Local Sports Headlines: September 5, 2023

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Indiana University Football falls in season opener to #3 Ohio State
The Indiana Hoosiers Football team fell to the #3 Ohio State Buckeyes 23-3 on Saturday afternoon in the 2023 season opener at Memorial Stadium. The Hoosiers opened their 139th season of football with a tough task ahead with Ohio State has beaten Indiana 29 straight times dating back to 1991 and lead the all-time series 80-12-5 dating back to 1901. The Buckeyes are 29-2-1 all time in Bloomington and IU has not beaten Ohio State since 1988 and the teams played to a 27-27 tie in 1990. Ohio State has won all six season opening meetings with the Hoosiers and IU is 13-2 in home openers since 2002 with the only other loss coming to Ohio State in 2017. Tom Allen begins his 7th season and is now 1-3 in Big Ten Season Openers. The Hoosiers lost to Iowa in 2021 and beat Illinois at home to open the 2022 season. IU has faced a ranked opponent three of the last four season to open the season.

Tom Allen did not reveal a starting Quarterback until the Hoosiers took the field for their opening possession of the game and Redshirt Freshman Brendan Sorsby came out and led the Hoosiers on the first two drives of the game and the Hoosiers had two 3 and outs and had to punt. Tayven Jackson came in on the third series and got the Hoosiers moving in the right direction, but Indiana only came away with 42-yard field goal by Chris Freeman with 6:15 left in the second quarter in which Allen said earlier in the week he was not going to reveal a starting kicker either. Sorsby who returned in the third quarter was 8-16 passing for 58 yards and 6 carries for negative 2 yards. Tayven Jackson was 1-5 passing for 24 yards and 11 yards rushing on 3 carries. The Hoosiers Christian Turner had 7 carries for 29 yards and Jaylin Lucas had 11 carries for 24 yards. Cam Camper who returned after missing most of last season with a Torn ACL had 3 catches for 35 yards. The Hoosiers had 153 yards of total offense. IU had 10 first downs, 5-15 on third downs, 1-3 on fourth downs and had 7 penalties for 70 yards.  Combined the Hoosier Quarterback were 9-21 passing for 82 yards.

Ohio State was led by Running Back Mayan Williams who scored both touchdowns on just seven carries for 25 yards. Williams scored on the Buckeyes first drive of the game with a 7-yard run with 7:16 left in the first quarter. Williams punched it in from 3 yards out with 1:16 left in the third quarter. Jayden Felding added three field goals as he hit a 40 yarder with three seconds left before halftime and 22 yards with 6:42 left in the third quarter along with another 22-yard field goal with 4:26 left in the game. Starting Quarterback Kyle McCord went 20-33 passing for 239 yards and an interception.  The Buckeyes top two receivers were held in check as Emeka Egbuka had 3 catches for 16 yards and Marvin Harrison Jr had 2 catches for 18 yards. Egubka and Harrison Jr finished last season with over 1,000 yards receiving.

Cade Stover had 5 catches for 98 yards receiving and Deamonte Trayanum had 8 rushes for 57 yards. Leading rusher from last season Treveon Henderson finished with 12 carries and 47 yards. Ohio State racked up 380 yards of total offense. Devin Brown the backup quarterback for the Buckeyes was 1-3 passing for minus three yards. The Buckeyes had 23 first downs, 2-12 on third down conversions and 2-3 on fourth down conversions along with 5 penalties for 41 yards.

Indiana showed progress on the defensive side of the ball as Western Michigan Transfer Andre Carter had 2 tackles for loss and pass breakup, Aaron Casey led the Hoosiers on defense with 9 solo tackles and a tackle for loss. Phillip Dunnam had the interception for the Hoosiers as this team brought in 24 transfers in the off season and look to improve from a 4-8 season a year ago.  The Hoosiers are 0-1 and 0-1 in the Big Ten and will Host Indiana State on Friday Night at 7 pm on the Big Ten Network. The Sycamores lost to Eastern Illinois at home 27-0 on Thursday Night. 

Indiana University Women’s Soccer surpasses their 2022-win total with a 2-0 win over Northern Illinois
After a 2-2 draw on the road at #25 Tennessee last Thursday Night the Indiana Hoosiers Women’s Soccer Team came home Sunday Night to Jerry Yeagley Field at Bill Armstrong Stadium with 2-0 win over the Northern Illinois Huskies in the first ever meeting between the two teams.  The Hoosiers are 4-0-2 on the season and surpassed last year’s win total of 3 wins when IU finished 3-7-7 overall in 2022.  The Hoosiers have 11 goals this season which equalizes last season’s goal total. “Nobody wants a repeat of last year” Paige Webber said after the match. “We have been working hard and aggressive to get more goals and we have the confidence to do that” Webber said.  Northern Illinois is 2-2-1 on the season and will make the trip to Evansville on September 10, against the Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles.

The Hoosiers got the first shot on goal 34 seconds into the match as Olivia Rush shot the ball on the ground to the bottom center and saved by Huskie Goalkeeper Sadie McGill. 15 seconds later Hoosier Defender Kennedy Neighbors went down with an injury and was replaced by Elle Britt.  Paige Webber who scored her scored her 3rd goal of the season and her 9th of her career against Tennessee got her first shot on goal going bottom right of net and was saved by McGill 9 minutes and 6 seconds into the match. Northern Illinois got its first shot of the match at 10:50 mark when Sahara Zingano shot was off target. Webber got her second shot of the game but was off target at 13:02 mark.  Northern Illinois got their second shot of the match when Lea Gruennagel shot was blocked off the head of Indiana’s Lauren Costello at the 14:32 mark and Costello was taken off on a cart for a possible concussion and replaced by Camille Hamm.  Marisa Grzesiak who had an assist against Tennessee got her shot blocked by McGill at the 21:40 mark and Elle Britt shot 8 seconds later was blocked.  Paige Webber went one on one down the right side and her shot got pass McGill but just went wide and out of bounds at the at the 29.12 mark.  The Hoosiers broke through at the 35:14 mark when Paige Webber was right in front of the goal and got it passed McGill for her 4th goal of the season and 10th of her career and assist goes to Marisa Grzesiak for her second of the season which she assisted on Sofia Black’s goal at Tennessee.  

The Hoosiers controlled the first half leading 13-3 in shots and 6-0 in shots on goal. Northern Illinois Goalkeeper Sadie McGill had 5 saves and Indiana Goalkeeper Jamie Gerstenberg did not record a first half save after she made six against Tennessee. Northern Illinois committed 6 fouls and the Hoosiers committed two. Indiana had 2 corner kicks and Northern Illinois had one.  Indiana was called for offsides 3 times and Northern Illinois was offside two times.  The Hoosiers played nine players off the bench and Huskies played seven with game time temperature at 85 degrees.

In the second half the Hoosiers attacked as Anna Bennett got a shot off a minute and six seconds into the half and it was off target.  Northern Illinois got their best chance at goal when a shot by Amber Best was off target at the 60:19 mark.  IU’s Sydney Masur was called for a yellow card at the 59:50 mark and Abby Zipse of Northern Illinois picked up a yellow card 37 seconds later. The Hoosiers scored their second goal of the match at the 63:28 when Hope Parades found Paige Webber who used her left foot to go bottom right past Sadie McGill for her second goal of the game and 11th of her career. Parades who transferred in from San Diego State her second assist of the season after she had one at Tennessee.

The Hoosiers controlled the game start to the finish as IU had 20 shots to just 5 for the Huskies. Indiana had 9 shots on goal to zero for NIU. Saide McGill made 7 saves for Northern Illinois. McGill transferred from North Texas and the Fort Worth Texas native had given up 1 goal, 6 saves and had 3 shutouts coming into this game and was replaced by Deighton Warmer at the 83:27 mark.  The Huskies committed 13 fouls and IU had eight. The Hoosiers had 4 corner kicks to just 1 for the Huskies. Indiana was called for offsides 3 times and NIU was called for offsides twice. “We are happy with the result and our depth and chances to score from all different ways and our depth has given us confidence throughout the season” Indiana Head Coach Erwin van Bennekom said after the match. 

Indiana goalkeeper Jamie Gerstenberg who did not make a save in this game picks up her 14th career win between the pipes and she moves into a tie for ninth place on the all-time goalkeepers win list with Lauren Fabbro who played for the Hoosiers from 2003-05. Gerstenberg has four shutouts in six games this season and had 19 for her career and is closing in on Bethany Koppel’s record with 23 all time shutouts from 2017-22.  Indiana will be back at home on Thursday Night against the Louisville Cardinals at 7pm.

Bloomington South and Bloomington North win on the Road while Edgewood falls in HS Football
Week 3 of the High School Football Season saw the same results as week 2 with both Bloomington South and Bloomington North winning and Edgewood losing Friday Night. Bloomington South routed Terre Haute South 66-0 while Bloomington North beat Terre Haute South 38-28 and Edgewood fell to Cascade 63-2 as all three games were on the road.  

Bloomington South is now 3-0 for the first time since the 2021 season never let off the gas petal as they jumped out to a 35-0 lead after the first quarter and led 59-0 at halftime. The Panthers added one more touchdown in the third quarter as Anthony Perez scored on a 37-yard touchdown run for his second career varsity touchdown. Bloomington South had 392 yards of total offense with 200 rushing yards and 182 passing yards. Terre Haute North who drops to 0-3 on the season was held minus 32 yards rushing on 21 carries while quarterback Harrison Wetzel was 15-27 for 92 yards. The Panthers 66 points are the most since a 69-41 win over Bloomington North since 2008.

Bloomington North is 3-0 for the first time since the 2021 season. The Cougars trailed 28-17 going into the fourth quarter and scored three times to complete the comeback. Stephen Okopu had a 96-yard kickoff return in the second quarter to tie the game at 14-14. Terre Haute South led 21-14 at halftime after a back and forth first half.  The Cougars got an interception and scored on a touchdown pass to make it 32-28 and then scored with 13 seconds left to seal the win.  Terre Haute South drops to 0-3 on the season. 

Edgewood trailed 28-0 after the first quarter and Cascade did not let up with a 63-2 rout over the Mustangs. It’s the most points that Edgewood has given up since August 26, 2011, when Northview beat Edgewood 63-12 in Brazil. This the third straight season Edgewood has given up 60 points in a game and all three on the road.  In 2021 Edgewood was shoutout 60-0 at Northview and last season South Putnam won 60-7. Edgewood is 1-2 on the season and already dealing with injuries and depth issues under first year head coach Scott Fischer. Cascade improves to 2-1 on the season this is most points they have scored in a game since September 9, 2022, when they beat Cloverdale 74-0.

Week 4 is rivalry night as Bloomington North will travel crosstown to face Bloomington South in a battle of unbeaten teams.  Edgewood will travel 10 miles down the road to Owen Valley to face the Patriots in Spencer. Owen Valley will come into the Black and Blue trophy game 1-2 after a 38-0 loss at Indian Creek.

#9 Washington knocks off #3 Indiana University Men’s Soccer 1-0
A Battle of top ten teams lived up to the hype Friday night on Jerry Yeagley Field at Bill Armstrong Stadium as the #9 Washington Huskies came into Bloomington and came out with 1-0 win over the #3 Indiana Hoosiers.   Indiana leads the all-time series 4-2 but Washington has won the last two meetings after the Huskies beat the Hoosiers 3-2 in overtime in the 2021 NCAA Sweet 16 in Seattle. This was the second all-time regular season meeting as the Hoosiers beat Washington 1-0 in 2001 in a game that was played in Portland Oregon. The Hoosiers won three NCAA Tournament matches against the Huskies both 2-0 scores in 1992 and 1999 and 2-1 in 2000 in Seattle. The Hoosiers are scheduled to play the Huskies next year in Seattle as part of a home and home series and know that will be a conference matchup as Washington joins the Big Ten Conference in August of 2024 along with USC, UCLA and Oregon. The Hoosiers are 355-71-52 all time at Bill Armstrong Stadium and 67-7-11 since 2016.

Coming of a 31-1 shot advantage against DePaul Tuesday Night, the Hoosiers outshot the Huskies 14-7 as both teams had 6 shots on goal. Washington Goalkeeper Sam Fowler who missed the last game against San Diego made 6 saves and gets his second shutout of the season after a 2-0 win over South Florida on August 24, and his 27th career shutout.  Indiana Goalkeeper JT Harms made five saves for the Hoosiers. There were 27 combined fouls with the Huskies committing 16 and the Hoosiers committing 11. Both teams had four corner kicks a piece and Washington was called for offside four times while the Hoosiers were called for offsides three times.  

Indiana came out aggressive controlling the possession as both teams worked the ball around but the defense from both teams prevented any shots from being taken for the first 12 minutes and 46 seconds until Washington’s Peter Kingston and Richie Amann got good looks at goal and Indiana Goalie JT Harms saved both shots 15 seconds apart. The Huskies controlled the game in the midway through the first half and got their third look a goal when Nate Jones who is one of the best defensive players in the nation went bottom center of the net and Harms made his third save of the match.  At the 24:25 mark Indiana Freshman Collins Oudro went bottom left of net and Washington Goalkeeper Sam Fowler got his first save of the match. Odruo launched a shot outside the box and went over the crossbar for his second shot of the game at the 27:01 mark as the Hoosiers started to find their momentum finding the holes in the Huskies defense. Karsen Henderlong sailed a shot over the cross bar at the 31:22 mark.  With 7:06 left in the first half the teams took a hydration break as temperatures were in the mid 70’s.

In the first half Indiana had 4 shots and the Huskies had three.  Washington had three shots on goal to one for the Hoosiers. JT Harms had three saves for Indiana and Sam Fowler had 1 for Washington. Washington committed 7 fouls and IU had 6. Washington had one corner kick and the Hoosiers did not have one and the Huskies were called offsides three times and the Hoosiers were called for offsides once.  Two minutes and 15 seconds into the second half Tommy Mihalic launched a shot that hit the crossbar. Mihalic tested Fowler right in front of the goal at the 59:32 as the Washington Goalie made a great save to keep the Hoosiers off the scoreboard. Washington broke though at the 76:59 mark when Freshman Charlie Kosakoff scored his first career goal when he went bottom right off goal off his right foot and got it past Harms with the Assist to Cooper Bunnell and Richie Amann who both get their first assist of the season. The game which was physical got chippy at the 77:20 when Indiana’s Hugo Bacharach and Amann were called for a yellow card. After the final whistle Washington Head Coach Jamie Clark who picked up his 163rd win at Washington and 202nd overall ran toward the officials after the game to voice his displeasure and there was yellow card handed out after the match to the Huskies for persistent infringement.

Indiana University Cross Country opens the season with a strong performance at the Miami Redhawk Rumble
Indiana cross country posted strong results int their season opener at the Redhawk Rumble, hosted by Miami (Ohio), early Friday morning. Abe Eckman led the men’s squad with a top-three finish in the men’s 6K (3rd, 18:12.26) while Phoebe Bates (1st, 17:44.71) paced the women as she won the race with a personal best time.

In their first meet of the season, the men posted two top-10 finishes behind sophomore Abe Eckman and graduate Skylar Stidam. The Hoosiers added three more top-25 finishes from graduates Austin Haskett (11th, 18:25.96) and Tristian Forsythe (20th, 19:03.15) and sophomore Cole Raymond (22nd, 19:15.26) in the men’s 6K. Seven Hoosiers finished with personal bests including collegiate debuts from Lily Myers, Grace Tyson and Jasmine Klopstad. The men’s squad ran their first 6K each setting personal bests in the event.

Indiana Fever eliminated from WNBA Playoff Contention after a home loss to the Dallas Wings
Three Indiana Fever players recorded double-doubles in the same game for the first time in franchise history as Indiana (11-25) fell to the Dallas Wings, 110-100, on Friday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. With the loss, Indiana was officially eliminated from postseason contention. Aliyah Boston’s double-double included a career-high 27 points on 11-of-17 shooting from the floor and 11 rebounds to go along with five assists. The WNBA All-Star became just the fifth rookie in WNBA history to record at least 25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a game, per Across the Timeline. In addition, Boston pulled down three offensive rebounds on the night, which gave her sole possession of first place in the franchise ranks for most offensive rebounds in a rookie year.

NaLyssa Smith’s double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds included her 500th career rebound and ended the night with 509 rebounds through 59 career games. Smith is the fastest player in franchise history and eighth-fastest in WNBA history to reach the 500-rebound milestone, per Across the Timeline. Erica Wheeler led Indiana to its season-high 27 assists as she dished out 10 assists and scored 12 points in her third double-double of the season. Kelsey Mitchell added 25 points and five assists on the night, while Kristy Wallace pitched in 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor and 4-of-5 shooting from 3-point range. Former Indiana University star Grace Berger did not score in 12 minutes for action. Berger was 0-1 from the field with a rebound and a turnover.

After Mitchell netted Indiana’s first six points on a perfect 3-of-3 shooting clip to tie Dallas, 6-6, at the 8:15 mark, the Fever led the Wings on a 10-0 scoring run that would extend to 16-6 through the next roughly three minutes. Mitchell went on to score 11 points in the quarter, while Boston added eight points and dished out three assists. After shooting an efficient 57.1 percent (12-of-21) from the floor in the first frame, Indiana led Dallas, 27-24, at the conclusion of the quarter. Dallas regained the lead one minute into the second quarter. Smith’s eight points and Boston’s six points on a 3-of-3 shooting clip guided the Fever through the second frame, but the Wings ended the final three minutes of the half on an 11-2 scoring run to go into the locker room leading, 54-46. Highlighted by Wheeler’s six first half assists, Indiana dished out 16 assists within the first 20 minutes of play, which was the most assists it has recorded in a half this season and the second highest total for a half in franchise history. 

The Wings took a 10-point lead to open the second half, but the Fever responded with an 18-6 scoring run that was capped off with a 3-pointer from Mitchell to give the Fever a two-point lead. Indiana outscored the Wings, 31-26, and shot 69.2 percent (9-of-13) from the floor in the quarter with the help of Mitchell’s nine points, Smith’s seven points, as well as Wheeler and Boston’s six points each. After seven lead changes within the final five minutes of the quarter, the Fever trailed the Wings, 80-77, going into the fourth frame. While Indiana shot 33.3 percent (6-of-18) from the floor in the fourth quarter, the Wings took a 15-point lead, which was the largest lead of the game, and shot 61.1 percent (11-of-18) from the court in the final ten minutes of play. Despite Wallace’s nine points on a 3-of-3 shooting clip beyond the arc and Boston’s seven points, the Wings outscored the Fever, 30-23, in the final quarter to secure the win.

For Dallas, the Wings’ season-high offensive output was fueled by Satou Sabally’s career-high 40 points. Sabally’s 28 points in the second half were scored on a 9-of-10 shooting clip, and five of her seven 3-pointers were scored in the fourth quarter alone. The Wings forward also pulled down seven rebounds and dished out four assists.  Arike Ogunbowale followed behind in the scoring column with 25 points on 8-of-19 shooting from the floor and 5-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc. Awak Kuier and Kalani Brown added 10 points each, while Veronica Burton dished out a team-high eight assists.

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