IU soccer's Mason Toye helps push Hoosiers within two wins of 2017 College Cup

BLOOMINGTON – The formula Indiana hopes will take it to this year’s College Cup in Philadelphia passed its first review Sunday.

Freshman forward Mason Toye’s team-leading 10th goal and the Hoosiers’ NCAA-leading 17th shutout eased the No. 2 Hoosiers past No. 25 Old Dominion in a 3-0 victory.

Two more wins will get Indiana (16-0-5) to Philadelphia, and coach Todd Yeagley will hope his team can just keep up business as usual: a veteran defense keeping things tight at the back, while exciting young attackers create the chances necessary to bury opponents.

The Monarchs made things difficult early, with IU struggling to control the game. That defense allowed the Hoosiers to stay patient, the breakthrough finally coming off a Spencer Glass corner.

Fittingly, it was Grant Lillard, the senior anchor of that defense, who rose to meet Glass’ cross and put the Hoosiers ahead.

“First half wasn’t the best soccer performance by us, but we still managed to find the first goal on a restart,” Lillard said.

Attacking into a stiff wind made Indiana’s task more difficult until the break. At that point, Yeagley said, his team “hit the reset button.”

“I thought the guys came out and performed really well,” Yeagley said of the Hoosiers’ second half.

It was after the intermission that Toye, IU’s leading man in attack this season, really hit full stride.

Toye’s inexperience has showed at times this fall, but he was at his influential best against Old Dominion — chasing down long balls, holding play up well, linking with his midfield and creating chances.

His goal, though, came thanks to his work rate.

The ball bounced into a high-traffic area in Old Dominion’s midfield. A Monarch panicked, kicking the ball back hard toward his defense. He wound up playing it into Toye’s path instead.

The linesman’s flag went up, suggesting Toye was offside and freezing the Old Dominion back line. But a player cannot be played offside by an opposing player, only a teammate.

Toye did not stop and, left one on one with Old Dominion goalkeeper Mertcan Akar, the freshman slotted home coolly. He would later assist Austin Panchot’s goal in the 63rd minute, IU’s third and the afternoon’s knockout blow.

“He’s a phenomenal player,” Lillard said of Toye. “He keeps proving it, game after game. We’re lucky to have him, and he’s gonna do big things for us moving forward in this tournament.”

Its undefeated season still intact, IU moves on to New Hampshire, which advanced to the round of 16 via a penalty shootout victory at Dartmouth.

The Hoosiers will host New Hampshire at 7 p.m. Saturday, with a quarterfinal berth at stake. Sunday’s win was Yeagley’s 100th as IU’s coach. He will hope it isn’t the last of his season.

“It’s obviously a nice milestone,” he said, “but it means we’ve got good players, and I’m coaching, hopefully, long enough where we get a lot more wins.”

Follow IndyStar reporter Zach Osterman on Twitter: @ZachOsterman.

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