For the third time in its first three games of the season, Indiana men’s soccer found itself trailing at the halftime whistle.
The Hoosiers were down 1-0 to the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay after the first 45 minutes, despite Indiana taking 12 shots compared to Green Bay’s three.
Green Bay struck first in the second minute of action. Senior forward Chris Album received a cross in the box from junior midfielder Noah Lechelt. Album then turned his head, squaring up the ball, and headed it into the top-left corner of the net, past Indiana’s graduate student goalkeeper Holden Brown.
Indiana head coach Todd Yeagley said the goal “felt like a bit of a gut punch” to the Hoosiers at the time.
Then, in the 23rd minute of play, Indiana junior forward Collins Oduro fired a shot past Green Bay’s redshirt freshman goalkeeper Philip Oesterbaek, but the shot hit the post. The ball then redirected right past the foot of senior midfielder Jack Wagoner, who was sitting in front of an empty net — a great scoring chance for Indiana, but one they couldn’t capitalize on.
The scoring opportunities continued to mount as the half winded down, but Indiana still wasn't able to get on the scoreboard heading into the break.
“We knew we were getting a lot of chances in the first half,” senior forward Palmer Ault said postgame. “We couldn’t find the back of the net in the first half, but we talked about coming out with more fire.”
One major change Indiana made in the second half was moving Ault out wide instead of playing him as a center attacker, something that would give him more space to maneuver and attack.
“We thought it was a good matchup for Palmer,” Yeagley said postgame. “We needed more attackers on the field, so that changed our strategy a little bit. We were staying attack-minded.”
As the second half began, Indiana continued to fire away at Oesterbaek’s net.
Then, in the 56th minute, the long-anticipated moment arrived.
On a run with defenders in front of him, Ault pushed the ball into Green Bay’s net and found sophomore forward Michael Nesci open on the left wing of the box. Nesci fired a shot past Oasterbaek, hitting the back of the net.
Nesci, who was immediately greeted by all his teammates on the far flag of the pitch, pulled out Chelsea midfielder Cole Palmer’s iconic “ice cold” celebration, rubbing his hands against his biceps.
But the moment hadn’t ended yet. With the score knotted up 1-1 and the atmosphere of the Hoosier faithful in the stands buzzing, Indiana put its foot on the gas.
Only 31 seconds later, sophomore Easton Bogard — who scored the game-winning goal against the University of San Francisco in the match prior — slid the ball to Ault on the far left, attacking wing.
Ault charged right at the defender and crossed over with his left foot before pushing the ball into the box. With two more Green Bay defenders in front of him, Ault then fit the ball between both defenders in front of him, creating enough separation to fire away a shot.
His shot deflected off a defender before trickling into the bottom right corner. Oesterbaek watched helplessly from the ground as the ball crossed the line, which gave Indiana a 2-1 advantage.
Ault credited his goal to Bogard, who helped set the play up, but also acknowledged the deflection the ball took before going into the net.
“Fortunately, Bogard was making a lot of runs to open up that side for me,” Ault said. “When I got the ball, he made it easy to cut in and give me space with my left foot and put the goal away. I got a bounce into the goal, so it was nice being on that side of it.”
Ault, who had already made his impact on offense, continued to shine throughout the rest of the match on the defensive end. He made a crucial tackle in Indiana’s box, deflecting the ball out of play on a Green Bay attack, keeping the Hoosiers’ lead intact.
Yeagley credits Ault’s success to his hard work and willingness to help on both sides of the pitch.
“Palmer is a great teammate,” Yeagley said. “He’s not an attacker that takes liberties defensively. We don’t have guys on our team that don’t work defensively, and he epitomizes that.”
However, Ault and Oduro were subbed out in the 87th minute, marking the first time they didn’t play the full 90-minute match this year.
Yeagley said his reasoning for subbing Ault was to keep him fresh for Indiana’s next tough opponent. Indiana plays No. 14 Oregon State at 8 p.m. Sunday at Bill Armstrong Stadium.
“We were trying to give him a break, but it’s hard to take him off the field,” Yeagley said. “He was gassed, and we know that Sunday’s going to be a real big challenge.”
Indiana’s defense held strong as the match wrapped up, improving its record on the year to 2-0-1.
After the game, Ault signed a young kid’s hat and talked with their family, a meaningful moment for both parties after a hard-fought victory.
“When we wear the Hoosier jersey out there, it’s not just playing for the 28 guys and coaches that we’ve got on our team,” Ault said. “It’s about playing for something bigger than ourselves and the alumni. It’s truly special to be able to play for the young fans that come to games.”
Follow reporter Elakai Anela (@elakai_anela) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s soccer season.
