Early strike sparks men's soccer to 2-0 win at Butler

This past weekend against unranked Michigan, the IU men’s soccer team was upset 1-0 after the lone Wolverine goal came less than two minutes into the match. But come Tuesday night, it was IU sophomore forward Daniel Kelly providing the early spark for the Hoosiers in their 2-0 win at Butler.

Kelly scored his second goal of the season just 11 seconds after the opening whistle was blown, when a pass back to Butler junior goalkeeper Nick Hegeman was misplayed on the wet field. Kelly rushed in on the loose ball to put it in the back of the net and give his team a one-goal advantage.

The score marked the fastest goal ever by an IU player.

Kelly said the early put-in was a real momentum boost for his team the rest of the game.

“This game, we wanted to come out with some intensity and bring it to them,” the forward said. “(The goal) really got the guys pumped up. We put them on their heels after that.”

The Hoosiers had a couple  of prime chances to increase their lead as the half trudged on. In the 23rd minute, sophomore forward/midfielder Andy Adlard nearly connected as his long-distance shot was blocked by a lunging Hegeman. Shortly after in the 27th minute, Hegeman denied another IU attacker as he kick-saved a breakaway shot from junior midfielder Eric Alexander.

The second half brought a scoring opportunity for senior midfielder John Mellencamp, as he fired a shot just outside the top of the box at the goal in the 67th minute. Though the shot was blocked, sophomore forward Neil Wilmarth dove forward, got a leg on the rebound from six yards out and put the Hoosiers up 2-0.

The Hoosiers demonstrated more of a defensive style of play for the remaining minutes of the second half and in the end, earned a much-needed road victory in Indianapolis.

“Overall, I was very happy with our effort tonight,” IU coach Mike Freitag said. “I didn’t think it was a pretty game, but it was one that we did what we needed to win. I will take that any day.”

With five yellow cards earned on the season, senior midfielder Brad Ring was suspended for Tuesday night’s match. Senior midfielder John Mellencamp filled in for Ring at the defensive midfielder position while senior Billy Weaver started the match at outside midfielder.

Kelly said even though their captain was absent, the team still played up to potential.
“We were missing Brad (Ring), he is our leader,” he said. “But we were still able to knock it around and play the same way we are used to. Hopefully that will bring confidence to everybody.”

Confidence will be key for the Hoosiers as they resume Big Ten play Sunday afternoon at Michigan State.

“For us to go on the road and get a win at Michigan State is very important and will be good for our team,” Freitag said. “You have to be able to win games in the Big Ten. I am hard on these guys, but they know what needs to be done. This team knows how to win.”