Peterson's shot grants IU victory

ST. LOUIS -- Struggling to make things happen for No. 8 IU (13-3-1 overall), sophomore forward Jacob Peterson's play versus St. Louis University (8-7-1 overall) secured the victory for the Hoosiers. IU won 2-1 in overtime in front of 3,317 fans on Halloween at Robert R. Hermann Stadium. Peterson's shot in overtime bounced off a defender and into the goal, giving IU the win.\nThe IU men's soccer team has now won 13 or more matches in 18 straight seasons.\nPeterson more than made up for his struggles when he streaked into the 18-yard box on the near side and took a shot that Billiken freshman back Brandon Gasparovic headed down and freshman back Tim Ward subsequently kicked into the net from two yards out. The winning goal came only 89 seconds into overtime.\n"I think I was in a slump offensively," Peterson said. "I think that we weren't finishing, but I really worked hard in practice. So it was nice to have a good finish."\nThe Hoosiers were up 1-0 and 16.7 seconds shy from tasting victory with SLU facing one last chance to tie the game with a corner kick on the near side. Ward took the corner after a several minute delay because Billiken junior midfielder Ryan Wileman's body hit the near post and he hit his head on the ground after falling from the play resulting in the corner kick.\nWith SLU goalkeeper Martin Hutton in the Hoosiers' 18-yard box, Ward served the corner into the box and IU senior goalkeeper Jay Nolly sprung to action and punched the ball out. Sophomore midfielder Josh Tudela collected the ball and tried to play it out, but Billiken midfielder Brian Grazier took control of the ball and passed it to Gasparovic who scored from 19 yards out with 7.6 seconds remaining in regulation on the clock.\n"A couple minutes ago, I was ready to strangle the neck, now I am hugging the hell out of them," said IU coach and St. Louis native Mike Freitag. "I give credit to St. Louis, they fought to the end. But I also worry cause this has been a pattern a little bit with this team that we need to clean up. We need to finish off games.\n"To give up a goal with that amount of time left is disappointing, but the good thing is the character of this team. A lot of teams would have gone into the ground and given up and lost this game 2-1 in overtime. We ended up winning it 2-1 in overtime."\nIU junior midfielder Jordan Chirico, who made his sixth start this season, got the defending NCAA champions on the board early when he hammered the ball into the goal from the middle of the 18-yard box past Hutton off an assist from Peterson, who crossed the ball from the right side of the box.\n"I saw Peterson coming down the side and it's always nice to get one," Chirico said. "However I can contribute I do and I was just in the right spot at the right time."\nIU is now 12-0 when the team scores first in the match.\nMissouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy candidate senior Danny O'Rourke made his mark early at the stadium, which takes its name from the trophy the IU back is a candidate for, by creating IU's first opportunity to score in the third minute of the match when he hit a low shot from the top of the 18-yard box that Hutton dove to his right to save.\nIU senior back and Hermann Trophy candidate Drew Moor held Billiken sophomore midfielder Will John, another Hermann Trophy candidate, in check as Moor held him to zero shot attempts. John is the Billikens' leading scorer with 24 points with 10 goals and four assists on the season.\nThe record 10-time NCAA champion Billikens put up four shots on goal to IU's 12. Nolly had to save the ball three times, the most saves he has had to corral since he saved four in IU's loss to Northwestern Oct. 17.\nIU's best chance for a second goal in regulation came in the first half when junior midfielder Brian Plotkin played the ball from the Hoosiers' defensive third of the field to a streaking Peterson. Peterson got the shot off as Hutton came out. The ball went straight up in the air off a deflection, rolled back toward the goal with Hutton on the ground. Peterson headed the ball goalward and a SLU defender stopped the ball. \n"We've been making some mistakes that are costly for us, and (the own goal) was certainly one of them," Billiken coach Dan Donigan said. "When we don't get good pressure on the ball, and don't cover, they're in our 18-yard box, so certainly there has to be supporting defenders in the area and there wasn't. I don't think we played well and to get them into overtime was an achievement in itself, but to give it up like that is disheartening."\nIU plays host to IUPUI 7 p.m., Wednesday on Yeagley Field at Bill Armstrong Stadium for the team's final regular season match of the season.\n-- Contact staff writer Steve Slivka at smslivka@indiana.edu.