Indiana women’s soccer entered its Friday match against Bellarmine University still searching for its first shutout of the season. For most of the nearly 90 minute run time, it appeared the Hoosiers had finally found it.
However, a penalty kick in the final minute erased Indiana’s one-goal advantage, forcing the Hoosiers to settle for a 1-1 draw at Bill Armstrong Stadium.
Indiana dominated the match offensively, finishing with 17 attempted shots while holding Bellarmine without a shot for the first 89 minutes. Despite Indiana’s overwhelming advantage in opportunities, senior defender Piper Coffield scored their only goal of the game on a penalty kick in the 45th minute.
After achieving a 1-0 lead, Indiana’s defense worked to prevent Bellarmine from building a sustained attack to tie the game. Senior defender Bella Haggerty, junior defenders Blair Satterfield and Haden Vlcek and Coffield played all 90 minutes as the Hoosiers consistently disrupted the Knights’ attempts to move forward.
Bellarmine’s first shot did not come during the run of play. In the final minute, an accidental deflection struck an Indiana player’s arm inside the penalty area, giving the Knights a chance to equalize the score from the penalty spot.
Bellarmine freshman midfielder Ella Flynn converted the penalty kick, sending the Knights’ only shot of the match soaring past graduate student goalkeeper Dani Jacobson to ultimately tie the game.
Indiana head coach Josh Rife said the defensive performance was encouraging, but the result demonstrated how one mistake can outweigh an otherwise strong 90 minutes of play.
“That’s the game,” Rife said in a postgame interview. “We still haven’t had a shutout this season, so it’s something we have to continue to battle for. As good as it was, it was not good enough.”
Indiana’s defense has chased a perfect performance after allowing goals in the second half of each of its first two matches. The Hoosiers remained organized and prevented the Knights from creating an opportunity until the final sequence.
Still, Rife said the Hoosiers could not overlook the one moment that cost them two points in the league standings.
“One moment is all it takes, and now you’re walking out of here with one point instead of three,” Rife said.
The Hoosiers placed five of their 17 shots on goal, forcing Bellarmine goalkeeper Anna Jenkins to make four saves.
Indiana found more offensive success in its previous match against Youngstown State University on Aug. 16, recording 18 shots and scoring three goals in a 3-1 victory. Bellarmine’s defensive organization — led by redshirt senior Dakota Bramer — made it more difficult for the Hoosiers to create clear scoring opportunities Friday.
Rife said Indiana must improve competitively as the competition becomes more difficult through the season.
“We’ve got to capitalize and be more efficient with the chances we’re given,” Rife said. “I think we missed a lot of those moments today. When you leave opportunities out there, this is what happens.”
The draw ended Indiana’s opportunity to complete its season-opening homestand with three consecutive victories.
“The day’s done,” Rife said. “It’s not where we want to be or the standard it needs to be, but we don’t have a choice. The challenge for the girls is: ‘What do we do next? How do we respond?’”
Indiana women’s soccer will travel for the first time this season to face Xavier University on Aug. 26 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m.
Follow reporters Will Kwiatkowski (@WKwiatkowski_15 and wdkwiatk@iu.edu) and Leonardo Vesperini (@leovmedia and lvesperi@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana women’s soccer season.
