Indiana women’s soccer finally notched its first Big Ten win of the season in its seventh try on Thursday night at Bill Armstrong Stadium, taking down Northwestern in dramatic comeback fashion 2-1.
It was a rough first half for the Hoosiers (4-4-5, 1-2-4). In the 31st minute, IU conceded a penalty on a foul by Haden Vlcek. Caterina Regazzoni deposited it into the net for Northwestern (5-3-6, 1-2-4), giving the Wildcats a 1-0 lead that they would take into halftime. IU only had one shot on goal the whole half, which came with just three minutes left.
The coaching staff would challenge the team during the break.
“At halftime we had a really important and needed talk that something needed to change, and I think in the second half we saw that,” sophomore Maggie Ledwith said postgame.
There was more energy in the second half, but it wasn’t until the 81st minute that the Hoosiers were finally able to break through on a long range shot from Grace Hamm, which found the bottom right corner of the net to tie the game at one. It was Hamm’s fourth goal of the season, a team high.
In the 89th minute, Ledwith intercepted a poorly placed goal kick from Northwestern goalkeeper Nyamma Nelson, and then fought through a defender and fired the ball into the bottom left corner, giving Indiana a 2-1 lead. It was Ledwith’s fourth goal of the season, bringing her back into a tie for first on the team with Hamm.
“I was just like, you need to place this goal, stay composed, and just find the corner,” Ledwith said postgame about her thoughts during her game-winning goal.
The late goal gave IU their first Big Ten win of the season, and the first under head coach Josh Rife.
“I know that part of the headline will be, oh my first win, but really for this group, it's our… first Big Ten win this season and I couldn’t be more proud of them,” Rife said postgame.
The Hoosiers will look to keep their momentum going, trying to earn a spot in the Big Ten tournament, requiring them to finish in the top 10 of the conference. Thursday’s win brings them into a tie for 11th, just one point behind Michigan, who they will face on Sunday at 1 p.m., on the road in Ann Arbor.
