Hoosiers lose in quaterfinals of Big Ten tourney

The IU men’s soccer team (11-5-3, 3-2-1) won its last Big Ten Tournament title in 2006. After last season, when the Hoosiers defeated the Spartans 2-1 before falling to Northwestern in the semifinals, Michigan State flipped the script on IU.

Unranked Michigan State won its quarterfinal matchup 2-1 Wednesday afternoon at Lakeside Field in Evanston, Ill.

The loss extended the No. 21-ranked Hoosiers’ conference winless streak to four games. Opponents outscored the Hoosiers 8-4 in those four matches.

The loss also marked the Hoosiers’ first loss in quarterfinal play as they had been 7-0 previously. 

“There were moments when they were a lot more physical,” sophomore midfielder Dylan Lax said. “They didn’t have a lot of shots. The opportunities they had, they were able to capitalize. We had our chances tonight. We weren’t able to tuck ‘em away.”

In the fourth minute, sooner than any other IU opponent had scored, the Spartans’ Sean Conerty passed to Nick Wilson at the top of the 18-yard box.

Wilson stopped the ball’s progress and Adam Montague won the ball.
His shot — the Spartans’ first of the match — gave MSU a 1-0 lead.

The Spartans outshot the Hoosiers 6-2 in the first half and, for the second time in as many matches, took a 1-0 lead into halftime against IU.

Lax again started in place of junior midfielder Jacob Bushue. Bushue then replaced junior midfielder A.J. Corrado in the 66th minute.

Eleven minutes later, the Spartans doubled their lead via their second corner. Ryan Thelen took it from the right side.

Freshman forward Femi Hollinger-Janzen cleared the ball into the air with his instep at the 6-yard box.

Bushue and the Spartans’ Jay Chapman awaited the ball’s descent and the deflection bounced to Ryan Keener 12 yards away on the left side.

He took a touch off his chest, turned to his left and scored.

IU scored in the 84th minute. Sophomore defender Patrick Doody took a short corner. Sophomore forward Eriq Zavaleta was dispossessed near the top of the box.

Senior defender Caleb Konstanski gained possession on the right side and his cross rolling across the face of goal found junior midfielder Nikita Kotlov, who beat his man to score his fourth goal of the season.

The Hoosiers outshot the Spartans 10 to 1 in the second half but couldn’t convert enough to pull out the victory.

IU Coach Todd Yeagley said his team missed several chances because they
overpassed.

“We didn’t take our chances when we had ‘em,” he said. “There were a few in particular today that we could have had better luck with.”

The Hoosiers also only created one corner kick in the first half.

The Spartans earned their first tourney win since 2009 and further harmed the Hoosiers’ NCAA Tournament seeding with the win.