IU Head Coach Todd Yeagley walked over to senior defender Andrew Gutman, smiled and shook his head.
Indiana had just scored the overtime winner against Northwester to advance to the Big Ten Tournament Semifinals.
“You looked more nervous than we did,” Gutman said.
He had a reason to be. Indiana held a firm 1-0 lead going into the 89th minute of the match, and it hadn’t given up a real chance up to that point. Northwestern’s Matt Moderwell hit a volley from the left side of the box, just two yards from the end line. His left foot met with the ball, and the shot clanked off the right post to beat IU sophomore goalkeeper Trey Muse.
FINAL / OT | Indiana 2, Northwestern 1
-Rece Buckmaster (@Rico_da77) opened the scoring in the 80th minute.
-Northwestern responds in the 89th minute.
-@Spencer_Glass21 heads home the golden goal in the 97th minute.
Hoosiers play Maryland in the #B1G semi's next Friday. #iums pic.twitter.com/uI0jVUrZcz
— The Hoosier Network (@TheHoosierNet) November 4, 2018
Indiana was in control for the entirety of the match, and suddenly, with one shot, Northwestern leveled with the Hoosiers. The last time the two teams met in the regular season, Northwestern was able to tie things with the Hoosiers close to the full-time whistle, but Indiana looked more dominant this time around.
“I didn’t want to see this group not advance after what we put together for that amount of time,” Yeagley said. “It would’ve been tough.”
For the majority of the match, Northwestern couldn’t keep possession on Indiana’s half of the field. The Hoosiers maintained their hard press that they’re known for, and the Wildcats couldn’t successfully complete sequences within the middle of the pitch.
Time after time, Indiana looked like it was going to find the game-winner early on. Instead, the chances it created were cleared out by the Northwestern defense. There were many times where the Wildcats put all 11 players behind the ball in order to suppress the IU attack.
The surprising part about it all was it was working. The Hoosiers looked frustrated at times when they couldn’t finish quality chances, but they maintained their focus. Glass said the team knew it was only a matter of time when the Hoosiers would put a goal or two in — they just didn’t know when it was going to come.
Halftime highlights: Plenty of chances for the Hoosiers in the first half, but nothing doing as of yet.
Big second 45 upcoming in the #B1GMSOC quarterfinals.
Indiana 0-0 Northwestern #iums pic.twitter.com/mBBuXxtvJu
— The Hoosier Network (@TheHoosierNet) November 4, 2018
Glass got his chance in the first period of overtime.
Senior midfielder Frankie Moore had a cross blocked on the right side of the box. Keeping possession with just a few yards to spare from the end line, Moore sent a floating cross into the back post of the box. Glass was there, waiting, right in front of goal. The only thing he had to do was put his forehead on the ball. His header beat Northwestern keeper Miha Miskovic, who had faced 27 total shots on the day.
Glass and the rest of the team raced to the northwest corner of the field with their ticket punched to the semifinal round of the Big Ten Tournament.
The Hoosiers stayed resilient yet again like they have so many times this season. They will be riding that momentum into Friday, where Maryland awaits in Westfield, Indiana.
“Nobody panicked and nobody was freaking out,” Glass said. “Everyone knew that our chance was coming, and we were able to put it away. It’s good to know that if things aren’t going our way, nobody is going to panic.”
