Indiana Soccer Blanks Evansville 2-0 After Hour-Long Delay

Taking a break from Big Ten play, Indiana beat Evansville 2-0 at home Wednesday night. The match was delayed an hour in the second half due to lightning. By the time play resumed, the Hoosiers were already up two goals and didn't concede in the last 30 minutes.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — In an abandoned stadium, Indiana soccer started its first winning streak.

Following an hour-long lightning delay, which halted play in the 60th minute, the Hoosiers eventually blanked non-conference foe Evansville 2-0 Wednesday night at Bill Armstrong Stadium. 

Indiana's Patrick McDonald opened the scoring in the sixth minute, and Karsen Henderlong added to the lead in the 26th. From there, the backline held strong for another shutout.

In seven home matches this season, the Hoosiers boast six clean sheets. On Wednesday, Indiana out-shot the Purple Aces 7-0 in shots on target, as Hoosier goalkeeper JT Harms wasn’t required to make any saves. Following the delay, the Hoosiers almost tacked on another goal via substitute Maouloune Goumballe. However, Evansville keeper Aidan Montoure made an outstanding save.

“Another good performance,” Indiana head coach Todd Yeagley said. “Early goals that probably felt best putting a little less pressure in that second period. Played very well in the last 30 [minutes] ... Wins are good right now and scoring goals. We're still doing a great job not giving teams a lot of looks … Probably still should’ve had at least one more on the night, but two’s plenty.”

Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week Samuel Sarver continued his strong play. In the sixth minute, he evaded an Evansville defender’s slide tackle down the wing, and crossed to find an open McDonald in the box. The midfielder used his non-dominant right leg to poke in his first goal this season, which would’ve gone in regardless of the deflection.

“It feels great,” McDonald said. “Been waiting for it all year. Had a good amount of chances in the final third all season, so to finally put one in the back of the net feels good, especially with the win.”

In the 26th minute, center back Jansen Miller’s lengthy run into the attacking third manufactured the second goal. Miller’s move shook his defender, passing to an open Sarver on the wing. Again, the forward crossed into the box. Although McDonald whiffed the half-volley, Collins Oduro poked the loose ball away from Montoure and right to the isolated Henderlong, who was left with a point-blank tap-in.

The first 45 minutes of play was textbook for Indiana, nearly starving Evansville of any shots. The Purple Aces threatened in the last five minutes of the first half, but that was all. As the drizzle abruptly turned into pouring rain and lightning 15 minutes into the second half, the moderate crowd cleared the stadium. 

Indiana’s players retreated to their locker room inside the adjacent Jerry F. Tardy Center. Delays surely favor the Hoosiers at home.

“TVs were on, they were getting snacks,” Yeagley revealed. “They were hanging out in the turf room rolling out. Just chit-chatting, having some good laughs. We obviously were kind of floating around chatting about different tactical things with the group. The Tardy Center is a game changer for this scenario because there's just a lot of space and guys get what they need and trainers right there.”

And what about the team’s preferred snack?

“The beef jerky goes really quick,” Yeagley said. “I think some of those maybe get stuck in the bag; they don't actually eat it on the site. I'm always watching the beef jerky disappear pretty quick and also they’re pricey. The staff likes the beef jerky, too. Sometimes I'm looking for it. If I find it, I'm disappointed.”

Back to tactics.

Natural defender Hugo Bacharach started in the midfield for the second consecutive match. He had both assists in Indiana’s prior win at then-No. 19 Penn State on Saturday. McDonald likes the adjustment, as Bacharach is 6-foot-4 and provides an excellent aerial presence at the central portion of the field. Yeagley said he plans to likely keep Bacharach in the midfield moving forward.

With the 2-0 victory, the Hoosiers have won back-to-back matches for the first time this season and improved to 5-3-4. The team’s schedule continues Sunday, hosting Ohio State at Noon ET to resume conference play. Like Wednesday, Sunday’s match will air on Big Ten-plus. 

Related stories on Indiana Soccer:

• SAM SARVER NAMED B1G OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Sarver was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week Tuesday, following his two-goal afternoon in the team's 2-1 victory at No. 19 Penn State. CLICK HERE
• SEASON OUTLOOK: BACHARACH'S PLACEMENT IN THE MIDFIELD: Defender Hugo Bacharach, starting in the midfield for the first time this season, had two assists Saturday. Bacharach commanded the space; this could be the answer. CLICK HERE
• INDIANA BEATS NO. 19 PENN STATE 2-1 ON THE ROAD: Indiana faced Penn State on the road Saturday at Noon ET, winning 2-1 to leap in the RPI and gain points for the Big Ten title hunt. A recap from Happy Valley: CLICK HERE
• INDIANA ATHLETICS INDUCTS SIX NEW MEMBERS: Former Indiana men's soccer player Aleksey Korol was part of the six-member class of 2023 last Friday night to be inducted into the IU Athletics Hall of Fame. CLICK HERE
• JT HARMS FEATURE: JT Harms dove into goalkeeping at 9 years old. He trained with far older players at academies, but his progress stalled at Duke. At Indiana, a position battle brought humility — and confidence. CLICK HERE