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Photo credit: Kathryn Knapp/Soc Takes

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — On a brisk day in Bloomington, the Indiana Hoosiers took just 21 minutes to get onto the board. But before that, the Hoosiers held their own, made perfect passes, defended, man marked and, more importantly, frustrated the University of Kentucky. After 90 minutes, IU took away the 3-0 victory.

“Three goals look great,” Yeagley said. “We played really well offensively. But defensively — to be able to defend like that at this time of the year is a formula that gives you the best chance to advance.”

A.J. Palazzolo sent the ball to Victor Bezerra, who centered it in front of the goal. Bezerra cleared his defender and buried the ball to the right of Kentucky goalkeeper Enrique Facusse and into the net for the 1-0 advantage.

“As soon as we got our first goal, we wanted more,” Bezzera said. “We knew one goal wouldn’t be enough. I was able to help my team today.”

Kentucky defender Aime Mabika collided with a Hoosier in the box in the 29th minute and limped off the field after being attended to. He returned seconds later. The 6-6 Kentucky native appeared to be nursing a left leg injury. He exited the match in the 31st minute.

A minute later, Bezerra dribbled past the defense and struck again, doubling the Hoosier lead.

“I can tell when someone’s feeling it,” Palozzolo said. “Vic was obviously feeling it. I tried to get him the ball as much as possible. Overall I’m really excited for this group.”

Offensively, the Wildcats’ Robert Screen ricocheted a shot off the left post in the 42nd minute for the visitors’ best look at goal in the first half. Celetano eventually cleared the attempt.

Indiana and Kentucky ended the first half in a physical battle. Kentucky edged the Hoosiers on fouls 8-7, while IU held the advantage on shots 6-2.

Kentucky pushed hard in the second half, throwing numbers forward and into the box. Jason Reyes snuck into the box on both attempts, sending two close calls toward the net in the 52nd and 54th minutes. But luck was not on the Wildcats’ side. IU goalkeeper Roman Celetano handled each attempt, sending the ball out of the box.

Indiana’s Bezerra found an opening in the 63rd minute, blasting his attempt into the net for a 3-0 Indiana lead. The three goals mark the first hat trick of Bezerra’s career. Bezerra now leads the Hoosiers offense with eight goals and three assists on the season. The hat trick is also Indiana’s third-ever postseason hat trick.

Aidan Morris shot the ball off the right post in the 89th minute for the Hoosiers’ last shot of the match. UK pushed one more time with Eythor Bjorgolfsson sending the ball wide left.

The Hoosiers held on for the 3-0 win to advance to the third round of the NCAA Tournament. Indiana outshot Kentucky 12-7, sending seven shots on goal to four. The match continued to be a physical battle with UK recording 17 fouls to 16.

The Hoosiers have not lost a match since Oct. 18th, a 3-0 decision to Maryland. Since that point, the Hoosiers have outscored opponents 20-2 while posting six shutouts. It’s fair to say this team is headed in the right direction.

“We’ve grown as a team since those games,” Palazzolo said. We’re meshing well. We are hitting our stride at the right time.”

Bezerra said he couldn’t agree more.

“There’s a lot of confidence,” Bezerra said. “We’re hitting the right stride. We had our best week of practice. We brought it into the game. Everything is coming down to execution. We’re executing better than before.”

IU (15-2-4) will host UC Santa Barbara (14-4-4) this Sunday at a to-be-announced time.

AROUND THE TOURNAMENT

Former Hoosier John Michael Hayden led the Louisville Cardinals to the round of 16 with a 1-0 win over UC Davis. In his first season as head coach, Hayden led the club to a 10-7-2 record. The Cardinals advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth-straight year. Louisville will face a red-hot Georgetown in the third round. Georgetown (16-1-3) silenced Pittsburgh 5-0 Sunday afternoon.

Michigan (11-4-6) ended in a scoreless draw with Wright State (11-9-3). But the Wolverines prevailed 5-4 in PKs to advance to the round of 16 for the first time in nine years. Michigan will face Wake Forest (14-4-2), which topped Maryland 3-0. Defending NCAA champion Maryland saw its season end with an 11-8-2 record.

Penn State (12-4-3) dropped a 3-2 decision to Providence (16-6). In its 10th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, the Friars are looking to get to their second College Cup. Providence first appeared in the College Cup in 2014, but dropped a 3-2 result to UCLA in the semifinals. Providence improved to 11-7-1 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.

Follow Kathryn on Twitter: @Katknapp99.

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