For what felt like an eternity, the IU men’s soccer faithful held their breath collectively.
In the 56th minute, senior defender Andrew Gutman fell to the ground holding his left ankle.
Gutman went for the tackle and collided with a Northwestern player when going for the ball.
After spending roughly two minutes on the ground, Gutman made his way toward the sideline on his own strength — visibly with a limp.
Once he was on the sideline, he immediately started jogging back and forth to put pressure on his ankle.
After being subbed out for only seven minutes, Yeagley didn’t have to ask him to go back in. Gutman walked toward midfield himself, telling Yeagley that he was headed back into the match.
Once he was back on the field, just about 10 minutes after lying on the ground, he took the captains band back from senior midfielder Trevor Swartz.
Gutman immediately made his presence felt and was aggressive trying to find the game-winning goal. He had two shots himself when he came back in the 75th and 77th minute but couldn’t find the back of the net.
“We were definitely kind of all as a team praying,” sophomore midfielder Griffin Dorsey said. “I’ve never really heard him go down like that, never seen that happen before. I was definitely praying for him. It was good to see him get up on his own and kind of walk off. Seeing him on the sidelines jogging was definitely a blessing.”
The No. 2 Hoosiers were able to find their eighth straight victory by a 2-1 score thanks to a first-half goal from sophomore midfielder Justin Rennicks and a late score from Dorsey.
Throughout the game, IU was able to get shot after shot off. The Hoosiers had a 22-4 shot advantage and held Northwestern to without a single corner kick.
Northwestern put the pressure on in the 54th minute, tying the game with a goal that came from a cross played in from the right.
But, the Hoosiers weren’t fazed when Northwestern scored the equalizer.
All night long, IU was knocking on the door for goals and eventually, Dorsey came to the rescue.
With less than four minutes remaining, Dorsey had a clear shot on goal. Senior midfielder Spencer Glass made a sliding cross sending his body out of bounds. The ball was placed perfectly for Dorsey in the box who sent it to the back of the net with ease.
“I was just happy that Spencer got the cross and I was there for the tap in,” Dorsey said. “It was just an all together team effort and I think with that last goal it showed how easy it was.”
It was almost a night to forget but in all, IU had another impressive performance to pick up three points in conference play.
“I liked the way the team reacted,” Yeagley said. “They felt really confident that they’d find a goal. They didn’t overreact. I thought it was a really good performance on the scoreline. Goals have been flowing for us.”
