A chilly Friday night in Bloomington set the scene for a pivotal matchup between No. 10 IU men’s soccer and Rutgers with postseason implications on the line.
Following a dominant showing against the University of Evansville in its final nonconference match of the season, IU returned to Big Ten play against Rutgers. A victory would place IU back atop the conference standings, but a loss would be catastrophic in its quest for consecutive Big Ten regular season titles.
Both teams began the match looking sluggish out of the gate, a problem that has plagued the Hoosiers for much of the season.
Although IU junior midfielder Spencer Glass was able to fire off a quick shot in the third minute, it would serve as the only shot in an otherwise quiet opening 10 minutes.
A flurry of shots around the 20-minute mark from IU freshman midfielder Aidan Morris and IU freshman forward Victor Bezerra gave IU its best opportunities of the half, but a pair of saves from Rutgers freshman goalkeeper Oren Asher halted the attack.
The Hoosier defense fared much better, clearing balls out of its zone with ease and neutralizing any offensive momentum for the Scarlet Knights. With the help of IU freshman defender Daniel Munie and IU sophomore defender Jack Maher anchoring the back line, Rutgers didn’t tally a single shot the entire first half.
“I think our team defending has been good all year, certainly really good in a lot of segments in games,” IU head coach Todd Yeagley said. “The back four have been good all year, no doubt.”
IU exited the half with a 9-0 shot advantage, and while the opportunities continued to present themselves, its offense simply failed to capitalize resulting in a scoreless tie at halftime.
“Rutgers made life difficult for us, in particular the first half,” Yeagley said. “But I thought we dealt with it pretty well for the most part.”
The second half treated the Hoosiers much better, however, as it was only a matter of time before their offensive-minded approach paid off against a seemingly outmatched Rutgers defense.
In the 54th minute, an ill-advised yellow card shown to Rutgers freshman midfielder Jorgen Wisth Lie gave IU’s Morris a free kick from just outside the top of the goal box. Following a rifle of a kick on net, IU senior forward Joris Ahlinvi was able to deflect just enough of the ball and sneak it past the goal line to give IU a 1-0 lead.
“Always getting that first goal is a confidence booster,” Morris said. “But it changes the game, it changes the momentum. So, yeah, I knew the game was going to be different after that.”
IU sophomore midfielder Joe Schmidt got in on the goal scoring midway through the 72nd minute as he found himself on the receiving end of a Morris’ pass and buried his first career goal past the right post.
Just seven minutes later, Morris capped off his two-assist night with a game-sealing putback score in the 79th minute to hand the Hoosiers a firm three-goal advantage.
“He’s a dominant personality, he’s one we want to have the ball a lot,” Yeagley said. “He wants to win, he wants to be pushed, and we’re trying to do all that in one.”
With IU’s defense continuing its rock solid play, and allowing the Scarlet Knights to generate only one shot on goal in the second half, IU freshman goalkeeper Roman Celentano cruised to his fifth win of the season, having to make just a single save on the night.
It was another all-around quality effort for the Hoosiers as they gain three more crucial points in the Big Ten standings and leap Penn State for the top spot.
Now with just two games remaining in the regular season, IU’s postseason aspirations are no longer too far off in the distance.
“We’re always just trying to stay in the present,” Morris said. “Every single game is an important one.”
