The Hoosiers had been waiting for this day all season long.
IU came into Sunday’s match in East Lansing against Michigan State controlling its own destiny for a Big Ten regular season championship. It was one of the main goals the Hoosiers aimed for this year.
However, after Michigan knocked off Maryland with a goal in double overtime, the Hoosiers were unable to win the Big Ten regular season title. Instead, they will be the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament.
But in East Lansing, IU and Michigan State traded penalty kicks and shared the points with the match ending 1-1 in double overtime.
“Our guys were disappointed we couldn’t get the win,” IU coach Todd Yeagley said. “It was a hard fought game. Michigan State is a good team. Just have to be a little bit cleaner in a couple of areas.”
The Hoosiers and Spartans were trading punches all afternoon at DeMartin Stadium. It was IU who controlled much of the early possession in the game, but Michigan State was dangerous on the counter throughout the game. It was in the 24th minute, however, when things changed on the scoreboard.
IU freshman forward Mason Toye made a run into the box and was taken down by a Michigan State defender. Moments later, IU’s designated penalty taker, midfielder Trevor Swartz, stepped up to the penalty spot and slotted home his shot. It gave IU a 1-0 lead.
That goal didn’t last for long. It was in the 60th minute when Michigan State answered back with a penalty of its own. Michigan State junior forward Ryan Sierakowski buried his seventh goal of the season to level the match at 1-1.
A big part of the game was Michigan State on the counterattack. It was an area where most of its chances came from.
“We had good segments of the game, but others I thought were just average segments,” Yeagley said. “Against a team like Michigan State, you have to have a lot of good segments. We had a few chances… they had some good chances as well.”
Throughout the final 30 minutes and in overtime, both teams had chances in front of net. Yet both freshman Trey Muse and junior Jimmy Hague were up to the challenge.
“Both teams just kind of going toe to toe, but weren’t able to get that go ahead,” Yeagley said.
With IU being the two seed, it will host Penn State in Bloomington next Sunday. IU beat Penn State 1-0 earlier this season on the road. It will be Michigan as the one seed, IU second, Michigan State third and Maryland fourth.
