No. 11 Indiana men’s soccer’s five-game undefeated streak against Rutgers, dating back to 2015, came to an end Friday night after a 2-1 loss in its first conference game of the season.
The Hoosiers lost their Big Ten opener for just the third time in program history, moving to 23-3-5 in those games. They’ve put up a 3-2-1 this season.
Indiana has given up eight goals through six games this season, compared to six goals through 16 games last season. Indiana has also been outscored 8-7 in its first six games this season. Last season, the team outscored its opponents 31-6.
“The spirit wasn’t great tonight, I don’t know why that was the case,” head coach Todd Yeagley said after the match. “Not a lot of joy in their play, so we’ve gotta kind of reset them.”
Daniel Munie, the reigning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, scored Indiana’s lone goal in the 23rd minute of the game, but Rutgers scored two in the second half to take the win.
Rutgers moved to 6-0-1 this season, improving on its 4-4-1 finish last season. Rutgers had the advantage in shots, 9-8, and shots on goal, 4-3, over Indiana on Friday. Each goalkeeper made two saves.
Yeagley said after the match the Scarlet Knights rose to the challenge of playing on the road and used their underdog mentality to their advantage against the Hoosiers. He said they have a lot of talent and they’re a team the Hoosiers respect.
“It felt like the last couple years they’ve been on the cusp of kind of breaking into the upper tier of the Big Ten,” Yeagley said. “They did some really good things, they’re a good team and they’ll do well this year.”
Rutgers junior goalkeeper Oren Asher made a diving save against a shot from junior forward Victor Bezerra in the 53rd minute, which kept the lead at 1-0. After putting up 12 goals in 16 games last season, Bezerra has yet to put up a goal in the four games he’s played. He missed the team’s second and third games with a leg injury.
Reigning Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week Nico Rosamilia opened the scoring for Rutgers in the 58th minute. The freshman forward leads the team with three goals this season after putting up two in its 2-1 win against Saint Joseph’s University on Monday.
A 70th minute goal from junior midfielder Jackson Temple proved to be the game-winner for the Scarlet Knights, giving them a 2-1 lead with 20 minutes left on the clock. It was Temple’s second goal of the season after scoring in Rutgers’ season opener against the University of Delaware, a 2-0 victory.
After posting a 12-2-2 record in the spring, they’ve matched their loss count from last season with two. Yeagley pointed to a young attacking core and injuries to key players as reasons for the team’s slow start this season.
“We haven’t had them all together enough,” Yeagley said. “Once we’re able to do that and get them to have some success… I think it’s going to come together, I’m not worried big picture.”
Indiana hits the road for its next matchup against Northwestern at 8 p.m. Tuesday. Northwestern is 2-3-2 this season and lost its Big Ten opener against Penn State on Friday.
Yeagley said the team wouldn’t review its match against Rutgers ahead of the Northwestern game, but he would rather focus on improving the team’s spirit as it continues through its Big Ten schedule.
“It’s just go out and play, it’s as simple as that,” Yeagley said. “Just put this one behind us and get going for Tuesday.”
