No. 7 Indiana men’s soccer had a game plan to follow — and the execution was nearly perfect.
The Hoosiers faced one of their toughest opponents yet with No. 14 Oregon State University coming to Bloomington for the second and final game of the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic. Unlike some of its other games this season, Indiana had tape to run through.
What head coach Todd Yeagley and his staff found was the Beavers were a possession team — a side that bullied their opponents.
Indiana didn’t plan on doing that.
The Hoosiers completely flipped the script, dominating the first half and securing a 2-0 win Sunday at Bill Armstrong Stadium in Bloomington.
“I think we have a little more, but that’s really good,” Yeagley said postgame about the first 45 minutes. “So, what I’ve seen of this team in training, and, you know, whether it’s exhibition — that’s the ‘A’ range that we want to be at.”
But Sunday, the Hoosiers were frenetic from the opening whistle, pressing the possession-oriented Beavers and causing havoc.
The chances immediately arrived, with junior forward Collins Oduro winning a ball from Oregon State’s back line in the first minute and producing a cross that had to be cleared for a corner kick. Barely over 10 minutes later, senior forward Palmer Ault chested a ball from outside the box and rifled the half-volley just over the crossbar.
All the while, the Hoosiers limited the Beavers’ time with the ball by maximizing their own possession. With that came chances, which kept pressure on Oregon State, although Indiana failed to convert any of them from open play.
“Really didn’t give them a whole lot,” Ault said. “And it was only 1-0, we could have had a few more to go into the half, but ultimately, a great performance.”
The elusive goal eventually came in the 17th minute. Ault, who already had two goals and an assist entering Sunday, tucked away a penalty for the Hoosiers following a Beavers hand ball, marking the first time Indiana had led in the first half this season.
With the one-goal advantage, Indiana didn’t stay complacent — and the opportunities kept coming.
A sequence of three exquisite chances presented an opportunity for the Hoosiers to double their lead, but the score stayed 1-0.
Sophomore forward Michael Nesci, fresh off his first goal of the season against Green Bay on Thursday, unleashed a rocket from outside the box with his non-dominant left foot. Sophomore goalkeeper John Nicolson ultimately parried the chance away, but Indiana stayed on the attack with another opportunity through junior left back Alex Barger just 26 seconds later, with his deflected effort nearly finding the bottom corner of the net.
The ensuing corner produced another chance for Indiana, as Barger’s looping ball found Easton Bogard’s head. The sophomore forward attempted to play a header back into the middle of the box, but Nicolson batted the ball away, and redshirt junior defender Breckin Minzey’s shot on the rebound sailed over the bar.
Missed chances might have cost Indiana in any other game. But stout defending and purposeful possession kept the Beavers at an arm’s length from the Hoosiers for most of the match, with the Cream and Crimson entering the halftime break up 1-0 while holding a 12-1 advantage in shots.
“We did everything; they couldn’t do a thing,” Yeagley said. “I thought it could have been multiple goals in that first half.”
The next goal struck only 54 seconds into the second half, as Ault tucked home a volley from a Nesci cross, giving Indiana a two-goal lead.
From that point on, the momentum flipped. Indiana stayed firm, not allowing a goal for the remainder of the match, but Oregon State led 16-1 in shots, forcing four key saves from graduate student goalkeeper Holden Brown.
Indiana’s loss of control wasn’t due to poor play, as Yeagley acknowledged, but rather an uptick in Oregon State’s quality — a side Yeagley believes could make a deep run in the tournament.
“We were kind of in between, and that’s where you don’t want to be against a team that has a couple of special guys,” Yeagley said. “So, we kind of started to pull the line back a little, but then we went into a late game shape just to kind of kill space, and you’re gonna absorb a little bit.”
In the end, Indiana absorbed all of Oregon State’s pressure, securing the dominant 2-0 win over a top 15 opponent. With two more non-conference matches left before Big Ten play, including a road bout against the University of Notre Dame, the Hoosiers sit in a good spot at 3-0-1.
Yeagley is pleased with his side’s performances so far, despite the first 20 minutes against San Francisco which he found to be “average,” and the end goal of trophies and success is still very much in sight.
But the players also understand they aren’t there yet — and more work still needs to be done.
“It’s been far from perfect,” Ault said, “but at the end of the day, we’re all about getting results, and that’s we’ve done so far.”
Follow reporters Elakai Anela (elakai_anela and eanela@iu.edu) and Mateo Fuentes-Rohwer (@mateo_frohwer and matfuent@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s soccer season.