Hoosier Showdown – LIVE

Follow as No. 22 Notre Dame takes on No. 19 Indiana in a highly-touted non-conference battle. This is the 30th annual meeting between the two teams with the Hoosiers holding a 23-5-1 advantage.

UPDATE 9:15 – Time has expired on this one. Indiana gets the win, but in reality the Irish defeated themselves with a score of Notre Dame 3, Notre Dame 0. In the final minutes the Irish did not mount any sort of offensive threat.

A small silver lining is that this game was a non-conference match, so it does not affect Notre Dame’s standing in the Big East. The Irish will resume conference play Saturday at home against West Virginia at 11:30.

UPDATE 9:05 p.m. – A turnover left Hoosier forward Will Bruin wide open with the ball in front of the goal and he easily beat Quinn to make the score 3-0 Indiana. This is very unlike Notre Dame’s defense, which almost never makes mistakes but has really lost all three goals tonight due to mistakes. This is the first game of the season that Notre Dame has allowed more than two scores in a game. In the 85th minute, the Irish hopes aren’t looking good.

UPDATE 9:00 p.m. – Another huge mistake results in another Indiana goal. After a goal kick going over everyone’s head into the Notre Dame box, Schaefer tried to play it back to Quinn who was not expecting it. Hoosier midfielder Darren Yeagle tapped the ball towards the goal and Quinn could only watch as it rolled into the net. Double Ouch. Indiana is up 2-0 with 10 minutes to play.

UPDATE 8:50 p.m. – The Irish look like they’re coming apart after the own goal. Another tussle in their box did not end up in a Hoosier score, but Notre Dame got so confused that Schaefer had to run in and make a save because Quinn was nowhere to be found. Indiana is also retaining possession better than they have all game. With just 20 minutes left, the Irish need to get their heads back in it and quickly if they want to make a comeback.

UPDATE 8:47 p.m. – After a Hoosier free kick into the wall and a little scrambling, the ball bounces off of Duckett and into the goal for an OWN GOAL. The score is now 1-0 Hoosiers. Ouch. This is especially painful because both teams are having so much trouble getting off shots; Notre Dame will now have to work very hard to make up for its own mistake.

UPDATE 8:32 p.m. – The second half has started and the players really just look cold. No one is being very aggressive to this point. A Notre Dame corner kick almost resulted in a goal as Schaefer headed the ball perfectly, but Hoosier goalkeeper Luis Soffner made the save. Soffner, just a freshman, has been fantastic tonight. He has three official saves, but he has also made several key plays that kept the Irish from scoring. In the 55th minute, the game is still tied 0-0.

UPDATE 8:08 p.m. – The score remains 0-0 at halftime, though the game is far but over. The Hoosiers have scored 12 of their 14 goals in the second half this season, and the Irish have scored 17 of 22 in the second half (and one in overtime).

So far in the game Notre Dame has taken five shots to Indiana’s three, and both goalies have two saves. Notre Dame has three corner kicks, Indiana four. The Hoosiers have committed four fouls, while the Irish just the one. That last stat is unusual for the Irish, who are a very physical team who tend to draw several fouls each game. The temperature has dropped to 41 degrees.

UPDATE 8:00 p.m. – Senior Bright Dike has been issued a yellow card after tripping up Hoosier defender Tommy Meyer in the 18. The play did not look vicious or intentional, but Meyer is still down with what may be a knee injury. The score remains 0-0 in the 40th minute, and the Hoosiers have not taken a shot since their two early in the game. All of Notre Dame’s defenders have been stepping up, with Duckett, sophomore Aaron Maund and senior John Schaefer each getting important stops for the Irish.

UPDATE 7:45 p.m. – The Hoosiers threatened with a long possession in the Notre Dame half – although they did not make any shots during that time – but junior defender Bilal Duckett managed to steal the ball and clear it out into the Indiana half. Notre Dame has retained possession since then but the game is still scoreless in the 25th minutes.

UPDATE 7:30 p.m. – Senior goalie Andrew Quinn has already made two impressive saves on what were essentially open shots by the Hoosiers. The Irish are coming out aggressively as the game enters the 15th minute. It’s obvious that these teams are very evenly-matched, but Notre Dame has been able to control the ball for the beginning part of this game. They have made two shots so far, one by sophomore Brendan King and another by senior Jeb Brovsky, but the score remains 0-0. Both of these teams are big second-half scorers, so most of the offense is probably yet to come.

UPDATE 7:15 p.m. – As the starters for both teams are introduced, the Irish are lined up with what I can only imagine is a CYO champion soccer team (The St. Pius Flying Lions). They’re probably no older than 10 and it’s really adorable. In other news, the sky is getting dark and it is very cold outside – 46 degrees at the start, with a windchill in the upper 30s. The stands are almost full, but there are tons of Indiana fans who made the trip from Bloomington.

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