It all started with a yellow card. A second yellow card.
In the 64th minute of No. 11 Indiana’s season opener against No. 9 Clemson, midfielder Kwaku Agyabeng crashed into a late challenge on Hoosiers’ forward Colton Swan, picking up his second caution and subsequently sending the visitors down to 10 men with a dangerous 2-0 lead.
The Hoosiers had the upper hand. And they took full advantage.
“(The red card) helped,” head coach Todd Yeagley said after the game.
Spurred on by a sellout crowd in Bill Armstrong Stadium — the third-largest turnout in program history — Indiana scored two goals in the final 25 minutes to salvage a 2-2 draw from the top-15 matchup.
The hosts first got on the board from the spot when Swan drew a foul in the Clemson penalty area. Senior transfer forward Palmer Ault fired home the Hoosiers’ first goal of the campaign into the bottom left corner, re-engaging the fans.
“There was great energy in the stadium all night,” Yeagley said, adding that having students back on campus is a huge difference maker. “I think it was a good showcase for college soccer tonight…just a great, great night.”
It was a cagy, free-flowing and open match which had just about everything. A sending off, penalty kicks, physical play off the ball and a belter of an equalizer.
Down a goal with less than 10 minutes to play, the Hoosiers worked the ball over to forward Nolan Kinsella on the right wing. The freshman whipped a dangerous cross into the box, where it met the right foot of junior transfer forward Jacopo Fedrizzi on a volley into the side netting at the back post, sending Bill Armstrong into a frenzy.
After scoring on his weaker foot, the transfer from Evansville took off for a chaotic celebration.
“It was my first goal here at Armstrong this season,” the Italian native said. “I didn’t know what to do, actually…I just ran and had fun.”
Fedrizzi believes it was an excellent result for the Hoosiers, in which they showed who they are.
“It was good for us because we were able to score two goals after being down 2-0,” he said. “That showed great character for us.”
All things considered, a 2-2 draw against another top college soccer program is a solid way to start the campaign.
Next up for Yeagley’s squad in its five-game home stand to open the 2025 season is the San Francisco Dons in a second non-conference matchup on Sunday as the preseason favorites to win the Big Ten look to secure their first victory.
