Staff report
Bloomington, Indiana – October 12, 2023
Indiana men’s soccer secured their sixth clean sheet of the season with a 2-0 victory over Evansville on Wednesday, October 11th. The match was played at Jerry Yeagley Field at Bill Armstrong Stadium.
Indiana’s junior Patrick McDonald and senior Karsen Henderlong scored two goals during the first half of the game. The Hoosiers’ defense allowed Evansville just five shots, none of which forced a save.
The key moments of the match were as follows:
- In the 6th minute, junior Samuel Sarver, coming off a two-goal performance in Indiana’s last match, showcased his agility by getting past an opponent on the wing. He provided an assist to Patrick McDonald, who made no mistake, finding the back of the net from 10 yards out.
- Just two minutes later, Indiana came close to doubling their lead. Sarver won a corner, executed a quick one-two with Henderlong, and set up junior forward Tommy Mihalic, whose first-touch attempt was saved. The rebound fell to senior Hugo Bacharach, but he narrowly missed the target.
- In the 27th minute, Indiana extended their lead with a well-executed team goal. Senior defender Jansen Miller initiated the move by dribbling past two defenders and passing to Sarver on the right wing. Sarver’s cross found McDonald, whose shot was mistimed but fortuitously reached freshman forward Collins Oduro. Oduro flicked it to Henderlong, who hammered it into the back of the net.
- The match was temporarily paused in the 60th minute due to lightning in the area.
- In the 79th minute, senior Maouloune Goumballe had several goal-scoring opportunities, including a spectacular mid-air volley from a Sarver cross, but was denied by an outstanding diving save from Evansville’s senior goalkeeper Aiden Montoure.
Notable moments from the game included a lightning delay that began at 8:30 p.m. ET and lasted one hour and three minutes, with play resuming at 9:33 p.m.
The Hoosiers have now won 22 of their last 24 meetings with the Purple Aces, remaining undefeated in that stretch (22-0-2) since 1990. Indiana holds an impressive 33-4-4 all-time record against Evansville.
With this victory, Indiana extended their undefeated streak in in-state contests this season to 2-0-1, with Trine being their only remaining in-state opponent on October 27th. The Hoosiers have also begun the month of October with a strong 2-0-1 record.
This win marked Indiana’s sixth shutout of the season, improving their goals-against average 0.580. The team has conceded just one goal at home this season.
Patrick McDonald scored his first goal of the season and assisted Henderlong’s goal, while Samuel Sarver, the reigning Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week, continued his form with his third goal contribution in two matches.
Henderlong added to his recent success by scoring for the second time in three matches, having also recorded Indiana’s only goal in their game against Kentucky the previous week.
Looking ahead, Indiana will they kick off the second half of Big Ten Conference play on Sunday, October 15th, when they host Ohio State at Bill Armstrong Stadium.
