In the 55th minute, sophomore midfielder Griffin Dorsey drew the attention of the Michigan backline and set up senior defender Rece Buckmaster perfectly on the right side of the box.
Buckmaster slowed down, took a few steps and sent the ball past the diving hands of the goalkeeper in the bottom left corner. It was the lone goal of the match.
The 1-0 win over the No. 14 Wolverines put IU at the top of the Big Ten Conference standings with 12 points. The last time that the Hoosiers started 4-0 in conference play, they won the 2004 National Championship.
Here are three takeaways from the Hoosiers' fourth conference victory.
Gutman continues to shine
In the first half, senior defender Andrew Gutman was aggressive setting up shots for his teammates.
After a corner kick in the 19th minute, senior defender Timmy Mehl had an opportunity to put IU up early.
Michigan cleared out the initial cross on the corner, but senior defender Francesco Moore got the ball before it went out of bounds. Then, Gutman received the pass from Moore and went running towards the left flank.
Gutman put his left foot on the ball and sent the cross into the box, but it was blocked. He then received the rebound and reset himself for another cross. This time, he found the head of Mehl who didn’t put enough on it to put it past the goalkeeper.
Despite being unable to find the goal there, Gutman remained aggressive all game and gave IU multiple opportunities to score against Michigan.
Offense stays on the attack
It’s safe to say the loss earlier in the week against No. 4 Kentucky was the worst performance from the IU attack all season.
Today against the Wolverines, the Hoosiers attacked early and often to make sure this match wouldn’t have the same result.
The Hoosiers remained in control for the first half after stringing together six shots compared to just one for Michigan. The Wolverines held an 8-4 shot advantage in the second half but never had as dangerous opportunities as IU did.
Thanks to the aggressive nature of the IU attack, Buckmaster was wide open putting him in prime position to score the lone goal on the afternoon.
Yeagley switches up the lineup
On Sunday afternoon, IU coach Todd Yeagley started a lineup reminiscent of the early part of the season.
Sophomore midfielder Justin Rennicks was back at the starting striker position. Senior midfielder Trevor Swartz started in the midfield and sophomore defender AJ Palazzolo was moved back to providing a spark off the bench.
Rennicks had a pair of shots on the afternoon while he remained confident on the attack.
Swartz started the match higher up towards the goal which led to more scoring opportunities. In the 14th minute, Gutman sent him a cross but Swartz was unable to put enough on it despite the golden opportunity.
Palazzolo had a great look on a header in the 33rd minute off a cross from senior midfielder Austin Panchot but he couldn’t put it past the Michigan defender.
IU will look to continue this style of play when it returns home to take on Maryland on Friday.
