Indiana men’s soccer extended its win streak Sunday, defeating Ohio State 2-1.
The Hoosiers got their third straight win of the season thanks in part to a late goal by senior forward Karsen Henderlong. Indiana found itself in a physical matchup where neither team gave the other the opportunity to create dangerous chances.
The first half was a deadlock where neither team was able to maintain possession for long periods of time. Both Indiana and Ohio State came out of the gate with a conservative approach with neither team taking many risks.
It took an Indiana counterattack in the 16th minute to open up the game, after junior forward Tommy Mihalic played a through ball to junior forward Sam Sarver. Sarver was then fouled in the box by Ohio State graduate defender Siggi Magnusson, giving the Hoosiers a penalty.
Senior defender Joey Maher stepped up to take the penalty, looking to bury his first goal of the season. The Hoosiers typically deploy one of their forwards to take penalty kicks, but Maher stepped up and converted the penalty to take the lead.
“We have a lot of guys who are confident to do it,” Maher said. “I was just happy to help the guys and happy to help the team.”
The match opened up in the second half with both teams beginning to play more direct and higher up the pitch. Ohio State began to pressure Indiana in its own half, and the Buckeyes created goal-scoring opportunities with long direct passes to its forwards.
The Buckeyes equalized in the 66th minute with a goal from senior defender Deylen Vellios. Vellios took a shot from outside the box that took a deflection off Maher, sending junior goalkeeper JT Harms the wrong way as the ball flew into the net.
It was beginning to look like another draw in a conference match was on the table for the Hoosiers, but senior forward Karsen Henderlong gave Indiana the lead with only eight minutes left to play in the match. Henderlong scored following a cross in from a free kick, marking Indiana’s second goal from a set-piece in the match.
Head coach Todd Yeagley has been looking for goals from set pieces all season, and the Hoosiers got two in this match.
“We scored two restart goals today, that’s awesome,” Yeagley said.
He mentioned that the team wasn’t great offensively against the Buckeyes, but was happy to see his team grind it out.
“We were okay today,” Yeagley said. “This is probably the least sharp we’ve been offensively and defensively as well.”
Yeagley said that he wasn’t too concerned with the overall performance and that three points were the most important thing today as they look to get into the Big Ten title race.
The Hoosiers will continue their run of conference opponents Oct. 20 when they visit Maryland . The match will kickoff at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on Big Ten Network.
Follow reporters Leo Paes (@Leordpaes) and Jovanni Salazar (@jio_duz_it) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s soccer season.
