By Nick Jenkinson-SCINN Sports Director
The #2 Indiana Hoosiers held off the Penn State Nittany Lions 2-1 Friday Afternoon on Jerry Yeagley Field at Bill Armstrong Stadium. This game kicked off at 1 PM with the #5 Indiana Football team hosting Northwestern later this evening in a primetime showdown. The Matinee had a crowd of 2,204 fans and the saw the Hoosiers improve to 8-0-2 on the season and 3-0-1 in the Big Ten as the Hoosiers have 10 points through four conference matches with six more to play. Penn State drops to 2-5 on the season and 0-3 in the Big Ten and will return home on Monday Night to face UCLA at 7 PM on the Big Ten Network. Indiana will return to action next Friday Night at Home when they face the Maryland Terrapins at 7 PM on the Big Ten Network.
Indiana and Penn State are two of the top seven winningest programs in NCAA Men’s Soccer History. Penn State is second behind UCLA with 896 Wins and Indiana and Virginia are tied for seventh with 853 wins. The Hoosiers are 853-209-125 all-time in 54 seasons dating back to 1973. Indiana is 160-40-33 in the Big Ten and Penn State is second all-time in the conference with 111 wins. The Hoosiers are 388-67-54 all time at Bill Armstrong Stadium and 102-11-17 since 2016 with 70 shutouts in 130 matches. Indiana Head Coach Todd Yeagley is 224-76-60 in 17 seasons at his alma mater and 76-28-23 in the Big Ten. Overall Yeagley is 79-31-23 in the Big Ten after he spent the 2009 season at Wisconsin. Yeagley is 231-85-62 in 18 seasons overall. Indiana leads the All-Time Series 42-15-5 and has won 7 straight in the series since 2022.
After controlling the possession for the first 28 minutes of the match the Hoosiers found the back of the net in the 29th minute as Oliver Moller-Jensen scored his sixth goal in 10 matches this season as he tucked the ball into the right bottom corner of the net off his right foot for a 1-0 Hoosier lead. Moller-Jensen started his career at Florida Atlantic and has scored 14 goals in 58 matches in his college career. Moller-Jensen got the ball in the final third and made a great run the ball as Penn State Freshman Goalkeeper Daniel Peluffo-Weise who stands 6-7 had no chance to save Moller-Jensen’s shot.
The Hoosiers outshot the Nittany Lions 12-2 and 4-2 shots on goal. Penn State Goalkeeper Daniel Peluffo-Wiese had four first half saves and Indiana Goalkeeper Michal Mroz had 2 saves. Penn State committed 9 fouls and Indiana committed 7 fouls. Both teams had 3 corner kicks, and neither team was called for offsides in the first half. Indiana’s Nick McHenry was booked at the 24:13 mark but Penn State picked up three yellow cards with the Assistant Coach getting a card for dissent at the 28:08 mark followed by Noah Andreas at the 28:31 mark and Amadou Kone at the 43:41 mark both for unsporting.
Penn State tied the game in the 54th minute when Morgan Marshall scored his first goal of the season and Amadou Kone got his second assist of the season as Indiana Goalkeeper Michal Mroz gave up his fifth goal of the season in 10 matches. Indiana took the lead in the 77th minute when Oliver Moller Jensen got the brace on an assist from Stephane Njike. Moller-Jensen scored his seventh goal in 10 matches and Njike recorded his second assist of the season as the Hoosiers have scored 2,799 goals in program history.
Indiana outshot Penn State 23-8 and as both teams had 6 shots on goal apiece. Both Daniel Peluffo-Weise and Michal Mroz made five saves a piece between the pipes. Penn State committed 16 fouls and Indiana committed 12 fouls. Indiana had 7 corner kicks and Penn State had 4 corner kicks and Indiana was called offside once.
The Hoosiers have Maryland, Northwestern and Michigan State at home and Rutgers, Ohio State and UCLA on the road before the Big Ten Tournament. The Hoosiers have been the kings of the Big Ten with 19 Regular Season Titles and 16 Tournament Titles since the Big Ten Started Men’s Soccer in 1991. The Hoosiers know no game is easy and there is not team at the bottom of the conference regardless of what the conference standings say. ” Every team is in the Big Ten is going to be tough and there are no easy games” Indiana Forward Oliver Moller-Jensen said after the game. Moller-Jensen added ” It gives us power and momentum going forward into the bigger games, and it was huge win for us today.”
Indiana Head Coach Todd Yeagley said after the game that “There is no bottom of the Big Ten, there is a middle and teams trying to get to the top tier, mathematically Penn State has no points through three games, but they are not a bottom Big Ten Team and every game is going to be a dogfight”. That dogfight continues next Friday Night when the Hoosiers Host Maryland at 7 PM and Indiana will ride in the month of October which has been a great month throughout the years with an unbeaten record as the quest for nine continues.