Penn State falls to Indiana in the Big Ten Tournament Final.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Entering the afternoon looking to capture the Big Ten Tournament Championship, Penn State failed to do that as they fell to Indiana at Bill Armstrong Stadium by a score of 1-0.

The Hoosiers came out aggressive early and were nearly rewarded in the first minute, but Samuel Sarver slipped on his shot attempt, and it sailed over the crossbar.

The red and white would continue to press the attack, forcing Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year Kris Shakes to make some spectacular saves before finally breaking through in the 38th minute.

Sarver dribbled toward the top of the 18-yard box before unleashing an off-balanced curling strike past Shakes' outstretched arms and into the bottom right corner to give Indiana a 1-0 lead.

After starting to get the offense going as the first half came to a close, the blue and white came out of the half firing offensively.

Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year Peter Mangione, who was held without a shot in the first half, came out firing just minutes into the second half, but Indiana defenders smothered both of his attempts.

The blue and white continued to press for an equalizer but almost cost themselves the game in the process.

In the 76th minute, the Nittany Lions turned the ball over off a throw-in, and Karsen Henderlong sent a picturesque strike that forced a herculean effort from Shakes to keep it a one-score game.

As the clock continued to tick down, the blue and white had their best scoring opportunity of the game in the 85th minute.

Caden Grabfelder played a through ball to Mangione, who took a touch just outside the 18-yard box before sending a curling strike toward the bottom right corner that goalkeeper J.T. Harms managed to get a fingertip on it and deflect off the post and out, keeping the Nittany Lions off the board.

That would be as close as Penn State would come to equalizing as the Hoosiers thwarted the final few long ball attempts and held on to win their conference-record 16th Big Ten Tournament Championship.

With the win, the Hoosiers will return to the NCAA Tournament for the 37th straight season and for the 48th time in program history, while Penn State will have to wait and see if they get an at-large bid.

The blue and white know if their season is continuing tomorrow at 1 p.m. when the NCAA announces the official bracket.

If Penn State were to get in, they would play on Thursday in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

Ben Palillo is a fourth-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email bgp5079@psu.edu.