Faced with a must-win situation following back-to-back draws in conference play, Indiana men’s soccer leaped back up the Big Ten standings with a crucial 4-2 victory against Penn State on Friday night at Bill Armstrong Stadium.
The Hoosiers sat in the middle of the tightly-contested pack prior to their meeting with the Nittany Lions, but the win moved them from sixth to second place for the time being. League-leader Maryland drew with Wisconsin on Friday, giving the Terrapins only a 3-point advantage over the Hoosiers.
[Related: Draw overshadows Indiana men’s soccer’s dominant play against Rutgers, weakens title hopes]
Slow starts plagued Indiana’s chances of racking up even more points in several other matches. On Friday, the team came out desperate to score the opener and control the tempo. The inspired play led to a barrage of early corners, which quickly overwhelmed Penn State.
In the fifth minute, senior forward Ryan Wittenbrink launched a curling corner kick that made it all the way to the far post. Junior defender Joey Maher, the lone player there, extended his body forward in time to head the ball off the post and into the net, putting the Hoosiers up 1-0.
“The first five, 10 minutes into the half is our focus,” senior defender Brett Bebej said. “Everyone gets a feel for the match. From there it’s just smooth riding. We need to lock in defensively (after).”
Though Indiana controlled possession for long stretches after the opening goal, Penn State’s quality in attack needed just one chance to expertly pick apart the back line. Graduate midfielder Seth Kuhn played an overhead pass toward senior forward Liam Butt’s dashing run behind the back line, and Butt calmly rounded redshirt senior goalkeeper Bryant Pratt to tap in the equalizer after Pratt mistimed his run toward the 50/50 ball.
“The defense played great,” Indiana head coach Todd Yeagley said. “Sometimes you just have to go, ‘Good goal, let’s move on,’ not analyze and get paralyzed by giving up the goal. Outside of those moments, the shots and danger were pretty limited. I’m not frustrated with our team defending.”
The Hoosiers dusted themselves off and shortly returned to pressing the Nittany Lions into their own half. Just two minutes after the equalizer, the cream and crimson retook the lead in the 20th minute through a sequence that’s become more common in their attacking strategy: the throw-in.
The back line linked up for the cleverly worked goal, as senior defender Nyk Sessock’s throw made it from the sideline to the penalty area. Senior defender Daniel Munie connected on the pass, freezing Penn State’s packed defense with a backwards header that fell to Bebej to tap home.
“Nyk has a good throw, so we treat it as a corner almost,” Bebej said. “We work on it a lot in training.”
Through the first 45 minutes, Indiana led 6-0 in corner kicks and 6-1 in total shots. Looking to put the game out of reach, the team carried over its aggressive mindset into the second half.
Wittenbrink earned his team-leading sixth goal of the season – now a single-season personal record – in the 48th minute, slotting home his third penalty kick of the campaign. Sophomore forward Samuel Sarver earned the penalty with a threatening run on the right wing.
Despite failing to convert on a handful of close-range shots in the ensuing stages, Wittenbrink remained involved as ever in the Hoosiers’ buildup.
His persistence led to his second assist of the night in the 64th minute, a cross that senior forward Herbert Endeley put his body on the line for and headed into the net to extend the lead to 4-1. Endeley was shaken up after the play, but he quickly recovered and rose to his feet.
Aside from a miscue by Bebej in the 72nd minute, which gave Penn State its own penalty kick goal and a late lifeline, Indiana cruised to victory and rarely looked vulnerable. Penn State was one of two unbeaten teams in Big Ten play before Indiana’s back line shut down its best forwards.
“(Junior midfielder Peter) Mangiane, who I think is one of the better players in the league, had a really quiet night,” Yeagley said. “That was a combination of our pressure up the field, the connectivity of our midfield and back line, and our back line stepping in to negate balls where he can kind of run at you.”
The win also secured Indiana its 800th all-time victory in program history.
The current Hoosier players were joined by various alumni to celebrate in the Jerry F. Tardy Center after the match. Yeagley said the best part about the achievement is that Indiana is the first program to ever accumulate that many wins, and he also acknowledged the boost in morale the alumni’s presence can produce for the current group.
“There were some (alumni) that came back tonight that were out of state. They have young kids out on the field (after the match) kicking around – that’s fun,” Yeagley said. “It’s nice that our players get to meet those guys and learn about them. Some of them are doing some cool things in their profession, which is great for our guys to network with them.”
Indiana will face Wisconsin on the road at 8 p.m. Tuesday in Madiscon, Wisconsin, looking for 3 points that would set up a potential title-deciding match against Maryland on Oct. 30.
“I love when the players can take ownership of what they want,” Yeagley said. “We have to get points in every game and let the table play out. Nothing would be sweeter than to come here on decision day, if you will, and have a chance at it.”
