There wasn’t a single player left on the Hoosiers bench.
With only 18 seconds left until overtime, the bench swarmed senior defender Andrew Gutman as he made sure that the match would end in regulation.
Senior defender Rece Buckmaster passed the ball to senior midfielder Francesco Moore. Then, Moore passed it back to Buckmaster as he slipped past one defender. Buckmaster crossed it into the box as the ball took a single bounce and connected with the right foot of Gutman as he finished in the left post.
The goal from Gutman was his second of the day as he picked up the brace and propelled IU to the 2-1 victory over Maryland.
It’s the first time since 2002 that the Hoosiers are 5-0 to start Big Ten play and it was also the first time since 2004 that they defeated the Terrapins.
“I knew there was like 30 seconds left and I just kind of stayed up,” Gutman said. “Rico got down the right side and he played in a hell of a ball. I just kind of was just making that run and it got through. It was probably harder to miss than to make that goal.”
After a back-and-forth affair to begin the match with Maryland pressing, the Hoosiers were knocking on the door for a goal.
In the 32nd minute, the ball went in between the legs of senior midfielder Cory Thomas.
With a corner kick, senior midfielder Austin Panchot crossed the ball toward the goal. Then, Gutman placed his head on the ball to direct it perfectly in between the legs of Thomas to confuse the Maryland goalkeeper and find the score from three yards out.
“They’re really motivated and I can see it,” IU Coach Todd Yeagley said.
The goal gave the Hoosiers the early lead, but the Terrapins didn’t let up.
In the 57th minute, Maryland junior forward Paul Bin sent a rocket over the outreaching hands of IU sophomore goalkeeper Trey Muse. The ball was shot from the top of the box toward the upper right portion of the net.
“He just ripped it, there wasn’t much I could’ve done there,” Muse said. “When he hit it, he hit the roof of the net and took me out of the play there.”
This match seemed it was destined for another tie, but Gutman came through with the score at the end. Despite the equalizer from Maryland, IU didn’t panic and felt another opportunity coming right before overtime.
“This is my fourth year and this team has a totally different mentality,” Gutman said. “Everybody on the field is a winner."
The Hoosiers will play their final nonconference match of the season when Butler comes to Bill Armstrong Stadium on Tuesday night.
"Almost our entire starting lineup was here last year and we experienced all of that heartbreak," Gutman said. "I think we built off it and just now we have this little extra bite to us. It’s showing in a lot of games. We always believe we’re going to get one more chance and we’re starting to put them away.”
