After losing three straight games, Indiana coach Mike Freitag lit a fire under his Hoosiers, who beat Butler, 2-0, on Wednesday night in front of 1,054 fans at Armstrong Stadium.

The rejuvenated Hoosiers played hard and looked particularly sharp in the first half when they held a commanding 11-2 advantage in shots.

"I think the message has gotten through," said Freitag. "The guys who get on the field are the guys who are going to hustle and get things done. This is the best hustle I have seen from the team all year and I liked our focus today. Guys were tuned in for 90 minutes."

It took more than an hour for IU to score, however. Lee Hagedorn's first goal of the season was a perfectly placed header in the 65th minute that followed buildup by Eric Alexander and Billy Weaver.

After setting up the play that created the first goal, it was Alexander who came up with the second goal with Weaver once again picking up the assist in the 69th minute.

IU got a boost late in the game when sophomore Darren Yeagle made his first appearance of the season, just over five months after an ACL injury sidelined him during spring ball.

"I was at full go, and it felt good to get back out there," Yeagle said. "I still need to get more tackles in, but everything felt good."