Hoosiers drop exhibition to UNC 1-0

College soccer titans North Carolina and IU met in Fort Wayne Saturday for the final match of the Shindigz National Soccer Festival, with No. 4 North Carolina’s Cooper Vandermaas-Peeler scoring the lone goal in the game to defeat the top-ranked Hoosiers 1-0 in the exhibition.

Vandermaas-Peeler netted the lone score on a cross-body shot on a pass from Josh Rice in the 47th minute. The Hoosiers bounced back, but they couldn’t tie.  

IU Coach Todd Yeagley said despite the outcome, it was a positive match for his squad.

“In the second half there was a resiliency and a bite that I like,” Yeagley said. “We played with a lot of edge and even more as the game went on. We had a great first 10 to 12 minutes.

“Then we skid off a little bit, but I like the character of this team, and there wasn’t once when they thought they couldn’t come back.”

Despite many shot attempts, North Carolina goalkeeper Brendan Moore was a wall in front of the Hoosiers, tallying five saves.

Yeagley praised his team for its defensive effort in containing North Carolina. Even though the Tar Heels scored the only goal, the defense did not give many high-opportunity scoring chances, Yeagley said.

He said a lot of Carolina’s chances, including Vandermaas-Peeler’s goal, were made off the team’s own mistakes, and if the team could eliminate those mistakes, it would be in great shape.

Junior defender Kerel Bradford said the Hoosiers had to fight for every possession.

“It was a high-pressure game,” Bradford said. “It was a battle. We had to grate and claw for everything, and it was the same with UNC.”

Yeagley said he thought the IU player with the most composure wasn’t one of the seniors, but freshman forward Tommy Thompson. In the 33rd minute, Thompson gave the Hoosiers one of their best scoring opportunities of the game as his cross shot from
just inside the right corner of the box bounced off the left post.

The rebound landed in front of senior midfielder Nikita Kotlov, whose shot then sailed over the North Carolina goal.

Kotlov said playing North Carolina this early in the season was a great opportunity for the team to play another team with a similar intensity to the Hoosiers and will help them prepare for the long season ahead.

“North Carolina is a very sharp team, and in my opinion, they are the best team we played last year,” Kotlov said. “They are up-tempo, and very similar to us.

“They are very quick, and they like to spread it a lot. It’s good to see that early, because they are definitely a tournament-type team, and hopefully we’ll see them later on.”

Follow reporter Alyssa Extin on Twitter @alyssa_extin.