An individual mistake cost the game for Indiana men’s soccer against Michigan State. The Hoosiers fell 2-1 to the Spartans in East Lansing after conceding a penalty in the second half.
Michigan State started on top of Indiana, creating a couple of dangerous chances early in the game.
Within 10 minutes of play, the Spartan sophomore forward Jonathan Stout took a low shot that was saved by senior goalkeeper JT Harms. Then, a header by Michigan State freshman forward Richie Ludwig went just over the crossbar after a deflection inside the box.
[Related: No. 15 Indiana men’s soccer’s JT Harms shines despite loss, holds South Florida to one goal]
Indiana responded with junior forward Sam Sarver a couple of minutes later face-to-face with sophomore goalkeeper Zac Kelly inside the box, but the goalkeeper made a kicking save.
With 30 minutes to go in the first half, the Spartans opened the scoring. Ludwig fired from outside the box to the low left corner out of Harms’ reach, scoring his first career goal.
After the goal, Indiana began to generate more chances. Sophomore forward Luka Bezerra deflected the ball after a cross by junior midfielder Patrick McDonald into the hands of Kelly and McDonald fired a shot wide right.
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With 25 minutes remaining in the opening half, the Hoosiers found the back of the net. Sarver was face-to-face with Kelly inside the box again and, this time, fired a powerful shot past the goalkeeper.
After the goal, the Hoosiers nearly missed on a pair of shots at the end of the half from junior forward Tommy Mihalic. The forward fired one that just grazed the right post with nine minutes to go and, with three minutes remaining, he tried to find the right low corner again, but his shot was saved by Kelly.
The second half saw the Spartans dominate the Hoosiers. Just three minutes in, Ludwig fired just wide after a partial clear by the Hoosier defense.
In an eventful half, Michigan State had most of the possession but weren’t generating scoring opportunities, leaving Indiana to work on its counterattack.
With 32 minutes to go, Mihalic slipped through the left side on the counter, but his shot was saved by Kelly.
Mihalic then had a long shot from the left side denied by Kelly with 18 minutes remaining.
The Hoosiers’ defense prevented the Spartans from creating acute chances until late in the game.
With 13 minutes left, Indiana freshman midfielder Justin Shreffler tripped Stout in the box. Michigan State’s junior midfielder Sean Kerrigan converted on the penalty kick, putting the ball in the top right corner, leaving no chance for Harms and giving the Spartans a 2-1 advantage.
The penalty shifted the momentum of the game and Michigan State set its sights on creating chances looking for its third goal.
With 12 minutes to go, sophomore midfielder Jack Guggemos headed the ball just over the bar after Harms left his line awkwardly. With five minutes left, Ludwig’s low shot forced Harms to make a diving save.
Both teams finished the game with 13 shots, but Indiana had more shots on goal with six as opposed to Michigan State’s four.
Now, the Hoosiers have a tie and a loss against Big Ten opponents so far this season and look ahead to claiming their first conference victory of the season against Michigan at home.
[Related: No. 23 Indiana men’s soccer ties Wisconsin in first Big Ten matchup of season]
Kickoff against the Wolverines is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Sept. 26 at Bill Armstrong Stadium with the match being televised on Big Ten Network.
