No. 2 Indiana men’s soccer entered Friday night unbeaten through its first 12 matches, and they certainly didn’t take long to ensure Hanover wouldn’t be the team to spoil the fun.
Behind an astonishing four goals from senior forward Collins Oduro and a whopping six first-half goals, Indiana rolled past Hanover 7-0 at Bill Armstrong Stadium. The Hoosiers moved to 11-0-2 and extended the unbeaten streak to 13, while ending with a perfect 10-0 nonconference record.
Indiana wasted no time in this one. Just 90 seconds in, senior Bennett Painter got the party started, scoring off an assist by graduate Grant Paskus. Just five minutes later, senior Oliver Moller-Jensen found freshman Clay Murador in the box to double Indiana’s lead. Then, the speedy Oduro flipped this game upside down faster than a cheetah hunting down its prey.
Moller-Jensen picked up his second assist when Oduro scored his first goal in the 14th minute, putting Indiana up 3-0. Just 1:45 later, Moller-Jensen wanted to add to the senior goal tally on the night with an absolute screamer from outside the 18-yard box. This marked Moller-Jensen’s 10th goal of the season and added to his stellar performance in his first year with Indiana.
Indiana wouldn’t take their foot off the gas pedal; they pressed down on it even harder. Oduro struck again in the 36th minute off an assist from sophomore Jacopo Fedrizzi. But as it was announced that Oduro scored his second goal, the duo of Fedrizzi and Oduro connected again for Oduro’s third. This completed his first-half hat trick and sent Indiana to the locker room holding a 6-0 lead.
The numbers on the box score reflected the lopsided first half. Indiana attempted 19 shots in the opening 45 minutes while denying Hanover any chance to bolster up a single shot. Hanover goalkeeper Dugan Webster made five saves in the period, but Indiana’s smothering pressure proved too much.
With the match surely out of reach, Indiana slowed down its pace and turned to its bench. Hanover finally put up its lone shot late in the second half, but it would be an easy save for Indiana keeper AJ Piela.
Oduro eventually put the finishing touch on a career night in the 82nd minute when freshman Owen Sloan found the speedster, who buried his fourth on the night to cap Indiana’s goal total at seven.
The four-goal showing made Odureo the first Hoosier to score four times in a match since Ken Snow against Harvard back in 1989.
For coach Todd Yeagley’s side, this team is ready for more, and he certainly wasn’t sugarcoating how far this team can go after the match.
“The guys are hungry,” Yeagley said postgame. “There’s still nothing we have put in the case this year. “They want some hardware.”
Most importantly for Indiana, their unbeaten run survives another night, and this one was never in doubt.
Indiana will re-enter Big Ten play on Oct. 16 when it travels to Piscataway, New Jersey, to take on Rutgers.
