No. 5 Indiana men’s soccer defeats No. 22 California 2-1
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (Via University of Indiana) – The No. 5-ranked Indiana men’s soccer team scored a pair of second half goals to beat No. 22-ranked California, 2-1, in the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic on Friday night in front of a crowd of 4,007 at Jerry Yeagley Field at Bill Armstrong Stadium.
With the victory, the Hoosiers improve to 3-0-0 on the season for the first time since 2012, while the Golden Bears fall to 1-1-1 on the season.
Rashad Hyacenth scored the game-winning goal for the Hoosiers, while Trevor Swartz tied the match with his goal in the 76th minute. Hyacenth, Richard Ballard, Tanner Thompson and Andrew Gutman all recorded assists for IU in the victory.
“I thought it was a great job and a pretty comprehensive performance for the 90 minutes,” IU head coach Todd Yeagley remarked. “We felt the goals were going to come, and after the unfortunate deflection goal for Cal, we stayed poised and stayed focused. It’s another step forward. We beat a good, quality team that’s going to be in the tournament so this will help us move forward in the year.”
After controlling the Golden Bears for most of the first half, Cal got a fortunate deflection on a shot from distance to take a 1-0 lead in to the break. Off a corner kick, the IU defense cleared the ball away, but Cal’s Nick Lima cracked a shot from 30 yards out, deflecting off a player in to the corner of the goal.
In the first 45 minutes, the Hoosiers out-shot the Golden Bears, 9-7, with each team getting three shots on goal. IU had seven corners in the first frame to just two for Cal.
With California sitting back in defense with a 1-0 lead, the Hoosiers offense continued to fire away at the Golden Bears. Finally, in the 76th minute, IU found the equalizer.
Working on the left side, Ballard sent a cross to the far side, finding Hyacenth, who headed the ball to Swartz at the top left of the six-yard box. Swartz turned and finished across his body with his right foot, beating the Cal goalkeeper to the far post for his first goal of the season, tying the match at 1-1.
Just under three minutes later, the Hoosiers found the game-winner.
Again working on the left side of the pitch, Gutman played a great pass to put Thompson in space to the left of the 18-yard box. Thompson, the reigning Top Drawer Soccer National Player of the Week, sent a tremendous cross to Hyacenth, who finished with a header from four-yards out, netting it to the far right post. Hyacenth’s first goal of the season gave IU it’s winning margin of 2-1.
For the match, IU out-shot the Golden Bears, 22-8, getting eight shots on goal to just three for California. The Hoosiers also held a 11-3 advantage in corner kicks for the game.
The No. 5 Indiana Hoosiers will host the 2015 and No. 5-ranked Stanford Cardinal on Sunday, Sept. 4 in the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic on Sunday. Kickoff at Jerry Yeagley Field at Bill Armstrong Stadium is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.
The first 1,000 fans to Sunday’s match will receive Hoosier Army Banger Styx. After the match, there will be fireworks at Armstrong Stadium. Prior to IU’s game, the No. 4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish will face the No. 22 California Golden Bears.
