Within 45 seconds of the starting whistle, Indiana fifth-year goalkeeper Dani Jacobson was under tremendous pressure.
No. 14 Wisconsin started its match against Indiana on Sunday with possession, quickly pushing the ball up the field. In front of the box, Wisconsin freshman midfielder KK Panella fired a shot toward the top of the goal.
The ball brushed off Jacobson’s glove and hit the top crossbar, before bouncing down near the goal line. Jacobson scrambled to get the ball away from the goal, clearing it out to her teammates.
After a minute of play, however, the ruling was overturned. The referees announced that when the ball came down from the crossbar, the ball fully crossed the plane into the goal, giving Wisconsin a 1-0 lead. This early goal quickly put the Badgers in the driver's seat, with the Hoosiers looking to even the score.
In the eighth minute Sunday, the Badgers earned a corner. After the ball was played into the box, senior midfielder Delaney Cox sent another shot Jacobsons way. This time, Jacobson punched it away and gained possession for a Hoosiers goal kick.
The 20th minute saw Indiana in a similar defensive position as before. A corner kick from the left side of the field was serviced in. After a shot by senior defender Hailey Baumann was blocked, Wisconsin senior midfielder Erin Connolly found a shot through a crowd of bodies to the back of the net, putting the Badgers up 2-0.
Now, Indiana found themselves in a familiar position, down 2-0 early to a ranked opponent. The Hoosiers were in the same spot last week when they fell to then-No. 6 Ohio State 3-0, which started with two Buckeye goals in the first ten minutes.
Although no goals were scored after Connolly’s goal, the Badgers continued to place pressure on an Indiana group that could not clear the ball or keep it in their possession for long.
Senior defender Piper Coffield quickly tried to respond for Indiana after going down 2-0, but her shot down the middle was stopped by fifth-year goalkeeper Drew Stover. Stover ended the day stopping all three of Indiana’s shots on goal.
Before the half ended, Wisconsin attempted two more shots off target but kept the ball in Indiana’s half and forced the Hoosiers to play a more defensive style of soccer.
The second half was much of the same for Indiana. To begin the 47th, Wisconsin sophomore forward Abby Ballek attempted a shot inside a crowded Indiana box which was blocked by the legs of Hoosier defenders. After another shot was blocked the same way, the ball flew out of bounds for a Wisconsin corner, the first of three to come in under three minutes of play.
Indiana could not generate their first shot of the second half until the 83rd minute, when sophomore defender Grace Hamm attempted an off target shot. Indiana’s final shot came in the 89th minute off the leg of freshman midfielder Emma Ehret, but Stover saved it to close out the match.
Wisconsin ended its match against the Hoosiers with 13 shots, three of which were on goal, alongside nine corners.
Indiana women’s soccer now falls to 4-4-1 overall and 1-2 in Big Ten play. Looking to find more answers on both sides of the ball, the Hoosiers travel back home to play Minnesota on Sept. 24. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 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.
