Indiana Survived Upset Against Frisky Penn State

Penn State walked into this game at 2-4. Indiana came in off a draw in Madison, making Indiana 7-0-2. Indiana is the no. 2-ranked team in the nation, but struggled in their 2-1 win over the Nittany Lions. Indiana dominated the game in almost every fashion. The only thing Penn State was better at was offensive efficiency. At the end of the day, the Hoosiers lethal duo of Stephane Njike and Oliver Moller-Jensen became too much for the Nittany Lion defense to handle, even if Penn State

Indiana started the game off hot, controlling the possession, but never actually got a shot off til the 13th minute. Michael Adu-Gyamfi’s shot was blocked, leading to a rebound shot by Njike, but that was off target. Off-target shots would become a trend in this game.

Penn State would show their fight, with a shot of their own on the 14th minute, but Michael Mroz was there for the save.

Indiana then would start to rain an onslaught of shots down on Penn State. Indiana ended up with 12 shots in the first half, four of which were on goal. The first goal of the game, came in the 29th minute.

Njike used his elite speed and footwork to fake out several Penn State defenders to find a great pass to Moller-Jensen. Moller-Jensen then juked to the right on his first touch, giving himself an open look at net, where he delivered a strike to the right side of the net, from the left side of the box. Penn State’s goal keeper laid out for the ball, but it wasn’t enough, and Indiana led 1-0 at the half.

Indiana came out firing in the second half, getting a corner in the first 13 seconds of the half. But as has been the trend, these opportunities that Indiana gets continue to be squandered.

Penn State, however, just wouldn’t go away. The Friday afternoon IU crowd had a collective groan when Indiana gave up a goal in the 54th minute. Amadou Kone delivered an assist in the box to Morgan Marshall who delivered the equalizer.

This put even more pressure on IU to score.

Indiana continued to struggle to finish goals, but also continued to put pressure on Penn State. Indiana eventually turned to their duo, in the 77th minute to score once again.

Moller-Jensen got the pass for Njike and sent a rifle into the top of the net, putting IU up 2-1.

IU would have another major opportunity in the 85th minute when Alex Mathews was fouled in the box, giving Njike a penalty. Njike’s shot was saved, but still able to be played. Njike got to the ball first, but was too eager and sailed the shot way over the net.

Indiana picked up the 2-1 win at the end of regulation.

Takeaways

Indiana’s offense is becoming a problem. They have a lot of talent, but it seems like they can never convert on their opportunities. Indiana had 23 shots to Penn State’s eight, yet both teams had six shots on goal. This game could’ve been a tie, and that is a problem that IU needs to solve.

Indiana’s offense did see a bright spot with the duo of Njike and Moller-Jensen coming to life. Moller-Jensen also picked up his seventh goal of the season, and only at the midway point.

Indiana’s defense and midfield are so dominant in the possession game. They swallowed up any momentum from Penn State and made it so that Penn State had to be the efficient offense that they ended up being.

Indiana did have the major disadvantage of a short rest week. Playing last Tuesday night in a grueling draw against the Badgers and then playing again now made this a survive-and-advance type of game, and that is exactly what the Hoosiers did.

Indiana moves to 8-0-2 on the year and will play top-10-ranked Maryland at home next Friday night.