The #2-ranked Indiana Hoosiers hosted the reigning national champion Washington Huskies today in their Big Ten home opener. Both teams entered the match having won their Big Ten season openers in what has been the most highly anticipated match of the Hoosiers’ season.
The Huskies came into Bloomington with one of the most prolific scoring offenses in the Big Ten. Zach Ramsey, the NCAA goal-scoring leader with 11 goals, heads into this game commanding this offensive attack for Washington. The Hoosier defense has its toughest matchup so far this season.
The game opened with Washington on the attack early. The Huskies had multiple opportunities to score early, but Michael Mroz had 2 saves. The IU offense struggled early. By the 15th minute, they did not have a single shot in the game. However, just 1 minute later, Stephane Njike made a beautiful pass to Easton Bogard to break the tie.
“Steph had a good ball in… and made it pretty easy for me to score” Bogard said after scoring his 4th goal of the season.
After that, the Hoosiers continued to control possession. In the 28th minute, Stephane Njike nearly scored after making a great steal and drawing Washington goalkeeper Stockton Short out, but Njike’s chip shot went long. The rest of the first half was back-and-forth between the two sides, with the only big play being a Michael Mroz save on a Ryan Lewis shot. IU would hold their 1-0 lead into halftime.
The second half opened with a lot of action, but neither team could capitalize on their opportunities. Michael Mroz kept racking up saves, and Zach Ramsey threw his name into the mix. His first shot attempt was spoiled by the Hoosiers’ defense, but after taking 0 shots in the first half, it was nice to see the Huskies involving him more. Washington tightened up their defense in the 2nd half as they stopped the Hoosiers on multiple scoring attempts. In the 65th minute, Washington defender Zach Meier and Indiana defender Nolan Kinsella found themselves picking up yellow cards after a heated exchange during a dead ball. The 2nd half continued with exciting soccer. Both defenses really shone this half. Indiana defender Alex Barger kept energy high with some great defensive plays. In the 80th minute, Michael Mroz once again made a clutch save in what could have been the Washington equalizer. The final 10 minutes of the game remained the same. Washington kept the pressure on and couldn’t break away until the 88th minute, when Zach Ramsey took a shot and nearly scored the equalizer but missed the shot left. Indiana defeats Washington 1-0, a great defensive showing for the Hoosiers and their best win of the year.
Indiana, now 7-0-1, will head to Madison to face the Wisconsin Badgers on Tuesday.
