The Hoosiers lacked energy. They weren’t on the field mentally, only physically.
But even physically, they still weren’t fully engaged in the game.
The junior midfielder could tell this within the first five minutes of IU’s 4-1 loss Sunday against Rutgers at Bill Armstrong Stadium.
“We don’t come out to play and that’s what happens,” Thompson said. “We’ll make sure that doesn’t happen again because that was embarrassing on our home field. It was an embarrassment.”
IU Coach Todd Yeagley could sense the problem, too. He subbed off freshman midfielder Rece Buckmaster within the first 15 minutes, the earliest he’s made a change this season, but the substitution didn’t fix the problem. A few minutes later, in the 19th minute, Rutgers scored its first goal of the match.
The first goal was simple. A throw in followed by a pass to midfielder Sheldon McKoy at the top of the box, who turned and shot into the lower corner.
McKoy out-muscled sophomore center back Grant Lillard to gain possession and shot around a Hoosier defense which stood and watched.
For the second goal forward Jason Wright ran by the two Hoosier center backs, Lillard and junior Derek Creviston, before dribbling around junior goalkeeper Colin Webb and finishing into an open goal in the 25th minute.
“We weren’t sharp, we didn’t move well, we didn’t pass well,” Yeagley said. “We just didn’t do anything well. I can’t find a positive today.”
The Hoosiers actually had the majority of the possession Sunday despite the score line. But possession doesn’t always translate to goals especially when the passing was as disjointed as it was against Rutgers.
The third goal resulted directly from a Hoosier turnover. Freshman defender Andrew Gutman failed to control a ball coming over his head and sophomore Miles Hackett ran past Gutman and a sliding Creviston into the box and shot uncontested past Webb for the third goal of the first half.
“That was a shocking first half,” Thompson said. “We can’t let that happen.”
The Hoosiers did manage to find a goal in the second half from senior forward Femi Hollinger-Janzen, his third of the season, but it was of no consequence, Thompson said.
There just wasn’t much the Hoosiers could do after the first half, he said.
The loss is the second in as many conference games this season, putting the Hoosiers firmly at the bottom of the conference standings, a fourth of the way through the Big Ten slate.
The importance of Sunday’s game was clear, Yeagley said, which makes the uninspired performance even more jarring.
After the game, players were visibly shaken. The energy was the same after Wednesday’s draw at Butler, but IU couldn’t carry that feeling to its next game, Thompson said.
That’s what needs to change, he said. The Hoosiers can’t simply be upset Sunday and carry on Monday as if they weren’t dismantled at home by the Scarlet Knights, who haven’t made the NCAA tournament since 2011.
The same thing happened in 2013, Thompson’s freshman year. The Hoosiers were highly touted entering the season, but could not find enough results. Thompson said 2015 won’t be the same, he won’t allow it to be.
The Hoosiers need to carry the feeling of failure with them all week, and into their next game Wednesday. That’s the way to fix the problem, Thompson said.
“There’s a lot of pissed-off guys in the locker room, there’s a lot of pissed-off guys the last two games,” Thompson said. “We have to transfer that anger and get it going into the next game and come out with an edge.”
