Michigan Comeback Falls Just Short at Indiana in Big Ten Tournament Semifinal

Wednesday, November 8

Bloomington, Ind.

8:00 PM

Michigan

5-6-7, 2-1-5

Indiana

11-4-4, 4-2-2

Michigan

Indiana

Riley Ferch (Michigan Photography)

Michigan Comeback Falls Just Short at Indiana in Big Ten Tournament Semifinal

11/8/2023 11:00:00 PM | Men's Soccer

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By: Megan McIntosh

» Michigan's late comeback came up just short, falling 4-3 to Indiana in Big Ten Tournament semifinal match.
» U-M scored two goals in the second half.
» Riley Ferch scored the game-tying goal off a pass from Matthew Fisher.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The No. 5-seeded University of Michigan men's soccer team saw its comeback fall just short as No. 2-seeded Indiana scored in the final four minutes to earn a 4-3 win on Wednesday (Nov. 8) at Bill Armstrong Stadium in a Big Ten Tournament semifinal.

The Wolverines (5-6-7) came out as the stronger team in the second half, scoring two goals to knot the score at 3-3, but Indiana found the game-winner with less than four minutes remaining with U-M having just 10 players on the field due to a red card.

Michigan came out of the locker firing on all cylinders in the second half to score two goals. The first came off a Quin Rogers penalty kick, while the equalizer going off the head of Riley Ferch off a service from Matthew Fisher. Jason Bucknor scored the Wolverines' first goal of the match for the Wolverines, with Simon Vasquez credited with the assist.

The Hoosiers took the early lead with a goal in the 21st minute with a shot going into the bottom-left corner of the net. However, the Wolverines answered quickly when Vasquez sent the ball long up the field to Bucknor. He took one touch past his defender and found the bottom-right corner of the net from eight yards out in the 22nd minute to knot the score at 1-1.

Indiana added two goals to end the half as the Hoosiers went into the locker room with the 3-1 advantage.

The Wolverines came out of the locker room taking six straight shots on back-to-back corner opportunities, but some quick saves allowed IU to maintain its two-goal lead.

Michigan continued to be the better team out of the halftime break as Duilio Herrera earned a penalty kick when he was fouled just inside the 18-yard box. Rogers stepped in to take the penalty kick and buried the ball into the net to cut the Indiana lead to just one in the 54th minute.

U-M pushed the pace as Fisher sent a pass into the 18-yard box onto the head of Ferch, who flicked it into the bottom-left corner of the net for the game-tying goal in the 72nd minute. The Wolverines had a red card issued in the 75th minute and was forced to play the remainder of the match with only 10 players.

Indiana pressed and scored its fourth goal off a rebound before U-M attempted to tie it up for the second time just a minute later. The IU keeper made the save and the Wolverines' comeback fell a goal short.

The Wolverines used a young group of talent in the 2023 season, starting at least five freshmen in every single match while Alex Waggoner scored a team best six goals.