Friday night marked just the third time Indiana and Washington have met in the regular season.
After back-to-back away games, the Hoosiers returned to Bill Armstrong Stadium to begin a three-game homestand. A brace from Louisville transfer Quinton Elliot wasn’t enough to overcome Washington in a 2-2 draw. In what felt like a game Indiana would hang on to win, the Huskies clawed back, scoring an equalizer in the 80th minute. Indiana hasn’t beat Washington since 2001.
Here are my three takeaways:
Indiana has struggled to finish games
If you remember the Washington match from 2023, you might’ve seen similarities between Friday’s game and Indiana’s 1-0 loss a year ago. Last season, Indiana dominated the game, leading in the shot department 14-7 while leaving good chances off the board. The Huskies would go on to score the winner in the 77th minute off the foot of Charlie Kosakoff.
Friday night, it had a very similar feeling. Leading 2-1 for the majority of the match, the Hoosiers were in cruise control, maintaining possession while also creating opportunities. That was until the 81st minute when Washington’s Aman Richie scored the equalizer and the game ended in a draw.
The feeling of giving up late goals in the second half has been a trend thus far this season for the Hoosiers. Prior to Friday’s match, in three of Indiana’s draws, the Hoosiers have had the lead for the majority of the match. Those games include Notre Dame, Butler and Evansville. Friday was no different as the Hoosiers had the lead until late.
Although it feels like a defeat, the Hoosiers played good soccer, they just couldn’t get the result they wanted. Indiana head coach Todd Yeagley believes that this team played well and is heading in the right direction.
“I think the performances at home have been really good," Yeagley said. “Yeah it’s been a little unfortunate. I mean the Notre Dame game, late goal, we should’ve had a third, there've been a lot of games at home that we played pretty darn well and you know it feels a bit disappointing because we have a tie.”
While it’s not a loss, this one will still sting and could affect the Hoosiers hopes for an NCAA Tournament berth. Tonight’s result is now the fifth draw of the season for Indiana.
The Hoosier attack continued to impress
Through the first eight games of the season, Indiana struggled offensively scoring just seven goals. Over the last three, the Hoosiers have equaled that amount scoring seven for a total of 14 goals on the year.
In what has been a revamped offense over the last three Big Ten matchups, Indiana has seen four different goal scorers. Tommy Mihalic has led the way with six goals this season, followed by Collins Oduro and Elliot with two goals a piece
Friday, the two goals from Indiana came in a span of just 12 minutes. Both goals came from the foot of Elliot who made his mark on the match Friday.
“I mean those were fantastic (goals), and I think he needed that,” Yeagley said of Elliot.
Quinton Elliot elevates
It didn’t take long for Hoosier fans to know who No. 2 was on the field, especially after Friday. The transfer from Louisville, who only had two collegiate goals prior to Friday, made his mark by scoring twice against Washington.
As a former midfielder himself, Elliot has the skill to get by defenders and that’s exactly what he did on his opening goal. After a nice in and out move, Elliot poked one past the Washington keeper to open the scoring for Indiana.
The fun didn’t stop there for Elliot as just 12 minutes later he would score again, this time with the outside of his foot. It was a goal that could end up on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays at the end of the night.
In Yeagley’s 4-3-3 formation it allows the outside backs to get up in the attack, which is a strength of Elliot’s. His presence in the midfield has allowed the Hoosier attack to create chance after chance.
“I feel like I’ve gotten more comfortable in the attack the last few games, at Louisville I was on the left so it was kind of breaking that habit of staying back a little bit,” Elliot said.
Out of high school, Elliot was a player that Indiana recruited hard but couldn’t get him the first time. Now at Indiana, Elliot has excelled in all facets of the game, including in the attack.
“He’s a player that doesn’t know quite how good he is, which is not a bad thing. He could be an All-American outside back and tonight he played like one,” Yeagley said.
After its fifth draw of the season Indiana moves to 3-3-5 on the season. The Hoosiers continue their homestand next Tuesday when the Kentucky Wildcats visit Bill Armstrong Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
