IU junior forward Femi Hollinger-Janzen scored the game’s lone goal in the 64th minute with an assist by sophomore midfielder Tanner Thompson.
“The ball was played to Jamie Vollmer in the left corner,” Hollinger-Janzen said. “He did a great job of holding the defender off and played it back to Tanner Thompson, who played a great ball in, and it was just a one foot touch in.”
The game was played at Carroll High School in Fort Wayne, as a part of the ShinDigz National Soccer Festival.
With a young team, consisting of 10 freshmen, IU Coach Todd Yeagley said the primary focus was evaluating the players on the roster.
“The most important piece was figuring out what player options we have in a few spots,” Yeagley said. “One in particular was right back.”
Freshman Trevor Swartz got the start at right back and impressed the coaching staff.
Sophomore Colin Webb started in front of the net and got the win, making one save.
He was replaced in the second half by junior Sean Weidman, who made two saves. Washington tallied 11 shots in the second half, giving them a 13-8 advantage for the match.
“I was pleased we got the shutout,” Yeagley said. “We want to make a point of taking pride in zeros.”
After allowing 38 goals last season, compared to the 18 they allowed during their national championship season in 2012, a main focus of the team early on has been playing better defense.
“I thought we defended well,” Yeagley said. “Washington is a team that returned all of their top goal scorers. They scored 45 goals last season, which is a good number of goals in a season. They have some firepower.”
He said the player who stood out most was junior forward Andrew Oliver, who tallied two shots in the game.
“Andrew was probably the man of the match,” he said.
He also noted that freshman defender Grant Lillard had a nice game and can be a contributor to the team.
Hollinger-Janzen said beating the defending Pac-12 Champions, who went to the Elite 8 last season, is a great way to move into the season.
“We wanted to be able to finish the game,” Hollinger-Janzen said. “We were struggling in the second half, and the team did a good job of playing all 90 minutes.”
IU kicks off its regular season with a home match Friday against No. 9 Georgetown. They then take on No. 12 Marquette Sunday as a part of the Adidas/IU Credit Union Classic at Bill Armstrong Stadium.
“I like the fact that this group has an edge and wants to win everything they do,” Yeagley said. “I think chemistry-wise, we are coming together pretty quickly.”
