Indiana’s attacking quallity was on full display in its 2-0 win against the University of Evansville on Wednesday night.
The Hoosiers carried their offensive momentum from their match against Penn State into their win against Evansville. Indiana continued to create a multitude of chances throughout the game and rarely allowed Evansville to keep possession. The Hoosiers’ direct approach in attack allowed them to be a constant threat whenever they won the ball back.
Indiana focused on quickly getting the ball to the wings when starting its attacks. This led to freshman forward Collins Oduro and junior forward Sam Sarver constantly finding themselves in one versus one situations against the Evansville fullbacks.
The Hoosiers were immediately rewarded for this direct approach as they scored just six minutes into the game. Sarver used his speed to dribble past the opposing right-back before putting a low cross in for junior midfielder Patrick McDonald. McDonald took a first time shot that took a deflection before hitting the back of the net and giving the Hoosiers another early lead.
“That was our gameplan, get it wide and find Sammy, Collins and Tommy and get them isolated one versus one,” McDonald said after the game. “We got in behind and got some crosses off and it worked: we scored a couple of goals.”
Senior defender Hugo Bacharach’s move into midfield also changed Indiana’s attack, as it allows other midfielders such as McDonald to get more involved in the attack with Bacharach being more defensive-minded.
“With Jack Wagoner it’s me or him, but most of the time now its me going forward with Hugo sitting,” McDonald said.
The Hoosiers continued to attack from the wings and created another goal from a similar play in the build up. Sarver got in behind the Evansville defense and put in a hard cross that eventually landed at Oduro’s feet. Oduro calmly squared the ball across the six-yard box to senior forward Karsen Henderlong, who tapped the ball into an empty net to extend the Hoosiers’ lead.
Indiana also created many chances by winning the ball back very high on the pitch. The Hoosiers constantly pressured the Purple Aces in their own half and in their own box as well. This pressure caused a lot of turnovers in Evansville’s box, allowing Indiana to create more goal-scoring opportunities.
Head coach Todd Yeagley said that the formation change to a 4-3-3 was a big reason Indiana was able to press higher up the pitch. Yeagley initially tried the formation against Penn State and decided to roll with it again versus Evansville.
“When we deployed the shape tonight it was almost like three front runners and matching their back three,” Yeagley said. “So it was a little more aggressive with the step out.”
The Hoosiers will hope to keep their goal-scoring momentum against Ohio State, as they have scored multiple goals in their last two matches. The match is set to kick off at noon on Sunday at Bill Armstrong Stadium. The match will be streamed on Big Ten+.
Follow reporters Leo Paes (@Leordpaes) and Jovanni Salazar (@jio_duz_it) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s soccer season.
