EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Goals from senior defender Chris Estridge and sophomore midfielder Nikita Kotlov were the difference for the Hoosiers in a 2-1 win at Evansville Wednesday night on Black Beauty Field at Arad McCutchen Stadium.

 The Hoosiers improve to 10-3-3 on the season, while Evansville falls to 5-8-1

 The Hoosier lineup had a different look tonight. A.J. Corrado earned his second start of the season, taking the place of Jacob Bushue in the lineup. Bushue was serving a one-match suspension after picking up his fifth yellow card of the year in Sunday’s match with Michigan State.

 True freshman Michael Soderlund was in the starting lineup for the first time in his young career, taking over between the pipes for Luis Soffner for the match.

 Nikita Kotlov started the attack for Indiana with a shot in the 5^th minute that was just off the mark, sailing wide right.

 In the 14^th minute Kotlov was again causing trouble for the Evansville defenders, getting under a ball in the box. With the shot not there he played it back to Alec Purdie, who had his shot blocked.

 Estridge put the Hoosiers up 1-0 in the 39^th minute with his third goal of the season. Estridge was on the receiving end of a great 1-2 pass in the middle of the 18-yard box and hammered the ball home past UE goalkeeper Eric Teppen.

 Indiana held a 6-4 advantage in shots for the first half and was up 2-1 in on-goal looks. Kotlov led the way with three shots each.

 Evansville had the better of the play at the end of the first half and continued that trend to start the second half, putting the Hoosiers on their heels early on. As the Hoosiers played into the wind, both teams also battled a rain that picked up intensity in the second frame.

 Purdie broke free for a 1-on-1 with the goalkeeper, and when the keeper came off his line, Purdie had an open shot from the right but sent the ball off the base of the right post. Less than a minute later it was Eriq Zavaleta breaking free with his shot saved by Teppen. The rebound fell to a streaking Purdie, but he was unable to get the ball out of his foot to take the shot.

 The Hoosiers continued to put pressure on the Evansville back line and Zavaleta again found himself with the ball in the six but UE defender Patrick Hodges poked it out of the freshman’s reach.

 The pressure paid off for Indiana in the 57^th minute when Kotlov one-timed a ball from Purdie for his fifth goal of the season and a 2-0 Indiana lead.

 In a déjà vu moment for Indiana, they gave up a goal just over a minute later when Nick Schroeder headed home a ball from Aaron Henkle to cut IU’s lead to one. Indiana held a 2-0 lead over Michigan State on Sunday before giving up two quick goals for a 2-2 tie.

 Indiana is back in action Sunday as it travels to Evanston, Ill. to take on Northwestern in a key Big Ten showdown. The Hoosiers sit at 2-1-1 in conference play, while NU leads the pack at 3-0-1. Game time is 3 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on BigTenNetwork.com. You can also listen to the match live on IUHoosiers.com.

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