From kickoff to the final whistle, UCLA attacked Indiana on every inch of the pitch. The Hoosiers dropped their second consecutive conference match with a 1-0 loss Thursday night where head coach Erwin Van Bennekom received a red card at the final buzzer.
In the middle of the first half, it even seemed as though the Bruins had more players on the pitch, but it was just every player being aggressive on the ball and looking to make something happen. It was a high-energy pace from start to finish where the Hoosiers ultimately looked gassed while the Bruins looked fueled up.
Senior goalkeeper Jamie Gerstenberg saw too much action between the pipes and was making leaping saves after diving safe constantly on the Bruins’ 11 shots. Gerstenberg, last season’s Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year, finished the night with five saves and one big leaping save coming in the first half where she almost hit her head on the middle goal post.
In the 28th minute, UCLA junior midfielder Sofia Cook fired a rocket shot a yard outside of the 18-yard box to go over six Hoosiers and Gerstenberg’s head to find the top left of the net. Cook’s goal gave the Bruins another supply of fuel and a loss of more steam for Indiana.
Throughout the game, Indiana lost nearly every 50/50 ball and each touch by the Hoosiers was too heavy and found the feet of a white jersey afterward. The Indiana defensive backline got frustrated with the amount of through balls that UCLA created. Senior defender Lauren Costello received a yellow card in the 33rd minute for shoving on a Bruins fast break.
The end of the first half showed the control that UCLA held. As they were leading 8-2 in shots, 6-1 shots on goal- and 5-0 on corners.
Disconnection with one another on the pitch was the kryptonite for Indiana as it was switching formation on the pitch multiple times. Yet the changes still didn’t work to its advantage on offense, as Van Bennekom tried to make their lineup more defensive heavy.
“First half we wanted to go man to man centrally and then second half a little bit of a zone and trying to get the ball encountered from the half,” Van Bennekom said. “I think that worked in the second half really well and we got some good pressure and some good momentum.”
Campbell’s first real save was at the beginning of the second half, when Indiana sophomore midfielder Elle Britt had an opportunity on goal. Another shot on goal off a set piece by the Hoosiers followed moments after but graduate student defender Avery Snead’s shot was far right.
While Indiana's defense is normally in elite shape, it was the Bruins’ defense that stole the show. Each time the Bruins went down the other end of the pitch, the Hoosiers defense got lucky and grateful to have Gerstenberg on the finale of their line.
Throughout the rest of the second half, the Hoosiers had more opportunities on goal but could not find the back of the net or a miscommunication prevented them from getting on the scoreboard.
UCLA sophomore forward Taylor Cheatham got by Gerstenberg after an attempted diving save, and it looked like she was going to give the Bruins a 2-0 lead. However, her shot on goal went far right.
In the final 10 minutes, Indiana had no sense of urgency despite being down by only one goal. In the 90th minute, Van Bennekom exchanged words with the sideline referee, resulting in a red card for abusive language. As a result of the card, Bennekom will serve a one-game suspension against USC.
It doesn’t get any easier for Indiana, as they will host No. 25 USC at noon Sunday at Bill Armstrong Stadium and look to earn their first Big Ten win of the season.
Follow reporters Sam Elster (@samelster1) and Matt Rudella (@mattrudellaIDS) for updates throughout the Indiana women’s soccer season.
