After a three-game homestand which ended in a last second draw against Bellarmine University, Indiana women's soccer faced its first test away from home against Xavier University on Wednesday.
Early in the match, Xavier got out to a quick start. Within the first seven minutes of play, Musketeers redshirt junior forward Peyton Kohls received a pass from junior defender Breanna Dardano on the right side of the box to give Xavier its first goal of the match.
Soon after in the 10th minute, Indiana sixth-year senior Jenna Chatterton attempted a shot on goal that was saved and sent away by redshirt junior goalkeeper Taylor Thomas, putting Indiana on the backfoot defensively.
In the 16th minute, Xavier freshman forward Maria Tapia had the ball inside the box close to the goal. Her pass was intercepted by Indiana senior defender Piper Coffield, but before she could clear the ball away, Musketeers sophomore defender Brooklyn O'Brein got to the ball first and scored Xavier’s second goal of the match.
This put the Hoosiers in a position they had not yet encountered this season — for the first time, Indiana was down by more than one goal. The frustration of being down a pair of goals showed, as Indiana totaled six fouls following Xavier’s second goal.
After the half, Indiana was still unable to find an answer for Xavier's aggressive offensive game plan. In the 55th minute, Kohls moved up the right side of Indiana's half and put a cross into the box which was put away by Xavier sophomore forward Sara Parker before Indiana fifth-year senior goalkeeper Dani Jacobson could react. With 35 minutes left, Indiana found itself down 3-0. While the situation was far from ideal, the Hoosiers were not hopeless.
Indiana finally found a spark of offense 87 minutes in. Junior midfielder Maggie Ledwith netted a shot in past Thomas to put Indiana on the board, now down 3-1.
Soon after, senior midfielder Kennedy Neighbors put another goal past Thomas to bring Indiana to a 3-2 deficit with 26 seconds left on the clock.
The Hoosier comeback started to become real.
However, the clock reached 90:00 before Indiana had the chance to put another goal in the back of the net. The Hoosiers were unable to complete their late game rally and suffered their first loss of the season, 3-2.
In the game, Indiana attempted just two corners and 13 shots with seven on goal. Additionally, Xavier attempted four corners and 12 shots with five on goal.
The Hoosiers return home with hopes to get back in the win column when they host Saint Louis University on Aug. 30. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. with coverage available on B1G+.
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.
