When No. 2 Indiana men’s soccer welcoming the one-win University of Kentucky to Bloomington on Tuesday, a 3-1 victory was not a surprise.
Trailing 1-0 at halftime was.
The Hoosiers’ match against Kentucky marked a break from conference play, with their best offensive performance of the season — a 3-1 handling of Maryland — in recent memory.
As expected, Indiana outshot the Wildcats 9-4 in the first half, putting three on target to Kentucky’s one. The Wildcat’s lone on-goal try found the back of the net in the 19th minute for the only goal of the half.
For the first time all season, Indiana trailed at halftime.
Indiana, with its unbeaten season and eight-game home winning streak on the line, had its back against the wall with 45 minutes left to play. Head coach Todd Yeagley’s message at halftime was clear for the Hoosiers.
“I don’t remember everything that was said,” Yegley said postgame. “It was just not a good first half so a lot of motivational reminders.”
The Hoosiers came out firing in the second half, rattling five shots in the first eleven minutes of the period. Three were saved, one was off-target and one was blocked.
Indiana finally netted its first goal after 14 attempts. Senior forward Oliver Moller-Jensen added his eighth goal of the season when the Hoosiers were awarded a penalty kick after a 63rd-minute hand ball, knotting the game at one goal with plenty of game yet to play.
“Anyone can go down,” Moller-Jensen said postgame. “It’s about the mentality and confidence to regroup and get back together and score some goals and get back on the other end and that’s what we did. We know we have a very strong team.”
With the score even, Indiana continued to rack up scoring chances. After a 68th-minute scorcher rocketed off the left post, Moller-Jensen grew his team-leading goal total to nine just four minutes later, pocketing a bottom-left goal to give the Hoosiers their first lead of the evening.
Moller-Jensen, who scored just six goals last season at Florida Atlantic University, has emerged as a source of offensive life for a Hoosier team that has averaged two goals per game.
“I’m not surprised that Oliver’s leading us in scoring,” Yeagley said. “I wasn’t sure who would be the leading scorer.”
Despite leading his team in goals, Moller-Jensen has remained a humble ingredient in the winning recipe of Indiana’s cookbook.
“It’s an honor, truly, just to be here,” Moller-Jensen said. “I didn’t expect this to happen, but a lot of praise goes to my teammates. I can’t do what I’m doing without them.”
Including the two goals, Indiana collected twelve shots in the second half before Kentucky could record one.
The Hoosiers scored again to seal the game in the 75th minute, this time with zero shots between goals. Despite the Hoosiers’ underwhelming first half, junior forward Easton Bogard nailed his fifth goal of the season, second on the team only to Moller-Jensen, as Indiana secured its third consecutive victory.
Indiana contained Kentucky to just two shots in the second half, refusing to let the Wildcats claw their way back into the match. Indiana junior goalkeeper Michal Mroz, the reigning Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Week, did not face a single shot on goal after allowing the opener.
“We were solid defensively,” Moller-Jensen said. “We just kept going at them, we didn’t take our foot off the gas and eventually we knew that sometime would happen. We just kept going after the first one came.”
Indiana outshot Kentucky 22-6 on its way to its 10th win of the season. While the comfortable victory over the weaker opponent was an expected outcome for the undefeated Hoosiers, an uncomfortable half forced them to play with a deficit for just the second time this season.
“They have to feel the discomfort at times,” Yeagley said. “You learn a lot from when you don’t play as well.”
Indiana will take on Hanover College at home on Oct. 9 before resuming Big Ten play for its final five regular season games, starting with Rutgers on the road on Oct. 16. With the road to a ninth national championship becoming clearer by the match, overcoming adversity like they experienced on Tuesday is just another chapter in the Hoosiers’ storybook season.
Follow reporters Noah Boudouris (@noahboudouris and nboudour@iu.edu) and Sean McAvoy (@sean_mc07 and semcavoy@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s soccer season.
