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Soccer can be a funny game sometimes. A team can dominate an entire match save for a few moments and if the opposing team is opportunistic enough they can still win. That’s what happened on Tuesday evening in Indianapolis as IU fell against Butler for the first time since 2013.
In the 24th minute Brandon Guhl got the Bulldogs on the board first with his forth goal of the season. At the time there wasn’t much of a reason to worry as the Hoosiers had seen a 1-0 deficit and come back to win plenty of times.
In the 52nd minute things got hairy. The Bulldogs struck again, this time courtesy of a Alex Lehtinen goal. 2-0 is much harder to recover from, especially with less than a half to play.
The Hoosiers got an injection of hope late. Jack Maher came through with his second goal of the season in the 83rd minute and from there it was an all-out attack on the Butler goal, but IU couldn’t find an equalizer despite having the necessary chances.
With the loss the Hoosiers fall to 4-1-2 on the season and will likely take a tumble in the national polls.
Three Things
1. Shot Domination
When I say the Hoosiers dominated basically everything but the scoreboard, I mean it. IU took over three times the number of shots that Butler did, 18 compared to five. Six of those Hoosier shots were on goal while four of the Bulldog shots were. The Hoosiers had nine (9!) corner kicks compared to zero for the Bulldogs. Neither team included time of possession in its boxscore, but if they did I’m sure you know who would’ve had more of the ball.
2. Jack Maher
For the second time this season the sophomore comes in clutch for the Hoosiers. His goal ultimately didn’t spark the comeback that Hoosier fans hoped it would, but it very well could’ve. Maher continues to play well in what could be his final season in Bloomington.
3. On to the Next One
Obviously this is a disappointing loss, but it’s probably best to not linger on it. Soccer is one of those games where you can be the better team all night and lose. This should inevitably become little more than a speed bump in retrospect.
What’s Next?
The Hoosiers get back on the pitch on Friday evening when they host Sacramento State at Bill Armstrong Stadium. Shouldn’t be a terribly troublesome match for IU.