Indiana University Athletics
Indiana University
Evansville
No. 10 Indiana Escapes with 2-1 Win Over Evansville
10/24/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Oct. 24, 2007
Box Score
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - A pair of unanswered goals from Brad Ring and Rich Balchan gave 10th-ranked Indiana a 2-1 win over Evansville Wednesday night at Jerry Yeagley Field at Bill Armstrong Stadium.
With the win the Hoosiers improve to 10-4-2 on the season, while Evansville drops to 8-7-0.
"We didn't play well tonight at all," said head coach Mike Freitag. "I want us to play to our potential and we were far from that tonight."
In a game that was dominated statistically by Indiana, it was the Purple Aces who struck first with a score from Robby Lynch at 21:17. Stephen Minyono started the play in the right corner, serving the ball over to Cory Elenio who found Lynch open in front of the net. Lynch sent the ball into the lower right past IU goalkeeper Chay Cain.
The Hoosiers continued to test the Evansville defense and goalkeeper Alec Dufty. IU had a commanding 15-6 shot advantage in the first half, with eight of those attempts on goal.
Indiana nearly had a 1-0 lead just seconds into the match when Daniel Kelly's shot was barely blocked by Dufty. The rebound went to Kevin Alston, but his one-on-one attempt was sent right into Dufty's arms.
Twelve minutes in Kelly had another chance to score with a play that began with Ofori Sarkodie in the back. The defender played the ball up to Alston, who then served it into Kelly in front of the pipes. Kelly tried to make his way around the Evansville defense but the Purple Aces forced his attempt high.
Trailing 1-0, the Hoosiers had two opportunities to answer the UE score less than a minute later as Greg Stevning's header off Kelly's corner kick was punched out by Dufty. Charley Traylor had the rebound but sent his shot over the cross bar.
It was only a matter of time before the Hoosiers put a score on the board as the pressure around the Evansville net mounted. A one-on-one breakaway by Kelly was met with another save from Dufty at 30:03, and Balchan's shot at 38:10 required a leaping save from the UE net minder.
Persistence paid off as Ring tied the game at 1-all with just 2:45 to play in the first half. Settling the ball in the northwest corner, Balchan played it into the front of the net hoping to connect with a fellow Hoosier. Stevning tried to get his head on the ball, but it instead fell at the foot of Ring who sent a rocket in from five yards out. It was Ring's third goal of the season and one of three shot attempts on the night.
The second half opened with a lot of back-and-forth action but no real legitimate scoring threats. The Hoosiers put up just two on-goal attempts in the second period, while Cain was forced to make a solo save in the second stanza.
Not to be outdone by former club and Carmel High School teammate Lynch, Balchan recorded his first game-winning goal for the Hoosiers in the 68th minute. After receiving the ball from Darren Yeagle, Balchan weaved his way around the UE defense before getting a shot he liked a sending a low roller out of the reach of 6-foot-5 Dufty. Balchan now has three goals on the season.
"I have been very pleased with the play of Rich," Freitag said. "He is a kid who has not quite realized yet just how good he can be."
Evansville had one last gasp as a corner kick with less than 10 seconds remaining found the head of Reggie Edu, but Edu sent the header just high as time expired.
Indiana finished the match with a 22-13 advantage in shots, with 10 of those on goal compared to just two for the Purple Aces. The Hoosiers also took eight corner kicks to UE's five.
IU is back in action this Sunday as it plays host to Big Ten foe Penn State. The match marks the final home contest for seniors Stevning, Traylor and Chris Munroe. All three will be honored prior to the 3 p.m. match which is being broadcast live on the Big Ten Network.
