Following up a 1-0 loss to Northwestern on Tuesday, Indiana men’s soccer dictated the rhythm in a 2-0 victory over Trine University on Friday night.
The Hoosiers hit the ground running with eight shots in the first 15 minutes of play. During the opening third of the contest, freshman forward Collins Oduro had a golden chance to open the scoring after some confusion between Trine freshman goalkeeper Dillon Lambert and his defense, but Oduro fired it over the crossbar from inside the 6-yard box.
With 30 minutes to go in the first half, senior forward Maouloune Goumballe stole the ball inside Trine’s 16-yard box and rolled it over to sophomore midfielder Jack Wagoner, but the midfielder’s shot was blocked by sophomore defender Liam Zimmerman.
Just a minute later, Trine fired its first — and only — shot of the half. Off a corner kick, sophomore defender Gavin Hardy’s header went just wide to the left of Indiana’s goal.
The Hoosiers finally broke the tie with 29 minutes remaining in the first half. Goumaballe received the ball on the right edge of the box and fired it at the near post, breaking the tie and scoring a goal during his 100th game for the Cream and Crimson.
After the goal, Indiana created a few chances with sophomore midfielder Grant Yeagley and Goldsworthy, but neither one could convert.
The Hoosiers outshot the Thunder 16-1, controlling most of the possession in the first half.
Indiana picked up where it left off in the second half with junior forward Tommy Mihalic’s wide shot and a save by Dillon on Goldsworthy’s header off the corner within the first five minutes.
Following the pressure, the Hoosiers doubled their lead just a minute later when Mihalic received a set piece from senior forward Karsen Henderlong inside the box. Mihalic put the ball in the right corner to score his first goal of the season.
“That was an important one today,” Indiana head coach Todd Yeagley said. “It took all the weight off of him.”
With 33 minutes to go in the game, Oduro fired a shot in front of traffic inside the box and Dillon made a reflex kicking save. Just a minute later Henderlong missed a one-on-one inside the box, again kicked away by Dillon.
Trine kept the ball outside the goal after a great sequence by Indiana with 13 minutes left. Off a Goldsworthy header, the Thunder defense cleared the ball right on the line and was followed by Dillon making a point-blank save on a shot by sophomore forward Luka Bezerra.
Trine subbed in senior goalkeeper Aidan McGonagle and he made another point blank save on a shot by freshman midfielder Noah Joseph.
With five minutes left, senior midfielder Quinten Helmer found Goldsworthy all alone inside the six-yard box on a free kick, but the defender headed it wide to the left.
The Hoosiers outshot the Thunder 34 to 4, with 12 shots being on Trine’s goal. Indiana also tallied 14 corners in the game.
“Any game is critical,” Indiana junior goalkeeper Austin Himebaugh said after taking the pitch late in the game. “You don’t take any reps off.”
Now, Indiana looks ahead to its final match of the regular season against Rutgers. With a win – combined with a few other results from the Northwestern and Penn State games – the Hoosiers can clinch the Big Ten regular season title.
“Just control what we can do, let the rest of it play out,” Yeagley said.
Kickoff is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Sunday at Bill Armstrong with the match being streamed live on Big Ten+.
Follow reporters Leo Paes (@Leordpaes) and Jovanni Salazar (@jio_duz_it) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s soccer season.
