Indiana women’s soccer fell short against the 15th ranked Iowa Hawkeyes on Sunday afternoon, losing 2-0 in a must-win game on the final day of the regular season.
Going into Sunday, IU needed a win, and three other outside results to go their way, to sneak their way into the 10th and final spot in the Big Ten Tournament. Those results were Michigan and Nebraska either drawing or losing their matchups, which both kicked off an hour before the match in Bloomington, and USC losing later in the evening.
Both Indiana (5-5-6, 2-4-5) and Iowa (11-3-4, 6-2-3) struggled for much of the game to find anything on offense. It took until more than halfway through the first half for either team to record even a shot. The score held at 0-0 into halftime.
At halftime, the Hoosiers received a gift from elsewhere in the Big Ten. Michigan conceded an equalizer at home in the 85th minute of their match, which led to a 1-1 draw in Ann Arbor. With another favorable result in Nebraska, a 1-0 loss to Michigan State, IU was still alive. However, they needed to play their part in their dream scenario.
In the second half, play was much more fluid. Both sides played with a lot more pace, and it led to a wealth of chances for both teams. However, Iowa was getting the majority of chances.
The best early chance for the Hoosiers came from sophomore Maggie Ledwith, who was alone in on goal in the 48th minute and fired a shot that hit the crossbar near the top right corner of the frame.
Later in the half in the 61st minute, sophomore Haden Vlcek took a header off a corner that was partway across the goal line before being headed away by a Hawkeye defender.
The match stayed scoreless until the 73rd minute, when Sofia Bush deposited one into the back of the net for Iowa, breaking the deadlock and making the task that much harder for the Hoosiers.
That tall task became insurmountable in the 85th minute, when chaos in the box allowed a second Iowa goal to sneak in, giving the Hawkeyes a 2-0 advantage through Millie Greer.
Indiana head coach Josh Rife spoke about the missed chances after the match.
“A look at it that hit the post early in the second half… a non-keeper save where a defender clears a ball off the line there, either one of those would’ve put us up 1-0 at the time… it’s one of those that you look at it, it’s like man we’re fighting, we’re battling,” Rife said.
The Hoosiers finished the season with just one loss at home, but missed opportunities to the tune of five conference draws did IU in in the end. They also failed to win any games on the road throughout the entire regular season.
However, with plenty of young talent and a new feeling around the building, the program is starting to turn in the right direction under Rife after his first season at the helm.
