Indiana Opens 2018 Season with 3-0 Win Against Miami

Sunday, August 19

Bloomington, Ind.

3:00 PM

Indiana University

1-0

Miami (OH)

0-2

MIAMI

Indiana

Indiana Opens 2018 Season with 3-0 Win Against Miami

8/19/2018 7:14:00 PM | Women's Soccer

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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana Women's Soccer opened its 2018 season on Sunday at Bill Armstrong Stadium, defeating Miami (Ohio), 3-0, in the finale of the Hoosier Challenge Cup. All three IU goals were scored within 18 minutes of each other in the first half.

Senior Abby Allen led the way for Indiana as she scored and added an assist. Redshirt senior Annelie Leitner and sophomore Grace Geise also found the back of the net while sophomore goalkeeper Bethany Kopel had four saves as she preserved the shutout.

The Hoosiers, whose game with Wake Forest Friday was cancelled due to weather, went on top in the 20^th minute on Leitner's goal. Allen sent a perfect cross in from the left to Leitner, who buried it from eight yards out.

"After Friday night, we talked about how we needed to manage our excitement, our energy, our nervousness and our confidence," said head coach Amy Berbary. "I think they did a really good job of handling that. We came out right from the first whistle and took care of business in the first half."

Just three minutes later, Allen collected her second career goal as she dribbled the ball down the middle of the field before beating the RedHawk defender with a driving shot to the far post from just outside the box.

Indiana continued to control possession for the rest of the opening half, outshooting Miami, 11-3. The Hoosiers finished the game with 17-7 shot advantage and topped Miami in corner kicks, 7-1.

One of those corner kicks proved beneficial as Geise picked up the loose change from a corner to score her first career goal in the 38^th minute. After the ball was sent in by junior Meghan Scott, Miami attempted to clear it, finding the head of Geise who looked to push it back into the box. A RedHawk once again tried to clear but it found its way back to Geise as she scored on a shot from 19 yards out. Geise scored just 96 seconds after entering the game as a substitute for junior Chandra Davidson.

"We called on our forwards last spring to have the confidence to do their job," said Berbary. "To see Abby collect three points today was fantastic. Grace has been working very hard to earn her first career strike on her second touch of the game and Annelie putting it away on a great service is very exciting. Hopefully we will continue to spread the wealth as we go on because we have some great players that are going to play big minutes for us."

Kopel was tested twice in the second half, including on a look from Lydia Brosnahan in the 53^rd minute. But the sophomore, who last season collected 96 saves as she played every minute between the pipes, was there to make the stop.

"Bethany is one of our more consistent players," said Berbary. "We look to her to make one big save a half and she was there when called on. She did a very good job directing our backs and I was happy to see the team effort to earn a shutout for her."

Numerous Hoosiers saw their Indiana debuts on Sunday – including graduate transfer Claudia Day who got the start at centerback. Freshmen Maddie Essick and Madeline Carlson checked in for the first time as Hoosiers in the second half, as did sophomores Maddie West, Nicolette Kapsalis and Ana Garibaldi.

Indiana next hits the road for the first of two weekends away from Armstrong Stadium. The Hoosiers will face Berbary's alma mater in Georgia on Friday before rounding out the weekend against Clemson on Sunday.

Hoosier Challenge Cup All-Tournament Team
Marisa Viggiano – Northwestern
Mackenzie Wood – Northwestern
Regan Steigleder – Northwestern
Kayla Sharples – Northwestern
Abby Allen – Indiana
Bethany Kopel – Indiana
Hanna Németh – Indiana
Lydia Brosnahan – Miami
Patricia Koutoulas - Miami