It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon at Deborah Tobias Field where No. 18 Indiana Hoosiers beat the No. 13 Michigan Wolverines 1-0 in the second game of Big Ten conference play.
At the beginning of the game it was all Michigan, as they were dominating possession and keeping the ball in Indiana’s half. Not letting Indiana get the offense going at all for almost six minutes of the first period.
That all changed when the Hoosiers were able to go on three short breakaways in the span of three minutes, getting three shots on goal putting the pressure on the Wolverine side. The Wolverines countered this Indiana attack with an attack of their own, catching Indiana goalie Sadie Canelli out of position with an open goal ahead but they were unable to capitalize as Indiana’s defense shut them down with an unbelievable goal-line stop.
The majority of the second quarter developed into a defensive battle. The Wolverines had some amazing chances that Canelli and the rest of the Hoosier defense shut down. The Hoosiers also created countless quality chances that they were unable to convert on, as it was another scoreless period. The Hoosiers went into halftime with clear momentum over the Wolverines.
The Hoosiers picked up right where they left off, earning a penalty corner not even a full minute into the second half, this was a crucial penalty corner with all the momentum in favor of Indiana. In the 31st minute Molly Stutte made a quick pass to Theresa Ricci who slotted in the lone goal of the game.
Stutte continues to perform as she leads the team in goals and assists with seven of each.
After the goal was scored the Indiana gameplan switched from playing super aggressive to more of a smart defensive hold mindset with no need to push and make errors. For the next 29 minutes after the goal the Hoosiers had their work cut out.
They had to hold the No. 13 Wolverines scoreless, which is no small task. The Wolverines were far from out of it, they kept fighting, earning five total penalty corners which, thanks to Canelli, they were unable to convert on.
With less than six minutes remaining in the game and the Hoosiers still holding a 1-0 lead the Wolverines subbed off their goalkeeper and subbed in an additional attacker to try and keep pushing for that game-tying goal. With emotions running high the Wolverines were able to get an advantage over the Hoosiers who were down a player.
Indiana’s backline was able to get the ball back deep in their half and dribble it out to complete the win. Stutte ended the game with an assist, Ricci ended with the game-winning goal, and Canelli ended the game with a four-save shutout over a quality ranked opponent. The No. 18 Hoosiers held off the No. 13 Wolverines at home to advance to 2-0 in conference play.
