The bench players stood in their black warm-ups, some wearing red
beanies, waiting for the game to end and for the celebration to begin.
The Hoosiers (7-4-2) finally lived up to past legends and current
expectations as they defeated No. 9 Notre Dame 3-1 on Thursday.
Their first home victory since a 3-2 win against Big Ten foe Wisconsin
on Sept. 21 and first upset of the year, Thursday’s match marked a
turning point in the season.
Brushing off an away defeat to Michigan State last week, the Hoosiers
entered the match ready to start a winning streak. In a team meeting
this week after practice, the players and coaches discussed their
strengths and weaknesses.
“It’s a game that shows the players have a feeling what’s it like to
have to play a 90 minute game,” said IU coach Mike Freitag. “It’s a
feeling we’ve had in other games, but now we can’t forget it.”
One strength of the Hoosiers, depth, was forced into action in the game’s opening minutes.
Sophomore defender Rich Balchan had his nose broken in a tussle in the
sixth minute and left the game, Freitag said. Freshman Tommy Meyer took
his place for the remaining minutes.
In the 24th minute junior defender Kevin Alston rifled the ball from 25
yards out into the right corner for his second goal of the season.
“It was a rush,” Alston said. “I didn’t really expect it. It felt great.”
Three minutes later, senior forward Kevin Noschang hit the ball into the bottom left corner.
