Indiana University Athletics
IU Beats Mexico to Finish Spring Season
4/24/2016 5:43:00 PM | Men's Soccer
By Sam Beishuizen, IUHoosiers.com | Twitter
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Richard Ballard made sure Indiana ended its spring on a good note.
The rising redshirt senior midfielder—one of two remaining active member of the 2012 National Championship team—put together one of the more complete games in his career up top for the Hoosiers.
He finished with a goal, an assist and was an offensive standout while the defense pitched a shutout in the Hoosiers' 2-0 win over Mexico's U-20 National Team to close out the spring season Sunday afternoon at Bill Armstrong Stadium.
"I love that he's playing the way he is and scoring goals," rising redshirt senior Derek Creviston said. "It took him four years, but now he's unleashing. So whatever, I'll take it."
Creviston's jab at a longtime friend and teammate, however playful, has serious roots. The Hoosiers are still in the process of figuring out who will replace graduated senior Femi Hollinger-Janzen's eight goals worth of production from a year ago.
Ballard made his case Sunday, picking off a pair of ill-advised Mexican passes in the backfield and causing havoc throughout the game. He picked off a Mexican pass in the 26th minute only to find redshirt senior defender Phil Dives for a one-timer to make it 1-0.
Just before the first half ended, Ballard got into the scoresheet himself off yet another Mexican turnover via a through ball from rising senior Tanner Thompson. He finished with his right foot to the left post from 12 yards out to give IU a 2-0 lead in the 43rd minute, which proved to be more than enough cushion.
"The way Ballard is playing right now, he's going to be a player to cause some problems for our opponents," head coach Todd Yeagley said. "I'm really happy for him being a fifth-year senior. I think that his time has come."
Indiana largely controlled the game, dominating possession throughout the first 65 minutes or so before fatigue started to set in. Yeagley said he expected his team to get tired considering it was the first game they've played in the heat, but even so, the Hoosiers bent, but didn't break when Mexico began pushing numbers.
Rising senior goalkeeper Christian Lomeli made one save in just under 69 minutes of work before being relieved by fellow rising senior Colin Webb. Once in the game, Webb completed the shutout making a pair of diving stops along the way.
"In the fall you're going to have to weather some storms, too," Yeagley said. "Maybe not against the quality of that, but that's what I like. To kind of cut it out, we didn't get frustrated that we didn't have the ball the last 15 (minutes). That was just kind of the way the game was flowing. We just kept things tight and played zeros. That was good."
Indiana's win capped off an undefeated spring season that saw the Hoosiers go 4-0 in full games. The Hoosiers finished with wins over Mexico, the University of Indianapolis, Notre Dame and SIU-Edwardsville before now heading into the summer break.
"You always want to end the spring with a victory, and that was a great way to do it," Ballard said. "It's not even the end, it's just going to continue on throughout the summer and take it to the fall."
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Richard Ballard made sure Indiana ended its spring on a good note.
The rising redshirt senior midfielder—one of two remaining active member of the 2012 National Championship team—put together one of the more complete games in his career up top for the Hoosiers.
He finished with a goal, an assist and was an offensive standout while the defense pitched a shutout in the Hoosiers' 2-0 win over Mexico's U-20 National Team to close out the spring season Sunday afternoon at Bill Armstrong Stadium.
"I love that he's playing the way he is and scoring goals," rising redshirt senior Derek Creviston said. "It took him four years, but now he's unleashing. So whatever, I'll take it."
Creviston's jab at a longtime friend and teammate, however playful, has serious roots. The Hoosiers are still in the process of figuring out who will replace graduated senior Femi Hollinger-Janzen's eight goals worth of production from a year ago.
Ballard made his case Sunday, picking off a pair of ill-advised Mexican passes in the backfield and causing havoc throughout the game. He picked off a Mexican pass in the 26th minute only to find redshirt senior defender Phil Dives for a one-timer to make it 1-0.
Just before the first half ended, Ballard got into the scoresheet himself off yet another Mexican turnover via a through ball from rising senior Tanner Thompson. He finished with his right foot to the left post from 12 yards out to give IU a 2-0 lead in the 43rd minute, which proved to be more than enough cushion.
"The way Ballard is playing right now, he's going to be a player to cause some problems for our opponents," head coach Todd Yeagley said. "I'm really happy for him being a fifth-year senior. I think that his time has come."
Indiana largely controlled the game, dominating possession throughout the first 65 minutes or so before fatigue started to set in. Yeagley said he expected his team to get tired considering it was the first game they've played in the heat, but even so, the Hoosiers bent, but didn't break when Mexico began pushing numbers.
Rising senior goalkeeper Christian Lomeli made one save in just under 69 minutes of work before being relieved by fellow rising senior Colin Webb. Once in the game, Webb completed the shutout making a pair of diving stops along the way.
"In the fall you're going to have to weather some storms, too," Yeagley said. "Maybe not against the quality of that, but that's what I like. To kind of cut it out, we didn't get frustrated that we didn't have the ball the last 15 (minutes). That was just kind of the way the game was flowing. We just kept things tight and played zeros. That was good."
Indiana's win capped off an undefeated spring season that saw the Hoosiers go 4-0 in full games. The Hoosiers finished with wins over Mexico, the University of Indianapolis, Notre Dame and SIU-Edwardsville before now heading into the summer break.
"You always want to end the spring with a victory, and that was a great way to do it," Ballard said. "It's not even the end, it's just going to continue on throughout the summer and take it to the fall."
Players Mentioned
Midfielder
/ Men's Soccer
Defender
/ Men's Soccer
Forward/Midfielder
/ Men's Soccer
Goalkeeper
/ Men's Soccer
Midfielder
/ Men's Soccer
Goalkeeper
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