By Benjamin Lampkin
The Indiana Hoosiers, ranked No. 9 nationally, came to Cardinal Park and showedLouisville how it’s done. In front of a mixed crowd of 2,130 fans Thursdaynight, the Hoosiers were responsible for the game’s four goals, coming away witha shutout on the Cardinal’s home field.
After a relatively quiet 23 minutes of the first period, Indiana’s Pat Noonanmade his first appearance in the scoring column, netting an unassisted goal atthe 23:35 mark. Ten minutes later, a shot off the crossbar and an assist by MikeAmbersley gave Noonan his second goal of the match.
“I thought for about the first 25 minutes we played very well,” said U of L head coachTony Colavecchia, “but then we had a mental breakdown. And when you make amistake against them (IU), they will punish you.”
The Cards had two scoring opportunities in the first period, on one occasionhaving a ball cleared by an IU defender who used an effective bicycle kick.
At the start of the second period, the Cards found themselves quicklyfacing a near insurmountable lead, as Tyler Hawley put in the Hoosiers thirdgoal of the evening off another assist by Mike Ambersley.
Against the Hoosier defense, the Cards never got in sync on offense. Theymanaged only four shots on goal for the game, compared with 11 for IU. The physicalHoosiers matched up well against Louisville, with 29 total fouls being called inthe game.
“Their defense was very well organized, and we didn’t have many chancesagainst them,” Colavecchia said. “We were just outclassed by them.”
Indiana put in the final goal of the game at the 67:41 mark, courtesy ofMike Ambersley. Ambersley finished with an exceptional game, piling up twoassists to go along to go along with his goal.
Asked what his team could improve upon, Colavecchia responded, “We need tobe quicker, sharper. We need to hit the back of the net, because obviously goalscoring has been a struggle for us. But with the Conference USA schedule comingup, I think we’ll be ok. Because we played a very good team tonight.”
The Cardinals are now 1-3 on the season, and next travel to Chicagoto face DePaul on Sept. 23.
