In a game of defensive grit and few real chances to score, it was the most impossible of shots that put No. 4 Indiana over the edge for a 1-0 victory over Michigan Sunday afternoon.
In the 67th minute, weaving around two defenders on the left side of the box, Indiana redshirt junior Spencer Glass knocked in a beauty of a shot off his left foot into the top-left corner of the goal from a near impossible angle.
“I’m kind of known to cross it, but they blocked that pretty nice,” Glass said. “I saw their goalie took one step left, and normally you kind of either got to put it bottom right or top left. I saw top left and luckily, I was fortunate enough to put it there."
The goal even came as a shock to Indiana head coach Todd Yeagley, who thought the ball went to the side netting.
“I’m glad we converted, I didn’t think it was a goal,” Yeagley said. “But he said he saw a little window and he’s technical enough to make that play.”
Prior to the goal, the game was very reminiscent of Wednesday’s match-up against No. 16 Kentucky, a physical match-up that saw both squads go scoreless.
That Wednesday match-up left the Hoosiers somewhat drained after two periods of overtime and a total 110 minutes of play against a ranked opponent.
Against Michigan, the game was chippy from kickoff with plenty of collisions and a total of 18 fouls on both sides. Two Hoosiers and two Wolverines earned yellow cards as well.
Indiana and Michigan totaled seven shots on goal, with the Hoosiers owning five of those chances. The intense wind added to the team’s struggles moving the ball.
Once Glass broke through with his goal, there was no looking back. Indiana owned the remainder of the half to secure an 8-1-3 record on the season.
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The goal was Glass’ second of the year with his first coming a week ago on the road at Penn State. The junior is starting to make up some ground on his total of five from a season ago.
Glass’ increased production as of late has served the Hoosiers well and is something that Yeagley attributes to Glass calming down and just playing his game.
“I think at the start of the year he was putting a little bit too much pressure on himself,” Yeagley said.
Beyond the benefit of the individual boost for Glass, the goal keeps Indiana riding a high in conference play.
The Hoosiers remain the only undefeated team in Big Ten play with a 4-0-0 record and 12 points after their win over the Wolverines. Indiana is two points ahead of Penn State, the No. 2 team in the conference and four points ahead of No. 3 Michigan.
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Indiana hasn’t lost a regular season Big Ten game since Oct. 10, 2015 in a home game against Ohio State.
The winning ways have accustomed to Indiana to getting every opponent’s best shot and that’s the way they prefer it.
“There is no easy Big Ten game, it doesn’t matter who you’re playing,” Jack Maher said. “I think at Indiana we always got a target on our back, and we like it.”
Spencer Glass keeps Indiana undefeated in conference play
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