Triumphant IU men's soccer bests Ohio State in OT

The hero returned.

Only four days after a successful penalty kick and a 1-0 Hoosier victory against Louisville, sophomore midfielder Andy Adlard saved IU again on Sunday.

Adlard sent a free kick into the bottom left corner in the 92nd minute for a 3-2 road victory against unranked Ohio State.

After two straight wins against top-15 teams – No. 13 Notre Dame and No. 14 Louisville – the No. 22 Hoosiers came dangerously close to losing their winning streak.

Unlike the previous two matches, Sunday’s heroics capped a roller-coaster game for both teams.

Despite tallying 12 shots in the first period, the Hoosiers came out sluggish against the Buckeyes, said IU coach Mike Freitag.

“It looked like we were tired, maybe midterms, travel, wear and tear of the season,” Freitag said. “We weren’t as sharp as we could’ve been.”

After a rousing halftime speech, the team entered the second period prepared to notch only its second Big Ten victory this season.

Junior midfielder Lee Hagedorn scored his first goal of the season in the 48th minute after receiving a cross from senior forward Kevin Noschang.

Noschang rifled in his own score past Ohio State goalkeeper Drew Czekanski in the top-right corner seven minutes later with an assist from junior defender Kevin Alston.

With a two-goal lead against the Buckeyes, the Hoosiers began to relax.

Senior midfielder Danny Irizarry scored the Buckeyes’ first goal less than a minute after Noschang’s.

“(2-0) is the most dangerous lead in soccer,” Noschang said. “We got the two goals, and we got a little comfortable. Just the communication was let down a bit. There was a five minute span when we clicked off.”

After several near misses, Ohio State scored again in the 77th minute, when senior defender Patrick Roan evened up the match with a score to the right side.

“Personally, (the tie was) frustrating,” Hagedorn said. “As soon as the overtime period started, everyone knew we were going to come away with the win.”

With his second consecutive game-winning shot, Adlard improved his team’s record to 9-4-2 and 2-2-0 in the Big Ten. Riding a three-game winning streak, Sunday’s match was the Hoosiers’ first win against a Big Ten foe since a 3-2 overtime victory against Wisconsin on Sept. 21.

“We stumbled twice already,” Freitag said. “We want to finish strong in the end. There’s still a lot to be determined in the Big Ten.”

Freitag said the Hoosiers will take a day off to recuperate and prepare for another non-conference game on Wednesday, as unranked Kentucky travels to Bill Armstrong Stadium.

With only three games remaining before the Big Ten tournament, Hagedorn said the team needs to focus to end the season on a high.

“You have to make sure you’re sharp,” Hagedorn said. “If we play our game and we do it for 90 minutes, I don’t think anyone can beat us.”