INDIANAPOLIS - After reaching the NCAA Final Four in 2019, the UIndy men's soccer team (1-0, 1-0 GLVC) kicked off their path back to dancing, taking on the McKendree Bearcats (0-2, 0-1 GLVC) on Friday night.
Jack Berger scored the game's lone goal in the contest, the Greyhounds opening their season with a win on a final score of 1-0.
INS & OUTS
The Hounds opened the game full-sending on offense, pressuring the Bearcats continuously with three shots in the first 10 minutes of action compared to McKendree's zero. In the 15' minute,
Jakub Olczyk took a corner kick for the Hounds, placing the ball right in front of the net for Berger. The senior's jump over the defender was near-perfect positioning, leading him to place the ball in the top-right corner of the goal.
UIndy was able to fed off of that momentum through the rest of the half and in the second, where they continued to pound the ball on the attack and limit McKendree's opportunities. After the defense only allowed one Bearcat shot overall in the first half, the team rounded out the contest with a 13-5 shot difference at the final buzzer.
Cole Rainwater would lead the Hounds off the bench with two shots on goal, while Mikael Rasheed,
Alejandro Steinwascher and Berger all were credited a shot on goal as well.
Dimitrios Karousos would collect his first win of his senior campaign in the net for the Greyhounds, diving for a perfect 2 for 2 on saves against McKendree.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Friday night marks the third year in the row the Greyhounds have opened the season with a win.
- Berger's header marks his fourth career goal as a Hound, a second being a career-high.
- Karousos' goalkeeping on Friday notches the senior's third career shutout.
UP NEXT
UIndy will take a rest day on Saturday before traveling to Southern Indiana to take on the Screaming Eagles on Sunday. The game in Evansville, Ind. will be USI's first game of the season, kicking off at 5 p.m.
