Before embarking on its first-ever west coast trip after the expansion of the Big Ten, Indiana women’s soccer remained scoreless in a 0-3 start to conference play Sept. 12 against No. 11 Ohio State. However, the start of the trip to the new Big Ten members kicked off with a 3-1 win against Oregon on Sept. 26 and ended with a 1-0 loss to Washington on Sunday.
Compared to its previous games, Indiana looked calmer on offense this weekend. The Hoosiers let the game come to them by being patient and avoided previous habits of fast-paced chaos, which, in turn, gave them the ability to control the ball and put up a lot of shots. Rather than constantly playing on the ball and always running full speed, the Hoosiers stayed calm and collected. Similarly, the Indiana defensive line was strong and held both teams' offenses to 16 shots on the weekend.
Indiana’s offense dominated Oregon, taking 22 shots, six of them on goal. Sophomore midfielder Elle Britt led the team with seven. The three Indiana goals were assisted by senior midfielder Sydney Masur, freshman forward Layla Sirdah and freshman midfielder Maggie Ledwith. A signature part of the Hoosiers’ offense was their set pieces that lead to goal-scoring opportunities. They used that successfully in their first two goals against the Ducks.
The first one resulted from a free kick where Sirdah sent a lofted ball to the far 6-yard box toward graduate defender Avery Snead’s head to knock in the team’s first goal since Sept. 8. After the ball hit the back of the net, there were smiles on the face of the Hoosiers as the entire team celebrated. After the goal, Indiana controlled play for the rest of the first half.
Masur was just shy of inside the 6-yard box where she put up a nifty pass to sophomore midfielder Elle Britt in the first half.
While the third goal was not through a set piece, it was from a run made by freshman standout Sirdah. The Ducks turned over the ball on the Hoosiers side of the pitch, where Sirdah took it and ran.
She made a long run from just behind the midfield line, breaking away from any defenders while charging down the field to find Ducks junior goalkeeper Maddy Goldberg left defending the net. Sirdah finished the fast break with a chip over Goldberg’s head to find the back of the net, giving Indiana an insurance goal midway through the second half. Throughout the game, whether it was after goals or even after failed set pieces leading to corner kicks, the Hoosiers seemed refreshed, which was a different look compared to their past three games.
The Ducks’ lone goal came early in the second half from a penalty kick where senior goalkeeper Jamie Gerstenberg was called for elicited contact, putting Oregon on the board.
After the victory against the Ducks, the Hoosiers traveled to play against Washington. It was an extremely physical match on the pitch as the referee handed out seven cards throughout the game. It included a red card for the Hoosiers to senior midfielder Hope Paredes when she was handed her second yellow card of the game in the 62nd minute, forcing Indiana to play with 10 players.
Both teams were aggressive on the ball as there were 18 fouls called: 11 on Indiana and seven on Washington. But Indiana still did not look shaken up by the whistles, using their set pieces for scoring opportunities as they had three shots and one shot on goal. Washington had more scoring opportunities with 11 shots and seven shots on goal as Gerstenberg stayed strong between the pipes.
The Hoosier defensive line stayed strong against the Huskies, double teaming any ball close to the sideline and ensuring to get a foot on anything that entered the keeper’s box. At one point, senior defender Camille Hamm volleyed the ball while standing an inch away from the goal line to save a threatening Huskies’ shot on target.
Just when it looked like the Hoosiers were going to come away with a draw, Washington junior midfielder Kelsey Branson put a one-touch shot into the top corner of the net to take the lead in the 84th minute.
For the remaining six minutes, the Hoosiers could not find the ball into the back of the net. Despite the final score, Indiana put up a brutal fight with a player down, but the offense continued to struggle as they did prior to the road trip.
Indiana now has a week off to regroup and rest before traveling once again to Iowa to face the Hawkeyes at 2 p.m. on Oct. 6 at the Iowa Soccer Complex.
Follow reporters Sam Elster (@samelster1) and Matt Rudella (@mattrudellaIDS) for updates throughout the Indiana women’s soccer season.
