Last match was a tough pill to swallow, not only for senior forward Palmer Ault but the rest of the Indiana men’s soccer group, as well.
Indiana, then-ranked No. 1 in the country, fought hard against Michigan on Sept. 13 at Bill Armstrong Stadium in Bloomington. However, the Hoosiers ultimately fell short after Ault’s decisive and potential game-tying penalty in the 89th minute hit the post.
But despite the missed penalty kick by Ault, Indiana head coach Todd Yeagley knew that he and the team would be better off despite the missed opportunity.
“You’ve got to take a lot of courage to take penalties in high-pressure situations like that,” Yeagley said postgame Sept. 13. “I told him after the game that we wouldn’t have changed what we did there. We just said, ‘Hey, you’re still our guy.’ The team was there for him. He was obviously disappointed, but he’s been great for us this year.”
The positive outlook the Indiana coach had in the press conference was one that Ault and the Hoosiers carried into their road matchup at Penn State. And although Ault fell short in Indiana’s last affair, he responded in dominating fashion against Penn State on Friday night.
After Indiana fell behind 1-0, sophomore defender Josh Maher knotted up the score with his first career goal in the 14th minute.
Indiana and Penn State finished the rest of the first half in quick fashion. With the first 45 minutes wrapped up, the Hoosiers were tied with the Nittany Lions 1-1.
Then Ault unleashed.
In the 58th minute, on a run from sophomore forward Michael Nesci, Ault slipped into the Penn State box in front of the goalkeeper. Nesci found the open Ault, who was positioned for a clear goal. Ault did the rest, pushing the ball into the back of the net.
The Noblesville native scored his first goal of the match to put the Hoosiers in front — but the scoring didn’t stop there.
Only three minutes of game-time later, Ault tacked onto Indiana’s lead.
The senior forward pump-faked two Penn State defenders on the left side of the box before ripping a shot that eluded the diving redshirt freshman goalkeeper Jonathan Evans.
Up 3-1 in the game, Ault wasn’t finished.
In the 85th minute, junior forward Collins Oduro dribbled past the Nittany Lions’ defender on his hip. Oduro, who had scored three straight goals in three matches leading up to the Penn State contest, opted to find the cutting Ault. Now with a wide-open net, Ault finished the goal — netting a net hat trick and putting the bow on a resilient victory for the Hoosiers.
But even though Ault bounced back to help lead Indiana to victory Friday, he knows the work isn’t done yet.
“We have one of the best teams in the country, so we have to keep riding high,” Ault said in the Big Ten+ postgame press conference. “We knew coming off a loss that it was crucial to get those three points; we have to come out with the same energy on Tuesday night at another tough opponent, Michigan State.”
Ault also credited his teammates for his success, despite his high-profile finishing that was on display in the 4-1 victory.
“We have so much firepower on this team,” Ault said postgame. “They put me in good spots, and my job is to do the easy part, putting it into the back of the net. All glory goes to my teammates tonight.”
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.
