Men's soccer suffers first Big Ten loss

A self-goal in the first half decided the Hoosiers’ fate Sunday while nine missed shots
sealed it.

Ohio State beat IU 1-0, handing the Hoosiers their first conference loss of the year on the season’s final day.

“We didn’t bring the best effort for the first 67 minutes of the game,” senior midfielder Rich Balchan said. “We’re feeling all right. We know how we can play.

“You don’t take any moral victories out of it, but we know we can play.”

IU (9-6-2, 4-1-1), gave up its only goal 27 minutes into the first half when an Ohio State shot deflected off junior defender Tommy Meyer’s shin for a self-goal.  

“The guy got the ball on the right wing, dribbled it, took it inside the 18 and hit a shot,” sophomore goalkeeper Luis Soffner said. “I started heading to the back post, and Tommy hit it off his shin. It redirected over my hand a little too high.”

IU took one shot in the first half.

The final 20 minutes of the game told a different story, coming with a barrage of IU shots, including a Caleb Konstanski shot off the crossbar with 15 minutes to play.

Junior forward Will Bruin, who entered Sunday’s match as the second-highest scorer in the nation with 0.94 goals per game, was held to four shots, one of which was on goal.

“The last 20 minutes of the game, the effort was good,” Balchan said. “There was great movement up top and great combo plays between the midfield and forwards.”

Sunday’s loss came after a 3-2 comeback win against Northwestern, which clinched the No. 1 seed and first round bye in next week’s Big Ten Tournament.

It was the third time this year IU lost or tied following a conference win.

The Hoosiers tied Kentucky following a home win against Michigan on Oct. 16. A week later, they lost 4-1 to Butler coming off a 3-0 road win against Michigan State.

Soffner said it is coincidence — not a trend — that the Hoosiers have not produced following emotional wins this year.

“I don’t want to say it is a chain reaction-type thing,” Soffner said. “It might look that way. We knew what it meant, but we just couldn’t put it together.”

The result of Sunday’s game had no bearing on the conference offseason, as IU faces the No. 4/5 winner in the Big Ten Tournament on Friday at 1 p.m.

“We are no different as a team,” Balchan said. “It was a wonderful opportunity to get a key victory ... but we are very confident going into next weekend regardless.”