The preseason No. 2-ranked Indiana men's soccer erased an early two-goal deficit to comeback and defeat the Louisville Cardinals by a score of 5-4 on Saturday night at Bill Armstrong Stadium.
KEY MOMENTS
• The Hoosiers found the scoreboard first in high-scoring first half. Junior forward Victor Bezerra received a free kick pass from redshirt senior midfielder Joe Schmidt in the upper left corner of the 18-yard box. Bezerra delivered a right-footed strike that beat the keeper to the left in the 14th minute.
• The Cardinals would bounce back and score the next three goals of the match. The first of which came in the 28th minute when freshman forward Nico Diaz found the back of the net.
• Just one minute later (29th minute) senior forward Pedro Fonseca tallied his first of two goals to give U of L the lead. He would later convert a PK try in the 41st minute to double the visitor's lead at 3-1.
• Freshman midfielder Tommy Mihalic brought the Hoosiers back within one goal (3-2) in the 42nd minute. Junior forward Herbert Endeley put forward an advanced ball down the right flank to senior defender Nyk Sessock. The Pitt transfer curled in a crosser that Bezerra let play through to the right foot of Mihalic. The Skokie, Ill., native buried his shot attempt in the back of the net right before the end of the half.
• Bezerra notched his hat-trick with a pair of PK goals in the second half. The first came in the 54th minute in the second in the 60th minute.
• Sophomore defender Joey Maher scored the game winner in the 87th minute after the Hoosiers won a late corner. Mihalic delivered a perfect service that found the head of Maher. The Caseyville, Ill., native beat the keeper on the re-directed header to steal the victory.
NOTABLES
• After playing at least 20 players in the first two matches of the preseason, Indiana head coach Todd Yeagley on used 15 players against the Cardinals. Only 13 guys played 40-plus minutes.
• Bezerra led all Hoosiers in goals (5) and total points (10) in the exhibition portion of the schedule. Junior forward Goumballe finished second behind the reigning Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year in both categories (2G, 4P), while Mihalic added one goal and two assists.
HOOSIER POINTS
GOALS: Victor Bezerra (3), Joey Maher, Tommy Mihalic
ASSISTS: Herbert Endeley, Tommy Mihalic, Joe Schmidt, Nyk Sessock
UP NEXT
With the exhibition season ending, Indiana will now turn its focus to the regular season. The Hoosiers will open the season at 7 p.m. ET on Aug. 27 in South Bend against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The home opener for the team will be at 8 p.m. ET on Aug. 31 against in-state foe Butler.
