With playoff backs against the wall, Indiana women’s soccer returned to a place it has found immense success at. The Hoosiers welcomed Penn State to Bill Armstrong Stadium on Sunday with an undefeated home record on the line.
Indiana held a 4-0-3 record at home on the season with draws against No. 20 Xavier, No. 17 Washington and Oregon while also holding a Big Ten win over Northwestern.
Protecting home field has been a focal point of the program’s success this season. Indiana continued that success with a 2-1 victory over the Nittany Lions.
The conditions were not ideal for either squad with the game-time temperature sitting at 58 degrees and winds as high as 18 miles per hour. The cold, wet conditions seemingly factored into the first 45 minutes of play with neither team finding a goal. Despite taking a combined eight shots, seven of them were saved.
While the shots came at a high rate, most of them were not great looks, giving both keepers numerous opportunities to rack up saves.
It wasn’t until the 58th minute when Indiana found its first flurry of success. Sophomore midfielder Maggie Ledwith fired a corner into the box when sophomore defender Bella Haggerty elevated over the defense and converted a header for a goal.
Haggerty’s goal marked the first of her Indiana career and gave the Hoosiers a 1-0 lead.
Less than 10 minutes later, a deflection in the box found Indiana junior midfielder Paige Droner, who drilled a shot past Penn State’s redshirt junior keeper Mackenzie Gress to extend the Hoosier lead.
Droner’s goal was her second in the last three games. After the match, head coach Josh Rife commended Droner’s instant impact on the team.
“That’s a young lady who came in and asked, we gave her some things and she just continues to put it in practice every day,” Rife said. “I think she’s definitely painting a great picture for the whole group of even if it’s not going your way, you still show up for your team.”
Droner has shined in Indiana’s recent success and credits the team’s back line giving her more freedom.
“We are all just playing for each other and playing compact in the back,” Droner said postgame. “Our back line is so strong, and I trust them behind me, so they did a really good job.”
In the 88th minute, redshirt senior midfielder Julia Raich scored for Penn State to cut the lead in half. That late goal was the only scoring the Nittany Lions completed.
Indiana’s victory was a historic one. It marked the first win over Penn State in 29 years, dating back to the Big Ten Tournament in 1996, a match the Cream and Crimson won 1-0.
The win pushed the Hoosiers even closer to the Big Ten Tournament. With one match left in the season, Indiana has 11 points and sits in 13th place behind Michigan, Nebraska and USC for 10th place.
Indiana will remain home and welcome Iowa on Sunday in the final regular season game. The Hoosiers will most likely need a win to have a chance at the Big Ten Tournament, but Rife wants the team to focus on the task at hand and end the year strong.
“We want to make sure we set ourselves up for whatever comes next, whether we have more games to play for or not,” Rife said. “We’d have to look back and say, when was the last time the program’s gone undefeated at home throughout a season, I think what a great honor it is to say that.”
Indiana hosts the Iowa Hawkeyes to end the year at 2 p.m. Sunday at Bill Armstrong Stadium in Bloomington. The game will be streamed on Big Ten+.
Follow reporters Noah Gerkey (@Noah_Gerk and ngerkey@iu.edu) and Will Kwiatkowski (@WKwiatkowski_15 and wdkwiatk@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana women's soccer season.
