Men's soccer falls short in Classic

Strong defense and an inability to capitalize on scoring opportunities resulted in a tie and a loss for No. 7 IU men’s soccer this weekend against two top-5 opponents at the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic. 

Hoosiers and No. 5 St. John’s ended in a scoreless tie Friday, while Sunday saw No. 3 Wake Forest edge IU 2-1.

“It was a good gauge, and you’re playing two very good teams,” IU men’s soccer coach Mike Freitag said. “I don’t take anything away from my guys’ effort this weekend. They gave everything. They’re dead.”

The Hoosiers were without standout senior defender Ofori Sarkodie in Friday’s tie against the Red Storm.

Sarkodie served his single-game suspension on Friday for a red card in last season’s NCAA quarterfinal. His absence left a hole in the team’s lineup that Freitag said caused some difficulty.

“We missed Ofori,” Freitag said. “You train and try to get ready with your starting line and one guy’s out and it kind of has a domino effect, but I think Caleb (Konstanski) did well for him.”

Konstanski, a freshman defender from Bloomington, played his first game in a crimson jersey Friday after growing up watching IU soccer.

“It was a dream come true, really,” Konstanski said. “To be out here was a surreal feeling at first.”

The double-overtime draw was not indicative of IU’s 14-8 shot advantage, nor the Hoosier’s 8-5 lead in corner kicks. 

The lack of offensive execution continued Sunday against another of the nation’s elite.
Wake Forest took an early lead on a self-goal in the 12th minute of Sunday’s game and outmatched IU in the first half. The Hoosiers tied the game early in the second half on a netter from senior midfielder Eric Alexander, but Sean Randolph’s header would be the ultimate deciding point for Wake Forest.

The 2-1 final was IU’s first loss of the season. They are now 0-1-1.

“We created chances but never put the ball away,” sophomore forward Alec Purdie said. “Defensively, especially against St. John’s, we looked great. Offense doesn’t come naturally. It takes some time to gel. As the games go, I think we’ll score a lot more goals.”

Of IU’s 19 shots Sunday, nine were on goal. Wake Forest had six shots on goal.

IU will travel to South Bend on Friday for the Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament to take on New Mexico, followed by a match against Seattle on Sunday.

“I think we defended well this weekend, but offensively we sputtered a little bit,” Freitag said. “That’s usually the case. It’s easier to destroy than create.

“Hopefully games like this gets them mentally prepared. They learn from their mistakes and know how to go about their business.”