By: Andrew Price
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - “When we can play our game, it’s just really hard to get the ball from us.”
Indiana Head Coach Kayla Bashore had that to say after a decisive 4-0 victory on Friday afternoon against the New Hampshire Wildcats. It was a sweltering afternoon in Bloomington, Indiana, as two winless teams battled for their first victory of the season.
It was the Hoosiers who came out firing early. In the first quarter, Indiana generated multiple shots on goal while preventing New Hampshire from gaining solid possession. With 10 minutes remaining in the first quarter, Indiana’s Celia Arroyo Cabezudo found the back of the net, giving IU a 1-0 lead. Cabezudo struck again just two minutes later, scoring her third goal of the season off an assist from sophomore Molly Stutte.
Indiana’s offensive pressure continued into the second quarter, with the Hoosiers generating chance after chance before breaking through again midway through the period. This time, Freshman Augustina Gamonal was the one to score. From just inside the shooting circle, she spun, shook off a defender, and laced a low shot. The ball glanced off the goalkeeper’s left shin pad and into the top of the net for Gamonal’s first career goal.
The rest of the game was much the same, with Indiana dominating possession and constantly pressuring the Wildcats with five corners and 13 shots total in just the second half alone. The heat and Indiana’s defense were suffocating New Hampshire, who only mustered one shot on goal and one corner over the course of the entire game.
In the closing seconds, Stutte drove home one final goal from the top of the shooting circle. Her goal put the finishing touches on a much-needed win for the Hoosiers. After two hard-fought losses against ranked opponents to start the season, Indiana broke into the win column Friday afternoon, giving Bashore her 50th victory as the Hoosiers’ head coach.
Indiana will look to build on its first win of the season on Monday when it hosts Central Michigan. The game will start at 12 p.m. at Deborah Tobias Field.
