As the mellow sunset drifted away over Armstrong Stadium, the Indiana Women’s Soccer team defeated in-state rival Indiana State by a score of 3-1 on Wednesday, improving their record to 5-2-1 for the year.
The Hoosiers scored first as Lisa Nouanesengsy hit a cross from the right side of the box into the center of the net from six yards. The Hoosiers amassed thirteen shots in the first half, seven of them on goal, and played stifling defense; the Sycamores got their first shot of the match in the last minute of the half.
“We dominated the first half in every category except goals,” said Indiana Head Coach Mick Lyon. “We created a very good number of chances for ourselves.
The Sycamore’s scored right off the bat in the second period, as Aubrie Musselman of Indiana State headed a cross to knot the score at one.
“With them coming out [of halftime] down one, their going to come out and push you,” Lyon said. “I felt like the first ten to fifteen minutes we weren’t as focused as we needed to be.”
The apparent lack of focus led to only one shot on goal in the first fifteen minutes of the second period for Indiana.
Lyon explained, “Sometimes when you’re playing so well and creating lots of chances for yourself, players then start thinking, ‘well let’s start doing something different,’ when we should keep doing what we’ve been doing.”
Indiana scored in the 76th minute to break the tie, scoring on a rebound in front of the goal. Awarded a corner kick after Indiana State was handed a yellow card, Jessie Bujouves scored on the third attempt inside of the penalty box. Indiana State’s goalkeeper, freshman Erin Mitchell, blocked the first two shots by Indiana players, but failed to block Bujouves’ shot.
The Hoosiers controlled the ball for the rest of the period, capping the game off with a made penalty kick by Orianica Velasquez. The victory over the Sycamores was the Hoosiers’ last non-conference game of the season. Conference play begins this weekend, as the Hoosiers face off against the Michigan Wolverines in Ann Arbor. Head Coach Mick Lyon believes his players are ready for Big Ten play.
“I’m excited about the Big Ten, and it will be a tough start against Michigan,” Lyon said. “Right now I think our offense is firing with multiple weapons. I also think our defense has really grown over the last few weeks as well.”
The Hoosiers backed up Lyon’s beliefs, attempting a total of twenty one shots while holding the Sycamores to a mere five. Wednesday’s game was a good indicator of what the Hoosiers have to do to be successful this year. Maintaining focus is the Hoosiers’ key for success, as well as offensive and defensive prowess that will culminate in conference wins.
