Graduate goalkeeper Holden Brown looks out at the rest of his backline while propped up on his knees. Sophomore center back Josh Maher puts his hands on his hips; redshirt junior defender Breckin Minzey wipes his face with his shirt; and graduate right back Ben Do slams the ball back into the net in frustration.
Just under 17 minutes remained in the game, and No. 12 Indiana men’s soccer had just conceded a second goal to Washington, falling behind 2-0. It was a margin the Hoosiers had overcome before, sometimes with even less time left in the match, but against the Huskies, the momentum and atmosphere felt different.
Indiana seemed finished.
The Hoosiers produced five consecutive shots in the next eight and a half minutes as they fought for the goal to get them back into the game. But Washington proved to be the more clinical side, finishing a chance off a corner in the 83rd minute to seal the 3-0 result Friday in Seattle.
As the definitive No. 1 option in goal, Brown has won two Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Week awards this season. And through much of the first half against Washington, despite conceding in the 20th minute, the Zionsville, Indiana, native was one of the best players on the pitch.
Brown’s five first half saves helped stifle Washington’s 12 shots, a number that doubled Indiana’s own total. The first stop came only a minute and 25 seconds into the game as the Hoosier goalkeeper made a point-blank kick save to prevent junior forward Charlie Kosakoff from opening the scoring.
The workload didn’t lighten up for Brown, as his five saves in the second half brought his tally to 10 — a tie for his career high. Indiana’s defense did little favors for its goalkeeper as Washington totaled a season-high 26 shots, and both the Huskies’ second half finishes were accompanied by lackluster defense effort.
Even still, the Hoosiers created their chances, but the clinical touch that has carried them through many wins across the season was nonexistent Friday.
Sophomore forward Michael Nesci nearly converted a chance from inside the box with less than a minute to go in the first half, but Washington graduate goalkeeper Jadon Bowton made a quick save. Senior midfielders Jack Wagoner and Cristiano Bruletti each had a pair of shots from outside the box earlier in the half, yet neither found the back of the net.
However, Indiana finished the first 45 minutes with positive momentum, and head coach Todd Yeagley wasn’t fazed heading into the break.
“We’ll have plenty of chances to get the equalizer and then hopefully get the go-ahead,” Yeagley said on the Big Ten Network broadcast.
Neither proved to be the case.
The Hoosiers finished with eight shots in the second half, a reasonable number, but only one shot was on target. Conversely, the Huskies had 14 in the second frame alone.
Senior forward Palmer Ault, the Big Ten’s leading goal scorer, played all 90 minutes and contributed a team-high three shots, but none troubled Bowton in net. One chance in particular, an open header in the box that missed the frame of goal in the 9th minute, left Ault visibly frustrated, as it could have given the Hoosiers the lead.
At the end of the match, Yeagley turned to his attacking options from the bench. Nesci, freshman forward Colton Swan and junior midfielder Jacopo Fedrizzi all got minutes with the intention of preventing a shutout, but the Hoosiers stayed goalless en route to their third loss of the season.
A week separates Indiana from its next conference match — a bout against fellow 2024 Big Ten regular season champions Ohio State on Oct. 10. Seven days also separated the Hoosiers from their 4-2 win over UCLA on Sept. 26 to Friday night’s defeat, so time is on their side to fix any issues ahead of the game against the Buckeyes.
If history tells any story, it’s that Indiana won’t lose to Ohio State — the Hoosiers haven’t suffered back-to-back defeats in 192 straight games, dating back to November 1, 2013.
But Indiana also matched its largest conference loss total since 2021, and the road for the Hoosiers won’t get any easier.
Only time will tell if the former No. 1 team in the nation can right the proverbial ship and secure a third-straight Big Ten regular season title — or if more pressing issues for postseason play await.
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.
