Indiana men’s soccer was held scoreless once again in its draw to Michigan on Tuesday night.
The Hoosiers came into the match hoping to bounce back from their loss against Michigan State on Sept. 22 but left with another discouraging result against a conference opponent.
Indiana lacked control against Michigan State but was dominant against Michigan.
After the Wisconsin match head coach Todd Yeagley said his team can be stagnant offensively at times, and the first half of the match looked this way for Indiana. The Hoosiers were able to maintain possession early but weren’t able to create much to threaten the Wolverine net.
“We had some control in the first half, but we weren’t decisive and played a little slow,” Yeagley said. “We didn’t get the tempo going as fast as we should have.”
The Hoosiers took control in the second half, pinning Michigan back in its own half by constantly pressing high up the pitch.
“The second half was as good as a half we’ve had,” Yeagley said. “It was a pretty dominant half.”
Indiana was increasingly productive with its possessions in the second half, constantly creating chances and forcing several saves from Michigan freshman goalkeeper Isaiah Goldson. Goldson had seven saves on the night and was a key reason the Wolverines salvaged a draw
“The keeper got hot,” Yeagley said. “We always seem to find a hot keeper.”
The Hoosiers have struggled to convert their chances all season and Tuesday night was no exception. Yeagley said part of this problem stems from simply not putting the shots on target and this held true Tuesday as only seven of Indiana’s 19 shots were on target.
“We need to finish better,” Yeagley said. “We do that, and the game could have been two or three to zero, and we’d all be pleased and say it was a good performance and result.”
When the Hoosiers were able to put shots on frame, they had some unlucky breaks with a pair of their shots hitting the woodwork twice in a matter of seconds.
The first instance came from a short-range shot from senior forward Karsen Henderlong following a cross from freshman forward Collins Oduro. The second instance came moments later when junior forward Tommy Mihalic curled a shot from outside the box that beat Goldson but hit the crossbar.
This run of play summed up Indiana’s fortunes in front of the goal Tuesday, leading to another scoreless match for the team.
“Our game can be cruel,” Yeagley said.
The Hoosiers will visit the University of Kentucky in their next match Oct 3. The match is set to kick off at 7 p.m. at The Wendell and Vickien Soccer Complex.
