Men’s soccer sees losing streak reach five games

Four became five on Friday.

The IU men’s soccer team has lost its past five games, and that marks the longest losing streak in team history.

The team has been shut out four times during this skid.

The 1-0 loss on Friday at Virginia Commonwealth University came when Dennis Castillo’s penalty kick in the 68th minute of the game hit the lower left corner of the net to score the lone goal of the game.

IU Coach Todd Yeagley said his team played a good game, and it has played well all season, but for some reason, the team hasn’t gotten the results to show it.

“It was another comprehensive performance by us,” Yeagley said. “I thought we controlled the game. We had better scoring opportunities, and it was unfortunate not to find a goal.

“We created plenty of opportunities. They just had numbers in the box and did a great job of blocking shots.”

With 29 minutes to play, the Hoosiers thought they had scored the first goal of the game when sophomore midfielder Femi Hollinger-Janzen headed a corner kick from senior midfielder A.J. Corrado past the Rams’ sophomore goalkeeper Andrew Wells, but the goal was waved off because of a foul in the box.

Seven minutes later, senior midfielder Jacob Bushue was called for a foul in the box when his slide tackle hit the attacker’s feet.

The play resulted in the game-winning penalty kick from Castillo.

IU outshot VCU 21-8, and 10 of those shots were on frame.

Yeagley said IU’s attack was very dangerous, but VCU’s Wells’ performance was very good and played a key role in keeping the Hoosiers scoreless.

Wells recorded his fourth shutout of the season and tallied eight saves in the game.

Freshman forward Tommy Thompson did not play, as he is recovering from knee surgery he underwent on Tuesday.

Injuries have been a factor for this Indiana team all season.

“It’s been tough,” Yeagley said. “We’ve had untimely injuries at different times..”

Yeagley said that this tough stretch for his team will only make the team stronger in the end.

The Hoosiers hope to bounce back this week when they take on Evansville in front of a home crowd Wednesday.

“The results for some reason aren’t happening,” Yeagley said. “We’ll be better for it in the end because it’s going to help going into Big Ten play.”

Follow reporter Alyssa Extin on Twitter @alyssa_extin.