In many ways, nothing has been straightforward about the road to glory for Indiana men’s soccer this season.
A loss and draw in back-to-back matches to open the regular season, another defeat to open Big Ten play and three subsequent draws against conference opponents dealt the Hoosiers their fair share of adversity. The climb back up the Big Ten standings demanded perfection or at least the willpower to find ways to pick up three points.
Faced with a deadlock early in the second half in its match against Wisconsin on Tuesday night, Indiana didn’t need to produce anything flashy or piece together a convincing long shift — any kind of goal would suffice.
When a deflected shot found its way to redshirt junior midfielder Quinten Helmer in the center of the 18-yard box in Indiana’s match against Wisconsin on Tuesday night, the buildup in advance was anything but pretty. Senior forward Herbert Endeley’s grounded cross to sophomore forward Tommy Mihalic could’ve resulted in the pair’s second connection of the night, but the point-blank strike came right off junior goalkeeper Carter Abbott.
Helmer took a step forward in anticipation of the descending ball, predicted the timing of its landing on the grass blades and calmly volleyed the chance with a sharp trajectory into the upper netting.
The perfect finish to the tense, messy attacking sequence restored the Hoosiers’ lead and was enough to win the match 2-1 against the Badgers.
Though he’s made starts in nine of his 10 appearances this season, Helmer’s status in the starting lineup would’ve been in question if freshman midfielder Jack Wagoner didn’t earn a red card in Indiana’s match against Penn State on Oct. 14. Wagoner replaced Helmer against the Nittany Lions and could’ve done so again Tuesday if not suspended for the match.
Helmer, who’s been one of the creative centerpieces in the Hoosiers’ attack during this breakout season, had just one goal and assist apiece prior to facing the Badgers. After a one-match break from a full workload, he came prepared and delivered the deciding goal in Indiana’s second straight important victory.
His contributions go beyond just box score statistics, though. In a Hoosier rotation exerting relentless pressure and unwavering confidence when pushing forward, Helmer fits right in. His dynamic passes from side to side on the pitch often perfectly compliment the wide position players able to make dangerous individual runs.
With the result, Indiana set itself up to potentially decide the Big Ten regular season title winner in its regular season finale against Maryland on Oct. 30 in Bloomington. Indiana and Maryland are tied in first place with 12 points, with Maryland still having a game in hand against Michigan State.
There are still plenty of outside factors involving both Ohio State’s and Michigan State’s three remaining conference matches, which have the potential to leave Indiana’s fate out of its hands.
Until then, Indiana still has three nonconference matches to play. Most important in terms of NCAA Tournament seeding will be the team’s upcoming matchup with No. 2 University of Kentucky at 7 p.m. Saturday at Bill Armstrong Stadium.
