Indiana Falls to Minnesota in the Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinal

Sunday, October 30

Minneapolis, MN

3:00 PM

Indiana University

7-9-4 (4-4-3)

Minnesota

14-3-3 (7-1-3)

Indiana

Minnesota

Indiana Falls to Minnesota in the Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinal

10/30/2016 7:33:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Indiana Women's Soccer fell to No. 1 seeded Minnesota in Sunday's Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinal, 3-1. The Hoosiers end their season with a mark of 7-9-4 overall after advancing to the Tournament for the first time since 2013.

Minnesota, who is ranked No. 11 in the nation, jumped out early with a goal in the third minute by Julianna Gernes. After a Hoosier goal kick, Minnesota earned possession and Molly Fiedler served it into Gernes, who put up a diagonal shot into the back of the net.

The Hoosiers looked to respond, earning a trio of corners in the first 17 minutes of action, the first of which resulted in a shot from sophomore Maya Piper that went just wide. The shot was just one of two for Indiana in the first half, with the other coming on a header from freshman Allison Jorden just before halftime.

Minnesota's Simone Kolander appeared ready to extend Minnesota's lead to 2-0 in the 18^th minute after a breakaway. As she drove into the box, redshirt senior Marissa Borschke stayed shoulder-to-shoulder with her to eliminate the threat and let the ball fall safely to IU goalkeeper Sarah L'Hommedieu.

However, the Golden Gophers would find the back of the net one more time in the half. After an IU attempt to clear the ball wide, it was turned over to Sydney Squires, who slotted the ball to Josee Stiever for the score in the 37^th minute.

Indiana came out of the break strong, putting up nine shots in the second half of action, including four that were on goal. The Hoosiers put together a good sequence four minutes into the half. After redshirt sophomore Mykayla Brown drew a foul giving Indiana a free kick 40 yards out, the service resulted in a corner kick, which was sent in on target by Jorden. Just a couple minutes later, freshman Chandra Davidson sent one high after Minnesota turned the ball over just outside of the 18-yard box.

"That's been the story of the season – this team knows how to fight," said Berbary. "I never have to worry about anybody giving up. We refocused at halftime and I thought we put together an extremely good second half. We changed our formation, we pushed a few more numbers forward and we saw a difference."

The Hoosiers put together another big series in the 68^th minute after a blocked shot from senior Veronica Ellis rebounded to junior Kayla Smith, who ripped a shot from the center of the box that sailed just above the crossbar.

Brown put Indiana on the board in the 81^st minute on her eighth goal of the season. Freshman Macy Miller started the play after a great run down the right flank to earn the Hoosiers a corner kick. Freshman Meghan Scott served it in to Brown, who flicked it backwards with her head into the back of the net. The score was her fourth goal in three games.

"These last five games I've seen a kid who can potentially be an All-American in Mykayla," said Berbary. "She's hit her stride and is completely back from sitting out an entire year with an injury. I think this can be just the tip of the iceberg for her as she continues to develop."

Minnesota would go on to put one more on the board after Squires picked up a rebound on L'Hommedieu's save in the 84^th minute.

Indiana finished the year with a 4-4-3 Big Ten record (Sunday's result doesn't count towards the conference record), improving from last season's winless Big Ten mark.

"To go from 0-7-4 last year to where we are now is a massive improvement and that's not typical in one year," said Berbary. "I'm really happy with the progress that we've made and I think that's attributed to the hard work that was put in in the offseason. The freshmen came so far in such a short three-month period and I think the future is extremely bright if we can take these next nine months and progress in the weight room, progress on the soccer field and start to break down things. I hate for this one to end, especially for those three seniors, but I think they've laid the foundation for some great things to come for Indiana Soccer."