Coming off the heels of a disappointing 1-0 loss against Michigan State on Sunday in its Big Ten opener, Indiana women’s soccer took down the defending Big Ten Tournament champion Iowa 2-0.
This season, Indiana head coach Erwin van Bennekom’s team has either been dominant offensively or unable to create any real scoring chances. The team’s match against Michigan State last Sunday was an example of the latter.
However, Indiana seemed to return to its goal-heavy style of offensive play early in the game on Thursday. Indiana opened with the ball and dominated possession, refusing Iowa a single touch in the game’s first few minutes.
“Eight shots and two goals, that’s a good number,” van Bennekom said.
In the fifth minute, Indiana aimed a flurry of shots at Iowa sophomore goaltender Monica Wilhelm. Amid the onslaught, sophomore forward Anna Bennett put one into the bottom right corner of the net, following up on a boot from Indiana leading goalscorer freshman forward Jordyn Levy to put Indiana up 1-0.
Coming into the match, Indiana had not lost a single match this season when they had scored within the game's first 15 minutes.
After Levy put a shot on frame in the 20th minute, the Hoosiers went quiet on the offensive front.
Then in the 29th minute, junior midfielder Paige Webber entered the game to replace sophomore forward Jen Blitchok. Webber launched a shot from the back of the 18-yard box between the pipes seconds after entering the match. In an instant, Indiana led by two goals.
Webber tied Levy for most goals for the Hoosiers this season with four goals a piece.
Indiana led in shots, goals, corner kicks and saves at halftime. Iowa led only in fouls with seven compared to Indiana’s one.
After the halftime break, Indiana played a much slower and cautious style in an attempt to preserve its two goal lead.
At the 60th minute, the Hoosiers had only had one shot on net in the second half. While the Hoosiers had relaxed, the Hawkeyes did not go down without a fight.
The Iowa offense, once stifled by the Indiana defense, began to find holes in the defense. In the 73rd minute, Iowa came inches away from a goal before freshman defender Camille Hamm booted away the shot.
The game turned into a stalemate after the near strike, with each team seemingly taking turns booting the ball back and forth between halves for the remainder of the game.
“It was a great performance after last week,” van Bennekom said. “The hours this week were very, very long going into this game, and I couldn’t wait for tonight to come.”
Indiana returns with another Big Ten matchup against Illinois at 1:00 p.m. Sunday at Bill Armstrong Stadium.
