Indiana women’s soccer got a taste of its own medicine early in Sunday’s match against Brown University.
The Bears got to work on the Hoosiers fast and caught them off guard. It began in the seventh minute when a miscommunication between senior goalkeeper Jamie Gerstenberg and graduate defender Avery Snead led to a goal by Brown. The 1-0 deficit the Hoosiers faced was the first time they had been down all season.
Indiana head coach Erwin Van Bennekom knew it was going to be a challenging matchup in Providence. After the Hoosiers’ 6-0 win against Wright State University, Van Bennekom said he wants his team to fix some things on the field since they were facing a strong Brown team next.
Once the Bears got one past the Hoosiers’ defensive line, Indiana seemed lost on the pitch, as if the confidence got knocked out of them. Brown controlled possession for the majority of the first half while Indiana struggled offensively.
Sophomore midfielder Elle Britt made her debut in the starting lineup. Britt was the first Hoosier in the second half to attack the goal but was blocked by a Brown defender. After Britt’s attempts to score, the Indiana attack ignited a performance that made the offense look like an entire new team compared to the first half.
Then, in the 55th minute, the Hoosiers put a slow roller by junior midfielder Olivia Rush into the back of the net. Senior defender Lauren Costello’s long throw-in made its way through traffic in the 18-yard box to find Snead, who then saw Rush open on the left corner of the box. Rush put the equalizer into the left corner of the net through two Brown defenders.
After the goal by Rush, Indiana continued to dominate with many shots on goal but none getting past Bears goalkeeper Bella Scopp.
The final 15 minutes of the game were hectic with both teams eager to get a shot on goal before the other. Brown had multiple strong attacks on goal, but Gerstenberg stayed strong in between the pipes.
With just under two minutes remaining in the game, Brown had an opportunity to score on an open net due to Gerstenberg coming out of the 6-yard box to attack. However, freshman defender Haden Vlcek made a fantastic hustle play to cover the net as she laid out and saved a go-ahead goal. As a result from the save she appeared to hit her knee area on the side goal post, she then was down with an injury and subbed out of the game.
Then, Indiana found another opportunity to attack when sophomore midfielder Kennedy Neighbors went down but was called for a foul that Van Bennekom disagreed with.
Throughout the game, Van Bennekom was vocal on the sidelines and appeared to be arguing with the referees on multiple occasions. But it was after the foul call on Neighbors the referees decided they had seen enough from Van Bennekom and gave him a yellow card. It was the one and only yellow card given out.
The final whistle blew, and Indiana came out of the thrilling second half without a defeat, but instead left Providence, Rhode Island, with a draw.
Despite the slow start for the Hoosiers, they ended leading in total shots (13-9) and shots on goal (8-5). Gerstenberg had four saves on the night.
Indiana (3-0-1) will host the University of Evansville (1-1-0) at 8 p.m., Thursday, at Bill Armstrong Stadium in Bloomington. The Hoosiers look to bounce back in the win column as they have two games remaining before conference play begins.
Follow reporters Sam Elster (@samelster1) and Matt Rudella (@mattrudellaIDS) for updates throughout the Indiana women’s soccer season.
