smith hit a shot against the crossbar. Missed opportunities became a common theme of the night for both sides, as freshman midfielder Sarah Feola then placed her shot over the goal for Louisville in the 10th minute.
Freshman goalkeeper Sarah L’Hommedieu started in goal for IU over fellow freshman Bristal Hadley-Mautino, and dealt well with several crosses and long balls into her penalty area.
“Sarah’s ability in the air is one of her strengths,” Berbary said.
Berbary was still unsure, though, if L’Hommedieu or Hadley-Mautino would get the start Sunday afternoon when IU plays Western Michigan at Bill Armstrong Stadium.
For all the ball control the Hoosiers enjoyed in the first 45 minutes, the tide changed in the second half. Louisville began to send longer through balls toward the IU defense, with a fortunate bounce over the IU defense aiding in Whitfield’s goal. Whitfield lobbed a shot over an oncoming L’Hommedieu that bounced into the net.
“It’s a shame we took that bad bounce,” Berbary said. “But they had a number of chances that they missed too. We need to tighten up as a whole defensively so that doesn’t happen on Sunday.”
The Hoosiers came close several times to making the Cardinals pay for their ineffective shooting. Freshman forward Macy Miller struck the crossbar in the 93rd minute and senior defender Marissa Borschke missed an open Louisville net later in the first extra time period.
IU’s record in season-opening games now stands at 14-7-3 following the draw, but Leitner and the Hoosiers have already started focusing on Sunday’s match.
“We still need to work on our mistakes and get better,” Leitner said. “We look forward to the next game. This is over, we can’t do anything about it, just go for the next one.”
