No. 7 Indiana men’s soccer entered Sunday night’s match against No. 14 Oregon State University with a 2-0-1 record, looking for its third win of the season.
While Indiana’s offense wasn’t a problem, netting at least two-plus goals in every game, its slow start to the matches was worrisome.
The Hoosiers gave up the first goal in every match, but despite being behind, they tied against then-ranked No. 9 Clemson and then went on to beat the University of San Francisco and the University of Green Bay-Wisconsin.
But after the 2-1 victory in Indiana’s last match, head coach Todd Yeagley said that he viewed trailing at half as “not a problem,” although he acknowledged that it had been three games straight where his group found itself trailing early on.
And when the page turned to Sunday night, the Hoosiers flipped the script.
After plenty of scoring opportunities, Indiana finally broke through.
In the 17th minute, junior forward Collins Oduro fired a pass headed toward the Oregon State box. The pass was deflected but ultimately deemed a handball and therefore a penalty kick from the center back referee.
After a VAR review, the penalty was upheld. Senior forward Palmer Ault’s penalty kick glided off the hand and past the diving Oregon State sophomore goalkeeper John Nicolson.
After taking the lead early, Indiana continued to pressure the attacking front of Oregon State. Both senior midfielders, Cristiano Bruletti and Jack Wagoner, notably made numerous deflections and forced turnovers to keep Indiana in front while also playing the full 90 minutes of game time.
While it didn’t show up on the stat sheet, Bruletti was one of the unsung heroes for the Hoosiers, making constant winning plays for the home team.
“We were able to get him some minutes tonight,” Yeagley said. “Tonight was really a sign of what he can do in the midfield. He played very well.”
Yeagley also said Bruletti and Wagoner “connected well” tonight in Indiana’s defensive efforts.
Indiana’s defense held Oregon State to only one shot in the first half. The Beavers’ first shot of the game came in the 44th minute, but it was off the mark, not registering as a shot on goal.
With all the momentum on its side, Indiana continued to excel out of halftime.
In the 46th minute, sophomore forward Michael Nesci made a run on the far-right side of the field. Nesci then beat his defender as Ault cut across toward the Oregon State box. With Ault cutting in, Nesci fired a cross to Ault, and the transfer from Butler did the rest.
With Ault netting a brace, the Hoosiers now led 2-0.
Now, the frustration for Oregon State was mounting. The Beavers continued to search for answers, being stifled by the Hoosier defense.
In between the action on the field, many Oregon State players were seen arguing with the referee. The players were seemingly complaining about the level of physicality the Indiana defense was playing with.
In his postgame interview, Ault said the game plan for the Hoosiers was to “press them [Oregon State] defensively,” and the defensive attack needed to “create chances for the attacking third” to succeed.
While he didn’t receive much attention in the first half, Indiana graduate goalkeeper Holden Brown received plenty in the second half.
The graduate student was up to the occasion, making a series of saves. Then, in the 85th minute, on a free kick from Oregon State’s leading goal scorer, senior midfielder Arnau Farnos, Brown made the most spectacular save of the night.
Farnos’ free kick went towards Brown, who made a diving effort with his hands to kick the ball out. After several redirects, Oregon State redshirt senior defender Pol Morlans booted a shot that ended up in the sprawling goalkeeper’s hands — which turned out to be the game-sealing save.
Oregon State fired 16 shots in the second half, but it wasn’t enough. Brown recorded four saves and didn’t allow a goal. When the final whistle blew, Oregon State had a goose egg on the scoreboard due to Brown and the defense’s strong efforts.
Yeagley said Brown received the game ball, a testament to the work he had put in over the last two years in the program.
“I’m happy for Holden,” Yeagley said. “We gave him the game ball; he was super happy. He’s been through a lot over the last couple of years, sitting out. He’s worked really hard to get back into this position.”
Yeagley also said that Brown's play tonight helped boost the rest of the team, especially in the second half.
“Holden gave us a lot of confidence,” Yeagley said postgame. “I thought he played well tonight and was in the right spots. He made a couple of nice saves, but he gave the guys composure when we were under pressure late.”
Ultimately guided by their pressing defense that led to scoring chances on offense, the Hoosiers added a marquee win to their resume with a 2-0 shutout over Oregon State on Sunday night.
Follow reporters Elakai Anela (elakai_anela and eanela@iu.edu) and Mateo Fuentes-Rohwer (@mateo_frohwer and matfuent@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana men's soccer season.
