In a crucial game for its NCAA Tournament hopes, IU women’s soccer defeated Michigan 2-0 Saturday at U-M Soccer Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan, thanks to a pair of first-half goals.
After falling 1-0 to Ohio State in the first game of its road trip, IU picked up a much-needed win over Michigan to stay in the picture for the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments. It was the Hoosiers’ first in Ann Arbor since 2006.
“It’s massive, and I think with the Big Ten at this point in the season, it is what it is. It’s nice that we get 3 points,” head coach Erwin van Bennekom said. “But, for our NCAA at-large bid resume, this is a huge road win against probably an NCAA [Tournament] team.”
From the start, IU controlled the tempo of the match, outshooting Michigan 5-0 in the first 15 minutes of the contest. That early momentum would result in a tiebreaking goal from sophomore midfielder Avery Lockwood, who scored on a sliding shot from a through pass from freshman forward Gabi Rennie.
Freshman midfielder Sofia Black scored her first career goal with just a minute and a half to play in the first half, becoming one of three IU freshmen to score this season.
“It was great. Good recognition, good finish. She came into the game, and I think she scored five minutes later,” van Bennekom said. “Super excited for her, she’s an extremely hard-working player and does whatever she can to get better. I’m so happy for her.”
With the win, the Hoosiers advance to 5-4-0 on the season, eclipsing their total number of conference wins from 2019 with two games remaining.
“Five wins was the goal coming into the season. We had four last season, and we’re there,” van Bennekom said. “I’m so proud of the group.”
Next up for IU is a match Wednesday at Bill Armstrong Stadium against Michigan State, a team Michigan defeated 7-3 earlier this month in Brighton, Michigan. Despite the Spartans 1-6-1 record and being 13th in the Big Ten standings, van Bennekom said the game will still be a challenge.
“It’s the third game in six days with travel, so that’s gonna be tough,” van Bennekom said. “So our focus from now until that game on Wednesday is just to recover, recover, recover and prepare ourselves physically.”
