Just like last year, Indiana men’s soccer’s season ended in a penalty shootout. The Hoosiers lost 5-4 on penalties to the University of Notre Dame on Saturday and are out of the NCAA Tournament.
Notre Dame controlled play in the first half. Just seven minutes into the game, senior forward Daniel Russo crossed a low ball across the 6-yard box, but no one was there to tap it in.
Indiana responded eight minutes later with junior forward Sam Sarver. The striker fired one from inside the box, but his shot was blocked right on the line.
With 28 minutes to go in the first half, Notre Dame opened the scoring. Russo fired a curling shot from a free kick, which was unreachable for senior goalkeeper JT Harms, to make it 1-0 Fighting Irish.
Indiana junior forward Tommy Mihalic tried to answer two minutes later with a couple of shots from outside the box but couldn’t put it in the back of the net.
The Hoosiers played a much squarer match in the second half. Senior defender Joey Maher headed a ball off the corner 10 minutes in that went just wide to the right of the goal.
But Notre Dame was alert. Junior forward Matthew Roou ran the length of the field on a counterattack and shot aiming for the low left corner, but Harms made the diving save.
Indiana tied the game with 27 minutes to go. After a bad clear by the Irish defense, junior midfielder Patrick McDonald scored a screamer from a half-volley from outside the box to tie the game at 1.
Despite playing better in the second half, Indiana couldn’t complete the comeback because of some saves by senior goalkeeper Bryan Dowd.
“A couple of blocks, keeper made a couple of ones that I thought we could’ve done a little better, but we did have a lot of good looks,” head coach Todd Yeagley said postgame.
In overtime, Roou had a close header just a minute into the first half, but Harms showed his reflexes and saved it.
Indiana had its first dangerous chance in overtime with three minutes left in the first half. Sarver received the ball on the left side of the box from a low cross, but his shot deflected off the defense just over the crossbar.
Notre Dame had another serious chance from a free kick with Russo, who shot aiming for the top left corner but missed just wide.
Senior forward Maouloune Goumballe tried to break the score two minutes into the second half of overtime. He fired one from the top of the box and his shot was deflected, taking Dowd out of the play, but the ball went just wide.
Neither team generated chances and the game went to penalty kicks.
Maher stepped up for the first penalty and hit the left post. Besides him, Mihalic, senior midfielder Quinten Helmer, freshman defender Alex Barger and senior defender Nate Ward all scored.
However, Notre Dame converted all five of its shots and won 5-4 to advance to the final four.
Despite the outcome, Yeagley said he is proud of how far the team has come.
Indiana began conference play 0-1-2. However, the Hoosiers turned their season around to win the Big Ten Tournament title and the regular season title, leading to a deep NCAA Tournament run.
“In the years I’ve coached, this one has a special spot,” Yeagley said about the team.
Indiana finished the game with four shots on goal in 25 attempts and 10 corners, while Notre Dame had four shots on goal in just 11 attempts and one corner.
With the draw against Notre Dame on regular time, the Hoosiers finished the season with a 15-4-5 record.
After the game, Yeagley talked to each senior on the team about what they meant for the team.
“There are bigger days ahead of all of them, whether it’s in the sport or in life,” Yeagley said.
Follow reporters Leo Paes (@Leordpaes) and Jovanni Salazar (@jio_duz_it) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s soccer season.
