There was no cliché David versus Goliath in No. 2 IU’s top-25 matchup against No. 14 Michigan on Sunday.
Instead, there was a David versus David matchup, and IU’s David won.
Senior Rece Buckmaster, IU’s 5-foot-8-inch right back, battled the entirety of the 90 minutes with Michigan’s 5-foot-8-inch sophomore forward, Umar Farouk Osman.
The matchup was physical and all about positioning. Buckmaster used his speed and his agility to constantly get in front of Osman, making it difficult for the striker to even get a first touch on the ball.
Osman, who’s mustered up 26 shots so far this season for the Wolverines, with nine being on goal and six finding the back of the net, is used to creating chances for the big blue. On Sunday, he played all 90 minutes and had just one shot thanks to the play of Buckmaster.
Buckmaster got under the skin of Osman, just like the Hoosier defense got under the skin of Michigan’s offense.
Michigan committed 19 fouls and were called for two yellow cards, one of which was awarded to Osman. Now, IU wasn’t the cleanest either as it committed 16 fouls and also had two yellow cards, but the Hoosiers stayed composed while the Wolverines lost their cool.
The Wolverines were constantly complaining to the officials and the reassurance from the biased crowd probably didn’t help.
Osman is a very talented player, but his complaints were silenced by Buckmaster throughout the game. There was one instance where both players went to the ground and Osman wanted a foul called. Buckmaster simply got up and put his right index finger over his lips, which had a slight smile, signaling for Osman to shush.
There’s no doubt the trash talking continued, but his play was certainly not heard.
There was another moment late in the game where the ball was rolling near the goal line, heading out of bounds for what would have been a goal kick for IU sophomore goalie Trey Muse.
Osman was sprinting toward the ball to at least get a foot on it and keep it in play, or, better yet, deflect it off Buckmaster for a Wolverine corner. Buckmaster, on the other hand, was doing the opposite.
For about 10 yards, Buckmaster shielded Osman from the ball — like an overaggressive box out in basketball — and the two eventually went flailing into the corner flag out of bounds.
No foul was called as Buckmaster got up and ran back into position with that slight smile on his face again. Muse got the goal kick.
To top it all off, Buckmaster scored the match-winner. In the 56th minute, while IU’s offense broke down the left side of Michigan’s defense, Buckmaster was streaking down the right side.
Sophomore Griffin Dorsey had two defenders in front of him, but none on the other side of the field. So, Dorsey simply pushed it over with the outside of his right foot, and Buckmaster came striding in to one-touch it with his right into the bottom left corner of the net.
After the goal, he went back to shutting down Osman, and IU took the 1-0 victory.
Of course, the win isn’t completely because of Buckmaster. The whole IU team shut down Michigan and performed well enough to claim the top spot in the Big Ten Standings.
Who knows if Coach Todd Yeagley gives out a game ball, but if he does, Rece Buckmaster is certainly a strong candidate.
