Hoosiers snap losing streak with late goal

It looked as if the IU men’s soccer team was headed for an overtime period Wednesday until freshman forward Eriq Zavaleta connected on the go-ahead goal to give IU a 1-0 victory against Butler.

Zavaleta put the Hoosiers ahead for good in the 85th minute off of an assist from senior defender Chris Estridge.

“Chris made a great play and beat a guy,” Zavaleta said. “We had talked about how I was lingering in the box all game, and he played me a great ball, and I took a shot to my left and blasted it in with my left.”

The No. 18 Hoosiers (7-3-2, 1-1) broke through after losing three straight games to improve to 20-3-1 all-time against Butler.

“After losing three straight, you need a win like this at Butler,” Zavaleta said. “It gives us confidence that we can (go) to a hostile environment and pull out a win, and we can do it together.”

Zavaleta said the Hoosiers found a way to break through in a way they were unable to in their last two losses to Louisville and Creighton.

“We had to be patient throughout the game to find a goal, and we were confident that we were going to get it,” Zavaleta said. “We were testing the keeper and getting good chances, and we had to wait until the (85th) minute, but we got our goal.”

IU Coach Todd Yeagley said the Hoosiers used what opportunities they were given and got the result they were looking for.

“It was a tough battle tonight,” Yeagley said. “I don’t think we were in sync in a lot of stretches and largely in and out of form due to Butler fighting really hard. As the game went on, there wasn’t a sense of panic within the team. They stayed composed.”

Junior goalkeeper Luis Soffner earned his fifth shutout of the season after surrendering six combined goals during the Hoosiers’ three-game losing streak. Soffner has allowed 10 goals in 12 games this season.

“This win gets us back on track and gets our confidence back up,” Soffner said. “It was a battle all around.”

The victory comes as the Hoosiers head into the final stretch of the season with four of their final six games against Big Ten opponents, three of which are at home.

“We feel like we’re a force to be reckoned with, and the country is taking us lightly now after our three-game losing streak,” Zavaleta said. “We’re going to show them that we’re back.”

The Hoosiers are still trying to prove to themselves and their opponents that they can win these types of games. For Yeagley, that was the most important part of Wednesday’s victory.

“Heading into other tight games, we know we can win these,” Yeagley said. “The guys were certainly pleased with the result, and they know the play needs to be better. But tonight the goal was to get a win, and we were able to get that.”