IU men's soccer team tops Louisville in tight home contest

Thanks to a late penalty conversion by sophomore midfielder/forward Andy Adlard, the IU men’s soccer team took care of its second-consecutive top-15 opponent with a 1-0 victory against No. 14 Louisville on Wednesday night.

After senior forward Kevin Noschang was tripped in the box with a little more than eight minutes remaining, Adlard sent a shot to the lower left part of the goal to put the Hoosiers ahead for good.

The win allowed the team to push its record to 8-4-2 on the season and extend its unbeaten streak to 3-0-2 against top-25 opponents.

Adlard said his mentality on the penalty shot was no different than in practice.

“I can go both ways, but I felt most comfortable (going left),” he said. “The keeper went the wrong way. It ended up working out.”

Despite sloppy play from both sides in the first half, Louisville dominated the amount of shots on goal with a 7-2 advantage.

The Cardinals’ best opportunity came in the 18th minute, when a cross into the box was headed off of the crossbar.

The Hoosiers had a prime chance in the 26th minute that saw freshman forward Will Bruin one-time a ball that went just wide right of the goal. Sophomore forward Neil Wilmarth’s long throw-in at the 32nd minute created havoc in front of Louisville goalkeeper Andre Boudreaux, but the Hoosiers couldn’t get off the mark, as the first half ended in a 0-0 defensive stalemate.

While the Hoosiers lacked offensive production early on, the second half was a different story.  

From the opening whistle, IU besieged Boudreaux and tallied an 11-1 shots-on-goal advantage in the second frame.

Bruin had the initial chance on goal of the second half in the 52nd minute, when his line-drive shot outside of the box skidded wide left.

Senior midfielder Brad Ring joined in on the action when his 30-yard shot soared just wide left of the net.

Leaving it late, Noschang’s penalty and Adlard’s goal with little time remaining sealed the victory for the Hoosiers.

Senior goalkeeper Chay Cain said he was proud of his team’s effort in the second half.

“That is the intensity we need the rest of the season in order to keep pulling out victories,” Cain said. “We eliminated the small mistakes, moved the ball quicker, and that made all the difference. We have realized, as the season has gone on, that we are a volatile team.”

The victory creates momentum for the Hoosiers heading into their road match against Big Ten foe Ohio State this weekend. IU hopes to get back on track in the conference after starting just 1-2.

The Buckeyes are 8-4-2 on the season, and 2-2 in the Big Ten.

IU coach Mike Freitag said the victories against Notre Dame and Louisville were crucial to future success.

“Beating a couple of regional opponents helps us in the rankings,” he said. “It is where you are at in the end. Early in the season we made some mistakes, but we learned from them. We have been much sharper these last two games.”