By Nick Jenkinson-SCINN Sports Director
The #14 Indiana Hoosiers Men’s Soccer team improved to 3-0 Thursday Night with a 1-0 win over the Butler Bulldogs on Jerry Yeagley Field at Bill Armstrong Stadium before a crowd of 3,080. Indiana completed a three match homestand all against In-State Opponents and will hit the road for the first time on Monday Night when they travel to Louisville to face the Cardinals at 7 PM on ACC Network. Indiana has outscored its opponents 7-1 on the season as Goalkeeper Michal Mroz pitched his second straight shutout in his third career game as a Hoosier. Mroz did not make a save in this match and has 5 saves through three games giving up one goal. The Evansville Transfer is 21-12-11 through 44 games and has 13 career shutouts. The Hoosiers have yet to allow a goal from open play, their lone concession coming from an 83rd-minute penalty kick in the season opener.
Indiana dominated the game with 33 shots and 15 on target as the Hoosiers forced Butler goalkeeper Brooks Boersema to make a career-high 14 saves. Boersema couldn’t save defender Nick McHenry’s 62nd minute shot from a corner kick, the lone difference in Thursday’s match. McHenry scored his first goal of the season and first as a Hoosier after transferring from Ohio State. Alex Matthews’ assist came as his first point as in the cream and crimson after joining the Hoosiers in the offseason from Ohio State. Nine different Hoosiers have contributed to seven goals this season. Boersema’s 14 saves rank No. 4 in Butler’s history and marked the most saves by a Bulldog keeper since Jason Richarz’s own 13-save performance on October 6, 2000, versus Indiana.
The Hoosiers broke through in the 62nd minute when Alex Matthew’s corner kick sailed to the far side of the six, but the Butler defender couldn’t control it. Nick McHenry was in the right place at the right time to whip his right foot around the deflection and score the winner. IU recorded its highest single-match shot total since October 27, 2023, versus Trine (34). It was also the best performance in the category against a Division I opponent since November 6, 2017, versus Penn State (34). Oliver Moller-Jensen attempted 11 shots, tied for second-most in Hoosier program history. Only Will Bruin’s 12-shot performance against Tulsa on November 21, 2010, betters Thursday’s performance. Moller-Jensen’s 11 marked the most since 2017, when Mason Toye recorded the same number of shots twice in the Big Ten Tournament: against Penn State in the first round (Nov. 6) and Wisconsin in the final (Nov. 12).
Moller-Jensen who was named the Top-Drawer Soccer National Player of the Week was kept out three times in just over a minute of game time. In the 33rd minute, he found a pocket of space for a free header, but the shot was saved. The rebound came back to him off-balanced, and his left-footed attempt went high. A minute later, he forced another save with a shot from just outside the 18-yard box. Indiana went to the locker room with 19-1 shot advantage and 10-0 shots on goal advantage but could not find the back of the net as Butler goalkeeper Brooks Boersema made 10 first half saves. Indiana had 9 corner kicks and Butler did not have any in the first half. Both Teams committed three fouls, and the Hoosiers were called offsides once. Indiana got its two top forwards back as Stephane Njike made his Indiana debut with a start, and Collins Oduro made his season debut as a 28th-minute substitute after they missed the first two games with injury.
In the 54th minute Moller-Jensen had another great opportunity from a counter-attack just out of the break. He received the ball coming in from the right wing, backed his marker down, cut inside, avoided a sliding challenge and got his left foot around the ball a little too much, putting his shot just wide of the right stick. Butler had 2 second half shots and both were off target. Indiana had 13 corner kicks for the match and Butler had 1. Butler committed 8 fouls and the Hoosiers committed five. Indiana was called offsides twice and Butler once. Butler drops to 0-2-1 on the season under first year Head Coach Ian Sarachan and will return home on Monday Night to Face the Memphis Tigers at 6 PM Butler is searching for its first goal of the season after giving 2 goals to Northern Illinois and a scoreless draw with Bradley at both at home. Ian Sarachan previously served as an assistant coach for the Colorado Rapids in MLS following a stint as an assistant at Creighton.
Indiana improved to 27-5-5 against Butler all-time and expanded its unbeaten streak in the series to five matches (4-0-1 since last defeat in 2019). The renewed its longstanding series after a one-year break in 2025. The programs have met 36 times over the last 35 years. The two programs last met in 2024, a 1-1 draw in Indianapolis. Palmer Ault assisted Butler’s tying goal in that match before transferring to IU and becoming an All-American in 2025. A 10th-minute goal was all Indiana needed to defeat the Bulldogs in 2023, the last time the Hoosiers played host in the series. Current Hoosier Collins Oduro assisted Samuel Sarver with a cross to make the difference in a 1-0 result. Indiana has hosted four NCAA Tournament matches against Butler, winning the last three. In 1998, the Hoosiers won a third consecutive match in overtime, beating Butler, 2-1, in the second overtime. Lazo Alavanja became the 11th Hoosier to reach 100 career points when he scored the golden goal from 19 yards. “I still haven’t caught my breath yet. These guys are going to kill me,” Coach Jerry Yeagley said after the match, “It’s a sign of a good winner that can face adversity and still come out on top.”
Butler’s last win in the series came on September 24, 2019, in Indianapolis when they beat the Hoosiers 2-1. The Bulldogs last won in Bloomington on October 27, 2010, when they beat the Hoosiers 4-1. Indiana is now 848-209-123 all time and has scored 2,788 goals in program history. The Hoosiers are 384-67-54 all time at Bill Armstrong Stadium and 98-11-17 since 2016 posting 68 shutouts in 126 matches. Head Coach Todd Yegaley is 219-76-58 in his 17th season at his alma-mater and 226-85-60 overall in 18 seasons as a head coach.
The Hoosiers play one of the toughest schedules in the nation every single season and so far, they have passed the test with flying colors and now they hit the road for the first time this season facing a Louisville team that will come into Monday’s match with a 3-0 record that has outscored its opponents 8-4 this season. The Hoosiers have a loaded team top to bottom and even though they don’t have all the pieces, yet they are clicking on all-cylinders and if they can win on the road against the Cardinals Monday Night, they will return home for two more home matches against Cal Poly and Denver before their Big Ten Opener at Michigan on September 11.