By Nick Jenkinson-SCINN Sports Director
The Indiana Hoosiers improved to 2-0 on the season with a 3-1 win over the Youngstown State Penguins Sunday Afternoon on Jerry Yeagley Field at Bill Armstrong Stadium in Bloomington. Indiana leads the all-time series with Youngstown State 2-0 after the two teams met on this same field a year ago with Indiana winning 6-1. Indiana is home on Friday Evening at 8 PM when they host the Bellarmine Knights and they will honor the Senior Class before the game. Head Coach Josh Rife is 7-6-6 in his second season at Indiana. Youngstown State is 0-2 on the season after losing the season opener at Pittsburgh 2-1 and will Host Kent State on Thursday Night. Head Coach Rich Wall 8-12-2 in Second Season at Youngstown State and 63-60-12 overall. Wall as an assistant coach under Rife at Ball State in 2019 as the Cardinals tied a program record 15 wins and were runners up in the Mid-American Conference.
The game was similar to a season ago when Indiana led 1-0 at halftime before scoring five second half goals and allowing 1 to win 6-1. This time the same scoreline at halftime 1-0 as the Hoosiers scored 2 second half goals and allowed Youngstown State to get one back as in two meeting between the programs the Hoosiers have outscored the Penguins 9-2. “Obviously experience helps in seeing us a second time and credit to their staff and players and they are little more organized and experienced, and I told the group at halftime that we need to find a way to put balls into the back of net put this game away and i am proud of how they responded” Indiana Head Coach Josh Rife Said after the match.
Youngstown State finished with school best 6-2-2 conference record in 2025 and has the team positioned well in the Horizon League, picked to finished third in the preseason polls while returning their top four scorers. Youngstown State returns 19 letterwinners and six starters from last year’s squad and added 16 newcomers, including five transfers, for the upcoming campaign. Last season, the Penguins posted the most goals scored (29), assists (24), and points (82) against an exclusively Division I schedule in program history. Youngstown State returns its top four scorers and 82.8 percent of its goals scored, 66.7 percent of its assists, and 78 percent of its total points scored from that squad.
The Hoosiers jumped out to the 1-0 lead in the 6th minute when Maggie Ledwith sent a beautiful ball into the box that found the head of Kennedy Neighbors who sent it into the goal passed Youngstown State Goalkeeper Kendall Sears. It’s the first goal of the season for Neighbors and the fourth of her career and Ledwith gets her 6th career assist and first of the season. “There is no better feeling than getting a goal at the Bill” Indiana Midfielder Kennedy Neighbors said after the match. Indiana outshot Youngstown State 6-0 in the first half and had 4 shots on goal as Youngstown State Goalkeeper Kendall Sears made 4 saves. Indiana Goalkeeper Dani Jacobson did not face a shot or made a save in the first 45 minutes. Indiana had 8 corner kicks, and the Penguins did not have a corner kick as Youngstown State was called offsides twice and Indiana was offside once. Neighbors emphasize after the game that every home game is to protect home turf and “Protect the Bill” and also to play which with “grit and passion to get the result needed to get the Hoosiers the results it needs to be successful for the entire season.
Three minutes into the second half. Indiana found the back of the next for the second time as Aleyna Quinn scored her first goal of the season and the third of her career. Quinn played her freshman year at Ball State for Indiana Head Coach Josh Rife and then followed Rife and the Coaching staff to Bloomington. Quinn played in four games a season ago before she suffered a season ending injury scoring two goals including the game winner against her former team Ball State and Youngstown State. Maggie Ledwith added her second assist of the game and Kennedy Neighbors had her first assist of the season and her 3rd assist of her career. “That is fantastic to have her back on the field, and she brings a different element and is a different kind of athlete and really great to have her and her goals per game is really great Coach Rife talking about Aleyna Quinn. “When we got her in the spring, she scored two goals playing limited minutes and has goals in her and we are happy to her back and healthy and makes us better when she is on the field” Rife added.
Youngstown State scored in the 58th minute when Sophomore Ghita Haouzi beat her defender on the right side of the box and fired a shot into the far-left corner of goal passed Dani Jacobson for the Penguins first shot of match. Hazoui missed the entire 2025 season with an injury and played 50 minutes in the season opener at Pittsburgh Last Thursday Night. Piper Coffield missed the Penalty Kick in the 72nd minute after Ledwith was taken down in the box. Coffield’s kick went wide left of the goal. The Hoosiers would score a minute later as Maggie Ledwith scored her first goal of the season and Emma Ehret with her first assist of the season. Its Ledwith’s 6th career goal and a season ago she scored a goal and recorded an assist against the Penguins.
Indiana outshot Youngstown State 18-1 and 10-1 and shots on goal. Kendall Sears made 7 saves for Youngstown State and Dani Jacobson did not make a save and gave up her second goal of the season and now has a record 6-3-2 in 19 career matches for the Hoosiers. Indiana had 15 corner kicks and Youngstown State did not have one. Both teams committed 11 fouls each and Indiana was called for offsides 3 times and Youngstown State twice.
Indiana now gets ready for Bellarmine who beat the Hoosiers 2-1 on August 31st, 2025, in Louisville and with it being Senior night Coach Rife knows how important it is to get that result for his team. ” Our players and I have not forgotten that loss and we have bad taste in our mouths and let’s remember to show up and put together a complete performance” Josh Rife Said. The Hoosiers have protected the Bill since Rife took over with a 7-1-3 record and will look to add to that total on Friday Night and avenge a loss to Bellarmine.