No. 25 Indiana women’s soccer hosted Michigan in its final home game of the regular season Sunday.
The Hoosiers were coming off a 1-1 tie against Michigan State University — a game where it seemed to be the tale of the two halves. Indiana had a strong first half and a 1-0 lead at halftime but did not continue their level of play in the second half, conceding a game-tying goal.
Junior goalkeeper Jamie Gerstenberg entered Sunday with nine shutouts this season and 23 in her career. The German had an opportunity to etch her name in program history with another shutout as it would make her all-time leader in career shutouts.
The first half was evenly matched as both teams totaled five shots — the Hoosiers with two shots on goal compared to Michigan’s one.
In the 61st minute of the match, the Hoosiers were awarded a penalty after a foul in the box by Michigan sophomore defender Aniyah League. Indiana now had a prime opportunity to score the first goal of the game and take the lead. Indiana freshman defender Piper Coffield took advantage of the opportunity and struck the penalty kick into the bottom right corner of the goal to give the Hoosiers a 1-0 lead.
Indiana appeared to be more conservative after taking the lead as Michigan continued to pepper the Hoosier defense with constant pressure. The Wolverines tallied a total of 15 shots in the game, but sophomore forward Kali Burrell recorded the only two shots on goal for Michigan. Both of her shots on goal were saved by Gerstenberg.
The Hoosiers’ defense remained strong despite the constant pressure from the Wolverines. The defense was able to deflect shots and disrupt threatening opportunities from Michigan’s attack. Senior defenders Zoe Tiger and Lauren Costello along with Coffield were a major factor in the defense’s success with all three playing the full 90 minutes.
With the victory, Indiana improved to 11-1-4 on the season and 5-1-2 in conference play and now trail just No. 4 Penn State in the Big Ten standings.
Indiana will travel to Penn State on Oct. 19 for an opportunity to take first place in the Big Ten. The game will begin at 7 p.m. and be broadcast live on Big Ten Plus.
Follow reporters Quinn Richards (@Quinn_richa) and PJ Katona (@PJ_Katona) for updates throughout the Indiana women’s soccer season.
