COLUMBUS, Ohio — For a little bit, there was nothing. Dark, stormy clouds encompassed Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, but only extreme winds accompanied the gloom.
In a split second, it all changed. Rain instantaneously cascaded from the sky, soaking players, fans and coaches alike. It continued for around half an hour without lessening, but in a moment, it was gone just as it had arrived.
Unpredictability, chaos and rain — this was Indiana men’s soccer’s 2-2 draw against No. 4 Ohio State.
“When you have that much rain, and two teams are going at it, there’s going to be some challenges,” Indiana head coach Todd Yeagley said postgame. “But I thought that both teams played honest, but it was a tough game.”
The Hoosiers entered Friday with plenty on the line. A defeat would lead to Indiana’s first stretch of consecutive losses since 2013, a record lasting 172 matches. Conversely, a win would surely bring life back into a struggling Hoosier squad, one which had not won since Sept. 13 at Rutgers.
To add to the tension, Indiana head coach Todd Yeagley settled across the sideline from his former Hoosier teammate Brian Maisonneuve. The Ohio State head coach, now in his seventh season at the job after leaving an assistant coaching position at Indiana, still means a lot to Yeagley, which makes the fixture that much more difficult.
“He’s just a really good friend,” Yeagley said postgame. “Once the whistle blows, I try to put my blinders up as best as I can. ... I’m just really happy, the job he’s done, building Ohio State.”
The back-and-forth nature of the match began instantly. Indiana started on the front foot courtesy of a couple close chances from senior forward Tommy Mihalic, but Ohio State responded instantly with its own stretch of positive play.
The deadlock was finally broken in the 32nd minute. Buckeye senior midfielder Michael Adedokun cut onto his right foot outside the 18-yard box and rifled a shot to the near post, netting his team-high fourth goal of the season.
But the Hoosiers quickly responded with a finish of their own. Senior midfielder Patrick McDonald won the ball in the midfield and sprayed a pass to senior forward Sam Sarver on the right wing, who took only two touches before placing a shot to the bottom left corner of the net.
“We thought we could get (Sarver) isolated and cause some problems behind,” Yeagley said. “We didn’t do it as well as we liked, but you can’t play through their pressure very well.”
Ohio State’s pressure was relentless for the majority of the match. Most Hoosiers were hounded immediately when receiving the ball, forcing numerous turnovers and giveaways.
This was how the second half of the match began, and only six minutes in, the Buckeyes regained the lead from a header by graduate defender Siggi Magnusson. The resulting 20 minutes seemed sluggish, sloppy and soggy for both teams as the rain returned in a frenzy and the score remained 2-1.
Looking to his bench, Yeagley turned to dependable freshman forward Michael Nesci to replace redshirt sophomore Seth Stewart. The change brought five attackers into the match, signifying Indiana’s need for a goal in the final 15 minutes.
“We just put more people up the field and really said, ‘Patty (McDonald) you hold, get our wing backs forward and see what we can create from that,’” Yeagley said.
What Indiana managed to create from the tactical adjustment was something it has lacked all season — goals.
A shot from Sarver began the madness. His effort immediately found a Buckeye body, but the ricochet landed at the feet of Mihalic, who tucked away the chance for the final goal of the night.
It was anything but beautiful. But for Yeagley, who has said he felt his team had yet to find a lucky bounce, it didn’t matter.
“You can’t draw those up,” Yeagley said. “You just kind of keep putting those balls in those spots, make plays and we were able to do that.”
Mihalic’s goal extends his team-leading mark to five, which tallies over half of Indiana’s total for the year. Following a season which featured only two goals, Mihalic’s play has been a key factor in the Hoosiers’ limited success through three games in the Big Ten.
“It’s great to see Tommy having success because last year was a tough year on him,” Yeagley said. “We stayed with him. We played Tommy a lot of minutes, and we kept believing that he could help us.”
Just as the rain came and went in Columbus, Indiana’s draw regained its momentum — if only slightly. A road contest against No. 8 Wisconsin on Oct. 1 will once again test the Hoosiers, but for now, Yeagley can appreciate what his team accomplished against a top five opponent.
“We needed a result,” Yeagley said. “I mean, it wouldn’t have set us back, like the season would be at a crippling stage, but to get a point against a very good team that’s going to be in the upper tier of the Big Ten is important on the road.”
Follow reporters Matt Press (@MattPress23) and Mateo Fuentes-Rohwer (@mateo_frohwer) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s soccer season.
