Wittenbrink winner sends IU to eighth straight Sweet 16
BLOOMINGTON, Indiana – Indiana Men’s Soccer is the only program to reach the third round of the NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship in each of the past eight seasons.
The Hoosiers (11-4-6, 3-1-4 B1G) won a 1-0 shutout against Saint Louis (12-5-3, 6-1-1 A-10) with a 75th-minute strike of redshirt senior Ryan Wittenbrink on Sunday (Nov. 20) on the Jerry Yeagley field at Bill Armstrong Stadium.
With the second-round win, IU will host Marshall in a third-round matchup next weekend in Bloomington for a rematch of the 2020 NCAA College Cup Finals.
KEY MOMENTS
• 11′ – Indiana had their best chance of the first half on an early corner kick when the ball went inside the penalty area for redshirt senior Daniel Munie. Munie attempted a shot through his body, but SLU senior goalkeeper Carlos Tofern got in just ahead and deflected it to freshman midfielder Jack Wagoner, who put in a wide attempt .
• 14′ – Three minutes later, the Billikens scored perhaps their best ever try as a long shot appeared to be on goal before junior defender Joey Maher put his foot in front.
• 60′ – An excellent link-up play gave SLU senior midfielder John Klein space in the box, but he fired his shot high and wide.
• 75′ – As he has done many times this season, Wittenbrink dribbles from the left wing, cuts with his right foot, finds an angle and fires a shot into the top corner to break the deadlock.
NOTABLES
• Indiana advances to the third round of the NCAA Tournament for the eighth consecutive year. The Hoosiers shared the streak with Wake Forest entering the campaign, but the Demon Deacons lost in the first round of the tournament to end their run to seven consecutive seasons.
• IU went 8-3-1 at Bill Armstrong Stadium this season while winning their sixth home clean sheet.
• The Hoosiers have won seven in a row against Saint Louis and improved to 5-0 in tournament matches against SLU, all of which were played in Bloomington. Indiana holds an overall all-time series record of 24-9-4.
• Indiana extended its NCAA tournament winning record, claiming 98th place on Sunday.
• Of its 47 NCAA Tournament appearances, Indiana has won at least one game in 39 of them.
• The Hoosiers are 5-3-1 against ranked opponents. The Billikens came 20th in the United Soccer Coaches poll.
• With his winning tally, Wittenbrink has scored a goal in each of his last six matches (three goals, three assists). The red-shirted senior leads the team in goals (9), assists (8) and points (26) and scored his fifth game-winning goal this season, which leads the Big Ten and is tied for third national rank.
NEXT
Indiana will host Marshall next weekend in the Round of 16. More information will be announced soon.
#GoIU
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