The Indiana women’s soccer team drew the University of Memphis 0-0 on Sunday in Bloomington, marking its fifth scoreless draw of the season. The match was played on a soaked, muddy field with a heavy downpour of rain throughout the final 50 minutes.
Despite the less-than-ideal conditions, head coach Erwin van Bennekom said the weather had little impact on the players’ performances.
“I thought the field held up pretty well, so I don’t think it mattered that much,” van Bennekom said. “It was a little slippery out there, but it was fine.”
With the draw against the Tigers, the Hoosiers extended their defensive shutout streak to 540 total minutes, the second longest in program history. Sophomore goalkeeper Jamie Gerstenberg recorded her sixth-consecutive clean sheet this season and 15th in her career.
[Related: Indiana women's soccer plays to fourth scoreless draw of the season against Louisville]
Although Indiana’s defense posted a strong outing against a Memphis team that had scored 17 goals in seven matches this year, van Bennekom said he was displeased with having to rely on Gerstenberg.
“I don’t want Jamie to be the factor why we don’t concede,” van Bennekom said. “Against Louisville, we didn’t give away any chances, we were clean, we kept the ball in front of us, and today we weren’t. It was our box defending, dealing with crosses and Jamie that kept us in the game, but our defensive shape wasn’t great today.”
Memphis kept the ball in its attacking third for all but a few minutes of the first half, and the Tigers were able to remain dominant for the rest of the game.
“Jamie is our last line of defense, and if we do things right, we don’t need her,” van Bennekom said. “At Virginia Tech and today, we needed her way too much. Other games, we didn’t really need her because we defended better from the front.”
[Related: Indiana women's soccer wins first game 3-0 against Indiana State on Senior Night]
The Tigers took 16 shots, five of which were on goal, compared to the Hoosiers’ six with two on goal. Gerstenberg blocked all five of Memphis’ attempts, a count she bested only against Virginia Tech University on Aug. 21 with a career-high eight saves.
The Memphis matchup yielded a few positive outcomes. The Hoosiers contained a fiery Tigers offense and defeated a team who defeated them the previous season
Still, the results left a bitter taste in van Bennekom’s mouth. The Indiana head coach said he knows what his players need to do to gain more offensive production in games to come.
“Our buildup play just has to be better. That’s the problem. It’s not our finishing,” van Bennekom said. “If we get the ball more in the final third, if we break lines and find a free midfielder, we’ll get more chances and score more goals. It’s our ability to play out of the back cleanly, and we haven’t done that.”
The Hoosiers’ next chance to get back in the win column will come against Trine University at 5 p.m. on Sept. 14.
