After starting the season with three straight home games, Indiana women’s soccer faced its first road test against the University of Evansville Sunday night. Though Indiana dominated the box score, shooting 22 shots while only allowing four, the Purple Aces kept the Hoosiers on their toes until the final whistle blew.
With this win, the Hoosiers move to 3-0-1 on the year, equaling last season's win total in just 4 games. Indiana came out of the gates firing, rattling off 15 shots in the first half.
The decisive goal came in the 18th minute when a second-chance ball was left in a dangerous position following a set-piece corner kick taken by senior midfielder Anna Bennett. It was sophomore forward Marisa Grzesiak who stepped up to head the ball in the back of the net, scoring her first career goal in her first start of the season.
The second half followed a similar story to the first, with the Hoosiers once more dominating possession and scoring opportunities. Evansville saw its sole shot on goal snuffed out in the 54th minute, giving junior goalkeeper Jamie Gerstenberg her 18th career shutout. Nevertheless, Indiana struggled to pull away from the Purple Aces, tallying just one goal from 22 shots.
Head Coach Erwin van Bennekom spoke about the Purple Aces’ competitiveness after the game.
“Credit to them on how they defended,” he said postgame. “They made it really hard for us to create chances, but I think even with that we created enough to win the game. The season is too short to look into how we win, it’s more the outcome. It's another win and we are happy with that."
Indiana will next be in action Thursday night when they travel to Knoxville to take on the University of Tennessee. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.
Follow reporters Quinn Richards (@Quinn_richa) and PJ Katona (@PJ_Katona) for updates throughout the Indiana women’s soccer season.
