Hoosiers rebound from preseason loss

After losing their first preseason game since 2004 on Thursday, the Hoosiers recovered by beating DePaul 3-0 on Saturday.

The game capped off the team’s 1-1 stint at the National Soccer Festival at IU-Purdue University Fort Wayne.

In their victory against the Blue Devils, the Hoosiers took 11 shots, while the Blue Devils took 10 shots.  

In the 33rd minute, senior midfielder Eric Alexander crossed the ball to junior midfielder Rich Balchan before Balchan scored in the lower right corner of the goal for the Hoosiers’ first point.

From there, the cream and crimson never looked back.

During the 45 minutes that freshman goalkeeper Luis Soffner spent in the net, he saved three goals.

After Soffner fended off DePaul’s attack, sophomore forwardAlec Purdie netted the ball in the 47th minute with a solo finish.

Within five minutes, junior forward Andy Adlard tacked on another goal to increase the gap between the Hoosiers and the Blue Devils. Adlard had two previous attempts at the goal during the first half, but both were saved by DePaul goalkeeper Eric Sorby.

Sophomore forward Will Bruin also had three shots in the first 45 minutes, but all were stopped.

Throughout the game, 23 Hoosiers took the pitch of IPFW against DePaul’s 17.

The Hoosiers’ first regular season game is at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at Jerry Yeagley Field in Bill Armstrong Stadium versus St. John’s during the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic.