Indiana graduate goalkeeper Holden Brown punches the ball out of the box on a Michigan State corner, but the ball deflects precisely to the foot of Spartan freshman midfielder Peter Soudan.
Soudan, now with a wide-open net, finishes with ease in the top left corner. Although the freshman midfielder’s shot ended up rattling off the post, the ball still found the back of the net to give Michigan State the 1-0 lead in the 48th minute.
Brown looks around in shock, putting his hands up while the Spartans celebrate on the far side of the pitch.
His body language was a sign of what the match felt like to the Hoosiers – a match where Indiana played unlike itself.
Heading into the contest, Indiana head coach Todd Yeagley knew that Michigan State was a sneaky, dangerous team despite its 3-4 record at the time.
“We have to be careful... Michigan State is better than their record indicates,” Yeagley said Monday. “They were on the wrong side of a couple of results; they were only a goal away from a tie, a draw or a win in a couple of games.”
Indiana ultimately wasn’t able to break through against a stout Michigan State defense, succumbing to a 1-0 loss in East Lansing, Michigan.
The Hoosiers began the game with graduate defender Ben Do in the starting 11. Do, who started his first game of the year last match in a 4-1 victory against Penn State, slid into the right defensive back position to help anchor the defense.
But the move Yeagley opted to make when starting Do created a lack of an offensive attack in the first half that came back to bite the Hoosiers, as Do’s impact was felt only on the retreating side of the pitch.
Indiana only managed to tally one total shot in the first 45 minutes of action, an uncharacteristic first half for the No. 3 team in the nation. The first shot of the game for the Hoosiers was on a header from sophomore forward Easton Bogard that sailed over the net in the 37th minute.
And although Indiana had scored 11 of its 17 total goals in the second half this year, Michigan State continued to play at its tempo, getting a couple chances to tack onto their lead.
In the 56th minute, Brown made a sprawling save, diving to his left before corralling the ball on a shot from Soudan in front of the net — the same player who scored the first and only goal of the match.
And although the first 60 minutes were sloppy, with a series of turnovers and a lack of aggression, the Hoosiers kept fighting.
Indiana had a variety of chances to respond, notably on a cross from junior forward Collins Oduro that found senior forward Palmer Ault in the final minutes. Ault kicked the ball off his right-foot, but it was saved by the stretching Michigan State goalkeeper, redshirt senior Zac Kelly, who was right in front of Ault.
Despite the Hoosiers completing three comeback victories earlier in the season, Tuesday night wound up being a completely different story.
Ultimately, the Hoosiers weren't able to break through against the 2024 Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year, who made five saves without allowing a goal.
The shutout loss marks the first time all year that Indiana hasn’t scored a goal in a match. Indiana now sits with a record of 6-2-1 (1-2 Big Ten). Indiana faces UCLA at home in its next match at 8 p.m. Friday at Bill Armstrong Stadium in Bloomington.
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.
