Thirty-three fouls and four yellow cards highlighted a night loaded with aggressive play from both sides of the field. Bruised but not beaten, No. 2 IU men’s soccer came back to defeat the University of Pittsburgh 3-2 in double overtime.
Opening night at Bill Armstrong Stadium featured brief brawls, takeout slides, flying elbows and kicks to the back of heads in front of nearly 3,000 fans. There were 15 fouls and two yellow cards in the first half alone between the two teams.
The Panthers out bodied the Hoosiers in the first half and were relentless on all sides of the field, gaining better positioning for nearly all corner and free kicks.
“We looked young in the first half, a bit unsure,” IU head coach Todd Yeagley said. “Guys didn’t want the ball, and they were afraid to make mistakes and that makes you timid.”
IU’s defense was also overpowered by Pittsburgh junior Edward Kizza. The 5 foot-9-inch forward bulldozed through multiple Hoosiers with two goals in six seconds of play at the 35-minute mark.
Three minutes later, IU freshman midfielder Aidan Morris was plowed to the grass and locked eyes with Pittsburgh junior Alexander Dexter. The scrappy freshman exploded from the ground and threw Dexter on his rear, resulting in a yellow card for Morris and chirping from both coaching staffs.
“Aidan’s a really feisty, young kid, and I love it,” Yeagley said. “I love his fight, I love his tenacity.”
This physicality of Pittsburgh resulted in a 2-0 lead at the half.
Following a half time talk where Yeagley and the seniors addressed the lack of aggression and sloppy ball movement, the Hoosiers came back fearless, playing as the tougher team in the second half.
Senior defender Simon Waever and sophomore defender Jack Maher muscled their way to the heart of Pittsburgh’s formations and prevented several shots on goal from happening.
In the face of two yellow cards by Pittsburgh, IU shook off the dirt and powered its way to tie the game. Freshman forward Joshua Penn scored the first goal of the season and his career, followed seven minutes later by junior Ian Black tying the game 2-2.
Both teams escaped the closing minutes of the second period unscathed. However, the final causality of the game came in the last minute of the first overtime.
IU junior midfielder Spencer Glass collided with a Pittsburgh defender and fell awkwardly on his left ankle. The team’s trainer helped him off the field, and he did not return.
Despite losing one of its vets, IU pulled away with a winning goal by freshman forward Herbert Endeley in the opening minutes of the second overtime.
“The atmosphere was amazing, the fans bring us up a notch and it’s just our first real game together as a team,” Morris said. “It was a good learning experience.”
