Michigan State University
9-3-3, 4-1-2
Indiana
10-1-4, 4-1-2
No. 20 Michigan State Earns 1-1 Draw at No. 25 Indiana
10/12/2023 11:20:00 PM | Women's Soccer
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - 20th-ranked Michigan State women's soccer put together a strong second half to come back from a first-half 1-0 deficit and battled to a 1-1 draw with No. 25 Indiana Thursday night in Bloomington.Â
MSU moves to 9-3-3 (4-1-2 B1G) with the result, while Indiana moves to 10-1-4 (4-1-2 B1G). Â
With the draw, the Spartans are now unbeaten in their last five road matches.
Indiana held a 12-8 shot advantage while the teams were even at 2-2 on shots on goal. The Spartans led the corner kick battle, 8-4.Â
The Hoosiers came out strong on the attacking side, recording the first three shots of the match in the opening five minutes of the game. With both teams pressuring heavily defensively, 10 minutes of play went by without a shot or action on either final third. MSU recorded its first shot with an off target shot from Raegan Cox in the 14th minute before another 10 minutes of back-and-forth defensive action ensued.Â
The Spartans' best look of the first half came in the 22nd minute off a defensive mistake from the Hoosiers. Taking advantage, sophomore midfielder Emerson Sargeant collected the ball and went past the Indiana goalkeeper, who moved outside the box and left an empty net while trying to collect the ball. Sargeant found senior forward MJ Andrus, who shot past three Indiana defenders, but her shot went wide right to leave the game scoreless.Â
MSU goalkeeper Kaitlyn Parks saved a shot to the top right of the net from Indiana in the 31st minute before the Spartans blocked another Hoosier chance in the 34th minute. In similar fashion to many spells of scoreless action in the first half, another 10 minutes went by without a shot from either side.Â
As it looked like the half would end without a score, an own goal from the Spartans off a ball from an Indiana player gave the Hoosiers a 1-0 lead with just over three minutes remaining. Neither team was able to find a scoring opportunity in the closing minutes as Indiana took its 1-0 lead at the break.Â
The Spartans proved to be the much stronger team in the second half, coming out of the break with a stronger attacking presence while maintaining possession for the majority of the closing 45 minutes. Â
MSU capitalized on its first scoring opportunity of the half in the 48th minute. In a flurry of events, Sargeant dribbled into the box and was knocked to the ground by an Indiana player. Freshman forward/midfielder Bella Najera collected the ball while the game played on without an anticipated penalty kick call from the referee and sent a pass to senior midfielder Justina Gaynor, who shot past the left side of the Indiana goalkeeper to equalize early in the second half.Â
The Spartans continued to dominate the second half following the goal and generated a number of scoring opportunities over the final 40 minutes, including a shot from Najera in the 67th minute to force an Indiana save, but were unable to convert on any chances. The Hoosiers recorded five second-half shots but were unable to produce any on-target looks, as their final chance in the 88th minute off a free kick was fended off by the Spartans.Â
Parks and Indiana goalkeeper Jamie Gerstenberg each earned the tying decision, with Parks recording two saves and Gerstenberg registering one.Â
Up next, the Spartans wrap up their three-game road trip at Rutgers on Sunday, Oct. 15 at 1 p.m.Â
Team Stats
0
GOAL by IND TEAM.
41:38
Justina Gaynor (3)
Assisted By: Bella Najera
GOAL by MSU Gaynor, Justina Assist by Najera, Bella.
47:12
