Indiana women’s soccer will travel to Athens, Ohio, to face Ohio University at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
After beginning the season 2-0-1, Indiana dropped consecutive matches to Xavier University and Saint Louis University. With one final nonconference test remaining before Big Ten conference play begins, head coach Josh Rife wants to see how his team responds to its first sustained stretch of adversity this season.
“Sunday will answer a lot of those questions,” Rife said when asked about the Hoosiers’ mental toughness following the team’s Aug. 30 loss against Saint Louis.
The Hoosiers have not struggled to manufacture opportunities this season. Indiana has taken 71 shots through five matches, averaging 14.2 per game. But Ohio has also found its chances with an attempted 69 shots in the season, averaging 17.2 per match.
Ohio freshman goalkeeper Ayla Rammel has made 18 saves with a .720 save percentage while allowing four goals in her time in net for the Bobcats. Indiana’s goalkeeper — graduate student Dani Jacobson — has made two saves and conceded eight goals this season.
The numbers at opposite ends of the field create a clear challenge for Indiana. The Hoosiers will need to capitalize on the opportunities they have consistently generated, while preventing an Ohio attack, from making the most of its limited chances.
The Hoosiers are 4-0-0 all-time against Ohio, including a 1-0 victory over the Bobcats on senior day in Bloomington last season. Sunday gives Indiana and its second-year head coach an opportunity to reverse a growing trend away from Bloomington — a road victory.
Indiana has yet to find a win outside of Bloomington during Rife’s tenure. The Hoosiers will have an opportunity to change the tide before conference play begins against Nebraska Thursday Sept. 10.
“You can’t expect to win a championship if you don’t win on the road,” Rife said postgame last Sunday.
Rife spent six years coaching in the Mid-American Conference and is familiar with Ohio’s program and the challenge awaiting Indiana in Athens.
With the Bobcats hosting a Big Ten opponent, Rife expects Indiana to receive Ohio’s best effort.
“This is their biggest game of the year,” Rife said. “It’s a home game for them, so I think that there’s going to be a lot of those factors of how we’re going to walk into that game mentally. How are we going to prepare?”
That is the question Indiana takes to Athens and one it will soon have to answer regularly in conference play.
Indiana and Ohio kick off at 1 p.m. on Sunday at Chessa Field in Athens, Ohio. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.
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.
