His throws Sunday led to two Hoosier goals as No. 8 IU beat Michigan 3-1 in Ann Arbor, Mich.
It was a first half that didn’t go as planned for IU Coach Todd Yeagley, but his team turned it around with three second-half goals.
“I thought today after a slow first start in a lot of areas, our second-half performance was excellent,” Yeagley said. “We haven’t been behind in many games this year. It was a real gutsy, tough performance.”
Michigan (4-7-3, 2-2-2) got out to an early 1-0 lead in the sixth minute after forward Selemani Ahinga scored.
That score would remain until just 30 seconds into the ?second half.
Vollmer delivered a throw-in inside the box where freshman defender Grant Lillard headed it home for his third goal of the season.
“It was huge for us,” Vollmer said. “We knew we didn’t play a very good first half or at least up to our standards, so to come out and score like that in the first minute was just huge for all ?of us.”
Yeagley said you could see the goal had an effect right away on the whole team.
“It immediately set the tone,” Yeagley said. “We just played some really good soccer in the second half.”
Lillard came out of the game in the first half after colliding with another player on a ball in the air.
He went to the locker room where he got three stitches near his right eye.
Lillard said he was excited to get back on the field and that he likes Vollmer’s ability to throw the ball into the box.
“It’s fantastic,” he said. “We are getting better with (the throw-in) and starting to utilize it more. We’re more dangerous definitely, and I feel like we’re going to keep getting more dangerous as we keep practicing it and keep getting goals from it.”
IU’s second goal was also a by-product of a Vollmer throw in.
After the initial shot was blocked, the rebound came right to junior forward Andrew Oliver, who then netted his second goal of the season in the 54th minute.
“I thought Jamie’s throws were right in the right spots,” Yeagley said. “We’ve been working on trying to find a better location to keep the keeper out of the play, and we’re really pleased.”
Vollmer’s throw-ins have resulted in a lot of scoring chances for the Hoosiers (10-2-3, 3-2-1) this season.
“It’s really good to have guys crashing, making it dangerous for our team and giving us some good opportunities,” Vollmer said. “We just try to see what the defense is giving us and put it in a dangerous spot.”
The third IU goal came on a strike by sophomore midfielder Tanner Thompson in the 72nd minute of the match.
This goal put the game away for the Hoosiers, who now have 10 points in Big Ten play.
“We got off to a slow start in the first half, but we were confident,” Lillard said. “In the second half we played how we should all the time and took it to Michigan.”
