It was another Indiana women’s soccer game on Sunday afternoon, but the story was the same: a scoreless draw after 90 minutes.
This time the draw was not only against one of the best teams in the conference, but one of the best teams in the country, ranked #8 in Pennsylvania. This is a sign of growth from a young program.
“It feels a little different,” said head coach Erwin van Venekom. “In the big plans, it’s another draw.
[Related: Indiana women’s soccer dominates Trine 5-0 in final tune-up before conference play]
The Hoosiers tied a program record with eight straight shutouts against one of the nation’s leading offensive teams. The streak of 720 minutes equals the record the Hoosiers set in his 1993 inaugural season.
Entering the game as a joint-favorite in the Big Template preseason voting, Penn State scored 13 goals after starting the season 5-1-1 and finished in the most recent rankings after only 6 goals were allowed. Voted top 10.
However, the Hoosiers dominated the Nittany Lions despite winning 15-7. Sophomore goaltender Jamie Gerstenberg played by his usual standards, recording eight saves and lining up for his career high. Gerstenberg also made eight saves against Virginia Tech earlier this season, a game he also ended in a 0-0 draw.
It was the fourth time Indiana avoided a loss against Penn State in program history, and Penn State entered the game with a consistent 28-1-2 advantage in the matchup. It was the first time since 2016 that Indiana scored at least a point against Penn State. The match six seasons ago also ended in a 1-1 draw after extra time.
“It says a lot about the potential of this group and what it can do in the future,” said Van Benecombe.
At one point last week, Van Benecombe said he counted eight underclassmen at once on the Hoosiers’ field.
Since the beginning of the season, Van Vennecombe said he hoped the team would improve game by game and not look too far ahead of themselves. I said simply.
Van Benekom said he wanted to show new recruits and future players what the team can do against some of the best schools in the country.The result extends the team’s unbeaten streak to eight. It’s a match.
Looking ahead, Van Venekom said the team needs to find a way to win more games, but this point could be very important going forward if the team wants to play in the postseason. I think.
The result of this game proves that the future is bright for the Hoosiers after they’ve come a long way in just one year, as the team lost 3-0 at College Park last season. The loss is the only time Gerstenberg has given up more than one goal in college.
Indiana will try to break the program record with a ninth straight clean sheet on Thursday when the Hoosiers travel to Minneapolis to face the Golden Gophers, a team Indiana didn’t face in 2021. The first kick is scheduled for 7pm in the Elizabeth Lyle lobby. Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota.