Goumballe's Two-Goal Match Seals 4-3 Win, Sends Indiana To Big Ten Tournament Final
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — As Michigan goalkeeper Isaiah Goldson sprawled to the grass and desperately blocked Hugo Bacharach's toed shot, the Big Ten Tournament semifinal between No. 1 Indiana and No. 5 Michigan Wednesday night eerily paused.
The teams remained tied with three minutes left in regulation and a trip to the Big Ten Tournament championship at stake, along with the Wolverines' season. For a second, the passionate Bill Armstrong Stadium crowd groaned, as a chance to take the lead fizzled.
Indiana fifth-year senior forward Maouloune Goumballe was the closest to Goldson, who could only tap the ball left. Goumballe scurried to the loose ball, wound up his right leg, and slid to the ground, as he buried the ball in the back of the net.
Goumballe's goal was the decider in the 4-3 victory, which sent the Hoosiers to their seventh consecutive Big Ten Tournament championship. The back-and-forth, down-to-the-wire contest had to be the most astounding match for several, if not all, participants.
“Yes,” Goumballe confirmed after the win. The NCAA’s active leader in appearances seems like an expert to answer that. Goumballe twirled his fingers by his head when celebrating his match-winner, corresponding with the unbelievable nail-biting result. An announced near-3,000 fans intensified the postseason atmosphere at Bill Armstrong Stadium.
“I was just, you know, emotional,” Goumballe said. “I don't know what I did. Felt good though."
In concise recap of the match, the Hoosiers opened the scoring in the 21st minute with Goumballe's laser. Less than 70 seconds later, Michigan equalized as Jason Bucknor slid his goal past isolated Indiana goalkeeper JT Harms.
In the 36th, Bacharach put the Hoosiers ahead with a strike in the cluttered box, and Indiana added another goal five seconds before the break, courtesy of junior Tommy Mihalic’s rebound goal on the team’s distanced free-kick.
Following halftime, Michigan responded to the 3-1 deficit with two unanswered goals via Quin Rogers’ penalty kick in the 54th minute and Riley Ferch’s superb back-post header in the 72nd. Bucknor, however, picked up his second yellow card in the 75th minute, leaving the Wolverines with 10 players for the last 15 minutes. Playing down a man, Michigan left Bacharach unmarked in the box, leading to his saved shot and Goumballe’s rebound for back-to-back match-winners.
When Indiana and Michigan met in the last week of September, the Hoosiers settled for a scoreless draw – the complete opposite of Wednesday’s seven-goal shootout. They posted more shots on target than the Wolverines had in total, and yet, Indiana only had two points in the Big Ten through three conference matches. At that point in the season, Indiana’s RPI was around the mid-80s. There weren’t doubts Indiana could climb back, but it had to be proven.
“We've known the whole season how good we can be,” Mihalic said postmatch Wednesday. “We've had great performances down the entire stretch. But obviously goals weren't falling for us. Results were falling for us. But we've always had confidence it was never a doubt in this team that we could go where we want to go. Obviously, there’s so much more ahead of us.”
Indiana ultimately made the ascent to share the Big Ten regular-season title with No. 2 seed Penn State, further showing head coach Todd Yeagley shouldn't be underestimated when the calendar turns over in October and November. The Hoosiers had an outstanding October, as they've done for the past two seasons, and have taken their second four-match win streak into November to be well within reach of the Big Ten Double. Indiana's backline performed well throughout the season. The key was to unlock the attack's potential to score twice or more.
The Hoosiers did so at Penn State, versus Evansville and Ohio State, and at Maryland in their opening four-match win streak in mid-October, prior to being shutout at Northwestern. Though Goumballe and Mihalic, who accounted for three of the team’s goals Wednesday night, hadn’t scored any goals by that point in the season. Underwhelming is harsh. They supplied veteran presence, with Goumballe’s confident runs, and Mihalic’s shot output. But at long last, they each scored their first goals in Indiana’s 2-0 win over Division III Trine about two weeks ago.
That nonconference shutout began Indiana’s second and ongoing four-match win streak. Unsurprisingly, the attack scored twice or more in each victory again. Goumballe and Mihalic have recorded six of the team’s 12 goals in that span, the only instances where the Hoosiers posted four-goal matches this season. Indiana had put up four goals versus Rutgers in the regular-season finale two days post-Trine to clinch the share. Yeagley said Goumballe was in top form this time last year. On Wednesday, Goumballe said he’s in top form at the moment.
Harms also can't be forgotten. He was clutch in Indiana’s opening-round win over No. 8 seed Wisconsin. Though Michigan tallied three goals, Harms made an outstanding double save and kept Indiana in it when the Hoosiers really required it. Yeagley attributed last season's Big Ten Tournament final to when Harms turned the corner.
But Wednesday is the culmination of Goumballe’s and Mihalic’s impact on the team's triumphs lately. Their recent success mirrors the journey of Indiana's season: slow start, but coming up with gritty wins in October and November in this late-season run.
"I love seeing the team grow and get better," Yeagley said. “You don't really fully get to reflect on that until the season's complete. But when you're in it, it's really your coaching peers and friends will call, and they're like, 'Man, Todd … I really like what you guys have done here.’”
Should they not capture the Big Ten Tournament title, the Hoosiers seem secure for an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament. However, the roof is taller. If Indiana beats No. 2 seed Penn State – the fellow co-Big Ten regular-season champion – in the final on Sunday, that could catapult the Hoosiers to the top-16 national seeds in the NCAA Tournament. At least, Yeagley thinks so.
Regardless, Sunday offers the opportunity for Goumballe and Mihalic to hunt for more goals.
“Definitely [my] best game,” Goumballe revealed. “I've never scored two goals.”
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