Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
Support the IDS in College Media Madness! Donate here March 24 - April 8.
Thursday, March 28
The Indiana Daily Student

sports men's soccer

Offensive woes continue for IU men's soccer in scoreless draw

Senior defender Phil Fives dribbles the ball during Tuesday evening's 2-0 victory against IUPUI at Bill Armstrong Stadium.

IU’s offense has some serious issues.

After a scoreless draw against one-win Northwestern last Sunday, the Hoosiers played the same to another Big Ten bottom feeder Friday night on the road.

No. 4 IU traveled east to face a winless Rutgers team in its fourth conference game of the year. For the second straight time in Big Ten play, the Hoosiers remained scoreless after 110 minutes of play, pushing their overall record to 5-0-4 and their conference record to 1-0-3.

The Hoosiers had opportunities to put the game away late, but a couple of key stops made by the Rutgers defense and senior goalkeeper David Greczeck kept the game scoreless.

Sophomore midfielder Cory Thomas had the best chance of the night to put the Hoosiers in the win column. With three minutes remaining in the first overtime, Thomas got a foot on a loose ball inside of the box and touched it past the goalkeeper.

What looked like an IU win was shut down quick as a Rutgers defender charged in and cleared the ball out on the goal line. Seconds later, Thomas faced another quality chance, but squandered the scoring opportunity for the Hoosiers as his header hit the crossbar.

IU continued the trend of outshooting its opponents by firing off 23 shots, compared to just 16 for Rutgers, but still had no goals to show for.

At the end of the Northwestern game on Sept. 18, IU Coach Todd Yeagley voiced his displeasure about the offense taking non-quality shots. He said the shot decisions were improving after the Hoosiers’ 2-0 victory against IUPUI, and that Friday night the shots were there but just a little off.

The positive side for IU is how its defense has stood strong all year. The Hoosiers haven’t allowed a goal in the past 423 minutes and allowed just three all season.

The Hoosiers were once again without their top defender, junior Grant Lillard. Friday marked the second consecutive game he’s missed and third overall this year.

Senior defender Billy McConnell hasn’t returned to the lineup either since his Sept. 14 injury on against Michigan, but the younger players off the bench have stepped up in their absence.

Sophomore defender Timmy Mehl made his second straight start against Rutgers while fellow sophomore defender Austin Panchot was inserted into the starting lineup for the first time in his career.

Senior goalkeeper Colin Webb came in clutch for the Hoosiers on the backline also and turned away five shots on goal, including two large saves near the end of double overtime to keep the game scoreless.

Webb posted his sixth shutout of the season and the 26th of his career.

The Hoosiers need to turn the offensive woes around quick if they want to compete with the upcoming high-quality competition. IU has scored just three goals in the first four Big Ten games.

Two non-conference in-state rivals test IU next as No. 10 Butler travels to Bloomington on Wednesday, Sept. 28. Then, the Hoosiers head north to South Bend, Indiana, to face No. 3 Notre Dame on Tuesday, Oct. 4.

Get stories like this in your inbox
Subscribe