No. 15 Indiana men’s soccer entered its NCAA Sweet 16 matchup as the underdog to No. 2 University of Washington on Saturday. While holding its own throughout the regulation period, Indiana fell to Washington 3-2 in overtime to end its tournament run.
“Our guys left everything on the field,” head coach Todd Yeagley said. “Maybe a few more plays we had and then just fell a little short, but I was proud of the effort of our guys.”
Both Indiana goals came from players who saw their final collegiate minutes against Washington; junior forward Victor Bezerra and senior defender Spencer Glass.
Bezerra gave Indiana the lead in the 29th minute off a penalty kick after he was fouled in the 18-yard box, rocketing a attempt into the bottom right-hand corner of the net. In the 52nd minute, Glass snuck a far-post shot into the right side of the net to put Indiana up 2-1.
Bezerra, who announced Monday via Instagram this would be his final season, finished with a team-leading 8 goals this season and 28 goals in his collegiate career. Glass’ goal Saturday afternoon was his second of the season and 11th of his career.
“Spencer, I mean, here’s a guy that redshirted, waited his time,” Yeagley said. “He’s IU through-and-through.”
Indiana’s offense was on display in the first half, with multiple offensive runs and attacks off corner kicks to threaten Washington’s defense. The defense was also strong; junior goalkeeper Roman Celentano made two saves and the rest of the defense blocked and cleared away even more threats from Washington.
However, Washington took charge in the second half, putting up 11 shots and holding Indiana to five. The Huskies finished with 19 shots and seven shots on goal.
“First half I thought we were very much in control,” Yeagley said. “Second half they advanced the ball a little bit better, were able to find some tough spots within our defense.”
The match, originally scheduled for 8 p.m., was moved to 3 p.m. due to projected weather conditions in Seattle. But that didn’t stop rain from falling on the Hoosiers and Huskies during the second half, which Yeagley said played to attackers’ advantage.
All three goals for Washington came from junior midfielder Dylan Teves, who put up his second hat trick in as many games. Teves, like Bezerra, scored his first goal off a penalty kick. His next goals came in the 75th and 97th minutes of play.
His golden goal shot came from outside the 18-yard box, cutting past Indiana’s defenders and shooting it past a diving Celentano.
“The final goal was fantastic, the finish from distance,” Yeagley said. “They were dangerous. We knew they had some good attackers.”
The overtime loss marks the end of the season for the Hoosiers, who finish 15-6-1. Yeagley said while it’s hard to do a full reflection of the game and the season, he felt the team peaked at the most important times in the season.
“When you drop in the fashion that you do, in overtime, you have no time to comprehend in the moment, so it’s really difficult,” Yeagley said. “So we’ll just build our guys up and take a couple steps forward and move forward.
