WESTFIELD, Ind. — Numerous offensive chances, gusting winds and penalty kicks all led to a heartbreak for IU men’s soccer in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals Friday.
Junior forward Rashad Hyacenth found the equalizer for IU in the 79th minute to tie the game at 1-1 and force extra time, but his missed penalty kick proved to be costly. After the Hoosiers and Badgers both missed their initial penalty kicks, each team made three straight.
Hyacenth was sent up as the fifth kicker for the Hoosiers, but clanked his shot off the right post. Wisconsin then sent up their lone goal scorer on the afternoon, Christopher Mueller, but he didn’t follow Hyacenth’s suit. Wisconsin knocked off IU 4-3 in penalty kicks to advance to the Big Ten Tournament championship.
“It’s tough anytime you get into penalties,” IU Coach Todd Yeagley said. “I’ve been on both sides of it as a coach and as a player. We prepared the best we can and you know they made a couple plays, but again I’m proud of the group, and we did a lot of good things today.”
The wind played a factor the entire game as the Hoosiers had it at their backs in the first half and out shot the Badgers 16-3 but were held scoreless at the break.
When the teams flipped sides in the second half, the Badgers took advantage of a costly mistake by one of the Hoosiers’ most solid defenders.
Junior defender Grant Lillard looked to clear the ball out of the IU final third, but a poor pass out of the backfield led to a Badger swipe that set Mueller up for the first goal of the game.
That was the one and only lapse the IU defense had the entire afternoon as they limited the Badgers to just six shots while the Hoosiers rifled 29. It was the backline that led IU to its one-loss regular season campaign and on Friday IU goalkeeper Christian Lomeli said he felt very comfortable with his defenders in front of him.
“You know it keeps you on your toes because at one point you may be called upon,” Lomeli said. “But overall they hold it down really well back there, and it’s nice to have that.”
The Hoosiers actually lost a key part of its offense in the 30th minute. Sophomore midfielder Trevor Swartz was hit hard near the top of the 18-yard box and came up with blood dripping from his face.
Swartz scored the game winner last Sunday against Northwestern and brings the best long shot on the IU team. Yeagley said Swartz had to get stitches but doesn’t know the extent to his injury.
Without Swartz the Hoosiers were forced to turn to the bench. However, it was a pair of substitutions Yeagley made with less than 30 minutes to go that were key to tying the game up.
Hyacenth was brought off the pine hoping to create more of an aerial presence for IU with his size and strength. After trying to find the Belmont transfer multiple times near the goal, Yeagley brought in freshman defender AJ Palazzolo to play up top with Hyacenth.
The substitution worked. Sophomore Francesco Moore made a move on the far side of the pitch to find Palazzolo in the center of the box. The freshman made a touch pass to Hyacenth who slipped past the defense and tapped home the equalizer.
The transfer’s second goal of the season forced two periods of extra time, but eventually the Hoosiers were outlasted in penalty kicks in the semifinals for the second straight season.
Although the Hoosiers’ run at a Big Ten Tournament championship is over, there’s still more soccer left for IU as it now turns its attention to the NCAA tournament next weekend.
“It’s tough, PK’s are never an easy way to go out,” senior midfielder Tanner Thompson said. “But sometimes it’s good to get this little sting before tournament time, and we’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
