Indiana University men’s soccer beats Saint Louis 1-0; Will play in Sweet 16 next Sunday

IU Athletics shared the following:

Wittenbrink Winner Sends IU to Eighth Straight Sweet 16

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana men’s soccer is the only program to reach the third round of the NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship in each of the last eight seasons.

The Hoosiers (11-4-6, 3-1-4 B1G) earned a 1-0 shutout win over Saint Louis (12-5-3, 6-1-1 A-10) thanks to a 75th-minute strike from redshirt senior Ryan Wittenbrink Sunday (Nov. 20) on Jerry Yeagley Field at Bill Armstrong Stadium.

With the second-round win, IU will host Marshall in a third-round matchup next weekend in Bloomington for a rematch of the 2020 NCAA College Cup final.

KEY MOMENTS

• 11’ – Indiana had its best chance of the first half from an early corner as the ball came inside the six-yard box to redshirt senior Daniel Munie. Munie tried a shot across his body, but SLU senior goalkeeper Carlos Tofern got right in front of it and deflected it out to freshman midfielder Jack Wagoner, who put an attempt wide.

• 14’ – Three minutes later, the Billikens had perhaps their best try as a shot from distance looked headed into goal before junior defender Joey Maher put his foot in front of it.

• 60’ – Great link up play gave SLU senior midfielder John Klein space in the box, but he fired his shot high and wide.

• 75’ – Like he’s done on many occasions this season, Wittenbrink dribbled in from the left wing, cut on his right foot, found an angle and fired a shot into the far corner to break the stalemate.

NOTABLES

• Indiana advances to the NCAA Tournament Third Round for an eighth straight year. The Hoosiers shared the streak with Wake Forest coming into the campaign, but the Demon Deacons lost in the first round of the tournament to end their run at seven consecutive seasons.

• IU moved to 8-3-1 at Bill Armstrong Stadium this season while earning their sixth clean sheet at home.

• The Hoosiers have seven straight wins over Saint Louis and improved to 5-0 all-time in tournament matches against SLU, all of which have been played in Bloomington. Indiana owns a 24-9-4 overall record in the all-time series.

• Indiana expanded its NCAA record for tournament victories, winning No. 98 on Sunday.

• Of its 47 appearances in the NCAA Tournament, Indiana has won at least one match in 39 of those.

• The Hoosiers are 5-3-1 against ranked opponents. The Billikens came in ranked as high as No. 20 in the United Soccer Coaches poll.

• With his game-winning score, Wittenbrink has recorded a goal contribution in each of his last six matches (three goals, three assists). The redshirt senior leads the team in goals (9), assists (8) and points (26) and tallied his fifth game-winning goal this season which leads the Big Ten and sits tied for third nationally. 

UP NEXT

Indiana will host Marshall next weekend in the round of 16. More information will be announced soon.

#GoIU