Indiana women’s soccer will have another out of conference test Thursday night against Morehead State University at Bill Armstrong Stadium. The Hoosiers are coming off a frustrating 0-0 draw against Virginia Tech, while Morehead State is coming off its first victory of the season where it defeated the University of Detroit Mercy 5-2.
The Hoosiers were unable to find the net in the last match against Virginia Tech, but they were able to dominate possession and had a total of 11 shots. Following Sunday night’s draw, assistant coach Tim Verschuren made it clear the team and his staff felt good about the game, but not the result.
The Eagles had a scoring outburst in their last match on Sunday as they found the back of the net five times against Detroit Mercy. They had four different players score a goal, including two from fifth year senior midfielder Kate Larbes, and tallied a total of 15 shots throughout the match.
Morehead State had a record of 7-7-4 last year and went 4-2-2 in conference play finishing third in the Ohio Valley Conference. Players to watch for the Eagles will be fifth year senior forwards Nicole Fiantaco and Hadley Cytron, who led the Eagles with four goals each last season. Sophomore goalkeeper Erin Gibbs has a total of 8 saves on the season but is yet to record a clean sheet in either of the first two matches.
The Hoosiers have heavily relied on defenders senior Zoe Tiger and freshman Piper Coffield, who have yet to be subbed off the field. Additionally, La Salle University transfer and junior defender Lauren Costello has become a key defender. The Hoosiers’ defense has only allowed one goal through the first two matches of the season largely due to the effort of those three along with others like junior goalkeeper Jamie Gerstenberg.
The Hoosiers will look to execute better in the attacking third of the field against the Eagles Thursday by relying on players such as redshirt sophomore Ava Akeel and senior midfielder Anna Bennett. Akeel led the Hoosiers in scoring last season with three goals and Bennett, who was second last season in goals scored for the Hoosiers with two, has already found the net this season against Illinois State University.
These two teams have not competed against one another since September 8, 2019, when Indiana defeated Morehead State 5-0 in Bloomington. With four years in the making since their last matchup, both teams will be eager to tally their second win of the season.
First kick from Bill Armstrong Stadium is at 8 p.m. The match will be streamed live on Big Ten Plus.
Follow reporters Quinn Richards (@Quinn_richa) and PJ Katona (@PJ_Katona) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s soccer season.
