After losing last season’s National Championship game in double overtime, No. 2 IU lost the first match of the regular season on the road against No. 5 Wake Forest in the same fashion.
In the 106th minute, Wake Forest scored the golden goal on a ball that hit the left post and went in the back of the net. It was a game that the Hoosiers held a 12-8 shot advantage but couldn’t find many scoring opportunities in either overtime period.
To begin the game, neither team was able to find the back of the net, but IU did hold a 5-0 shot advantage over the Demon Deacons. It was a defensive battle that opened up in the second period with both teams finding more of an offensive rhythm.
Last season, IU didn’t trail a single opponent until the Elite 8. But in the 48th minute of the first game of the season, Wake Forest sophomore midfielder Omir Fernandez got it past sophomore goalkeeper Trey Muse after streaking from the left side and using his right foot. The Demon Deacons had a chance to take the 2-0 lead, but the ball hit the crossbar right above Muse’s stretched out arms.
Then in the 72nd minute, sophomore midfielder Griffin Dorsey found the equalizer after scoring from the right side, 10 yards out with almost no defender around him. There wasn’t much action in the remainder of the second half, but the Hoosiers did hold a 10-2 shot advantage.
Wake Forest was on the attack early in the first overtime period, but Muse made a pair of saves within the 10 minutes to keep things even. IU had a corner kick in the 104th minute but the ball was cleared out. Just two minutes later, the Demon Deacons found the winning goal.
Friday night was also the first time in 25 games that IU had given up more than a single goal. After playing solid defense in the first half, IU gave up eight shots in the second half and two overtime periods alone.
Coming into the game, IU coach Todd Yeagley said that the match was going to have a feeling of a College Cup and it lived up to that potential. The next match doesn’t get any easier for the Hoosiers as they’ll travel almost 90 minutes to Chapel Hill this Sunday night to take on No. 3 North Carolina.
