Michigan knew scoring would be tough in the Big Ten Tournament semifinal after its hard-fought 1-0 win against Northwestern last Friday. The fifth-seeded Wolverines (5-6-7 overall, 2-1-5 Big Ten) squared off against the top-seeded Hoosiers (11-4-4, 3-2-2) facing an Indiana defense boasting a .774 save percentage and only allowing 12 goals in 18 games this season. While the Wolverines managed to find production despite the Hoosiers’ strong stats, it wasn’t enough as they fell to the Hoosiers 3-4.
“I think just in general, we didn’t think we played particularly well against Northwestern,” Michigan coach Chaka Daley said. “We needed to get ourselves into a better rhythm of passing the ball and playing soccer the way we know we can play in order to affect the other teams.”
The Wolverines had a plan after the first round of the tournament, but came up short in execution.
Both offenses started off quietly until Hoosiers forward Maouloune Goumballe woke them up. In the 20th minute, Goumballe slotted the ball to the bottom left section of the net for a goal, giving Indiana the lead. But just a minute later, the Wolverines responded with their own offensive move when junior defender Jason Bucknor sent the ball into the bottom right of the net. Michigan’s offense tried to keep the momentum going when senior midfielder Bryce Blevins fired a shot in the 23rd minute, but the Hoosiers flashed their impressive save percentage when goalkeeper JT Harms nabbed it.
Indiana’s offense dominated the remainder of the first half as it scored in the 35th and 44th minutes. When the first half ended, it had a 3-1 advantage, and the Wolverines left with two shots on goal and just three total. This marked another game in which Michigan’s offense struggled and another uncharacteristic performance by the defense. Going into the second half, the Wolverines knew that they needed to step up their offense if they wanted to win the game and move on in the Big Ten Tournament.
“We told the group to make sure that we stay positive, to be resilient in the first 15 minutes and not concede or give them sniff of any chances,” Daley said. “And that the next goal was going to be the most important goal of the game.”
Michigan’s offense got off to a strong start with two shots on goal two minutes into the second half, although they were both saved. The Wolverines continued to take shots in those early minutes and in the 53rd minute, Michigan earned a penalty kick. This time, the Wolverines were able to capitalize on it as senior midfielder Quin Rogers notched it in, reducing Michigan’s deficit to just one goal.
The Hoosiers attempted to respond, but with none of their shots reaching goal, the Wolverines were still in the game.
In the 71st minute, graduate midfielder Riley Ferch tied the game, assisted by freshman defender Matthew Fisher. Michigan’s offense finally found its footing, but in the 74th minute, Bucknor received a red card for persistent infringement, forcing the Wolverines to change their offensive plan with a man down.
“We were down a player so we had to change to 4-4-1,” Daley said.
In the 82nd minute, Indiana tried to seal the game with a shot on goal by forward Karsen Henderlong, but was blocked by Michigan’s defense. The Wolverines responded to this in the 85th minute with a shot on goal by freshman forward Alex Waggoner, but the Hoosiers’ goalkeeping denied Michigan a potential game-winning goal. In the next minute, Goumballe scored a goal by sending the ball to the bottom right corner of the net and subsequently ending the Wolverines’ Big Ten Tournament run.
Despite the loss, Daley found a silver lining in his team’s offensive performance.
“I was very pleased with how the guys responded and reacted to the most storied program not only in the Big Ten but in the country,” Daley said. “I don’t know (the) last time Indiana has ever done that, allowed three goals at their home field. We shook them, we had them on the ropes, and we gave everything for the cause.”
However, those goals still weren’t enough. Michigan’s defense needs to be more persistent to keep advancing in the tournament, but instead its run ended at the semifinal round.
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