Hoosiers drop OT contest 2-1 against Louisville

A team can never go into a game assuming it will be an easy win. It may end up being just the opposite. \nDespite owning a 14-0 record against the Louisville Cardinals, the IU men’s soccer team had a tough match against the regional foes, losing 2-1 in overtime. The Cardinals came out fired up off of their upset last week, a 1-0 defeat of No. 12 South Florida. \nThe Hoosier’s output did not satisfy IU coach Mike Freitag. \n“Communication wasn’t good,” Freitag said. “We got out hustled. They did the things they did well; we didn’t do the things we did well. When that happens, a team usually loses.” \nAlthough the Cardinals out-maneuvered the Hoosiers for most of the first half, it was IU who came away with the first goal of the game. Just under three minutes into the game, sophomore midfielder Eric Alexander was fed a pass from freshman Daniel Kelly. Kelly sent the ball across the box to Alexander, who put it deep into the net. It was Alexander’s fourth goal of the season, a tie for the team high. \nThe first half saw not only the goal but also many defensive plays being made by the Hoosiers in an attempt to protect their goal. The Cardinals had seven shots to IU’s two, and the Hoosier goalkeepers were forced to make three saves while goalkeeper David Simolike of Louisville had zero. At the 25-minute mark, IU goalkeeper Chay Cain was taken out with an injury sustained during a collision and replaced by senior Chris Munroe. Cain had one save while Munroe had the other two. \nThe second half became the catalyst for the Cardinal’s offensive attack. The first five minutes of the half saw three shots by Louisville, but it wasn’t until late in the half that they got the stroke of luck they were looking for. With a little more than eight minutes remaining in regulation time, Louisville’s leading scorer Marco Terminesi got a touch on the ball that worked its way past the grip of Munroe to tie the game and send it into overtime. It only took two and a half minutes into the overtime period for the Cardinal’s Aaron Clapham to find the back of the net, clinching the win. \n“We took the early 1-0 lead and then we lost our composure,” Alexander said after the game. “We didn’t communicate, we had lazy passes. We weren’t talking, and that’s the key to success.” \nMunroe agreed with Alexander, saying it was a lack of hustle that killed his team on the field, but he still commended \nthe Cardinals. \n“I just think it boils down to intensity,” Munroe said. “They wanted it more.”