Indiana Soccer Upsets No. 19 Penn State 2-1 With Sam Sarver, Hugo Bacharach Combo

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. Leading scorer Samuel Sarver added two more goals, assisted by newly-placed midfielder Hugo Bacharach, who normally starts on the backline.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Heading into Saturday afternoon, the prospering defenses for Indiana soccer and No. 19 Penn State were without question. Though separated by five points in the conference standings, both programs were tied for the fewest goals allowed.

The question was, could Indiana’s attack keep up?

The Nittany Lions had more than doubled Indiana’s goal output so far this season. The Hoosiers, however, were close to finding the net in their scoreless draw to Michigan two matches ago, and even nearer to the go-ahead goal in their 1-1 draw to Kentucky Tuesday.

But on Saturday, Indiana’s leading scorer, Samuel Sarver, scored two more goals, and newly-appointed midfielder Hugo Bacharach assisted both times to beat No. 19 Penn State 2-1. The much-needed road victory marked Indiana's first Big Ten win this season and bolstered Indiana’s postseason résumé. The Hoosiers jumped to No. 58 in the RPI, and leaped to fourth in points in the Big Ten standings.

“As we get near the middle of the season, the margins get tighter,” Indiana head coach Todd Yeagley said postmatch. “If we don't get three points today, the task of climbing back up the ladder in the conference, would be just bigger; just puts more pressure on. I really liked the way the guys played, but they were very present. I mean, I thought they played loose.”

Indiana’s backline didn’t allow any shots in the first 20 minutes, while the attack strained Penn State’s backline. Though the Hoosiers missed one of their shots in the box in the 20th minute, the same sequence recurred in the next minute to provide another chance. In the 21st minute, Bacharach swiped the ball at midfield, and delivered an outstanding through-ball to Sam Sarver. The pass perfectly split the defense, as Sarver bluffed the shot and tapped in the goal.

“We've been working on on breakaways and also little angles for [Sarver] to be a little bit more composed,” Yeagley said. “Because he's getting one-versus the keepers at different angles this year. And that one, it's not easy … He's converted a couple, he hasn't. [Kris] Shakes is a really good keeper. You have to disguise it well, and he did. He really opened his hips up.”

Shakes took out Sarver’s legs in the box in the 33rd minute, going for ball. The penalty-kick call stood following the review, but Shakes won the second duel by guessing the right way, and saving Sarver’s shot. Fewer than 60 seconds later, Indiana defender Joey Maher and goalie JT Harms bunched together in their own box and miscommunicated. Harms mishit the clear, and Penn State’s leading goal-scorer, Peter Mangione, tapped in the equalizer in an unexpected swing of events.

Yet, it was the lone mistake for the Indiana’s backline of the afternoon. Besides, fewer than 90 seconds after the break, the 6-foot-4 Bacharach won the ball at midfield, pushed one defender aside, dribbled past two others, and found Sarver on the side of the 18. Sarver cut back and nailed his fifth goal of the season in the top right corner past the frozen Shakes. Indiana went up 2-1 and didn’t relinquish its lead again, surviving late desperation by Penn State, which sent many numbers forward.

Two Nittany Lions missed their teammate’s low cross in the six-yard box with four minutes remaining. In the next minute, Harms made up for his first-half error by catching Matthew Henderson’s point-blank header. At the buzzer, most of Indiana’s players fell down due to exhaustion, including the two-assist Bacharach. Maher was thrilled, jumping up and down.

“They’re such a confident group,” Yeagley said. “If you take away these ties. They're not questioning themselves and knew what we could do. It's just getting over the hump… And obviously, the loss at Michigan State was tough. That's late scenario. But more than that, it was those ties, just kind of felt like we ran out of time. Good news today, we got it done. The clock ticked for us. We managed the game pretty well late. It’s a good three points for us.”

Indiana improved to 4-3-4 overall, and 1-1-2 in the Big Ten with the 2-1 road victory. Up next, the Hoosiers will pause from conference play and face Evansville at home Wednesday night. 

Related stories on Indiana Soccer:

• INDIANA DRAWS 1-1 WITH KENTUCKY: Veteran Karsen Henderlong started as the target man for the first time this season and scored 12 minutes into the match, but Indiana eventually settled for another draw, 1-1. CLICK HERE
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• 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