Indiana Soccer Alters Attack, Blanked Again In Big Ten Opener Draw

The Indiana men's soccer team hosted Wisconsin Friday night in their Big Ten opener and tied 0-0. Indiana coach Todd Yeagley changed the positions of starting players in the attack, hoping to find the best combination to score goals. But again, the Hoosiers were shut out.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Prior to Friday night's Big Ten home opener against  Wisconsin, Indiana men's soccer team sent out identical starting lineups for the team's first five matches, which resulted in two wins, two losses, and one draw. The four-player attack featured Tommy Mihalic and Samuel Sarver as the two outside midfielders, while two forwards, Maouloune Goumballe and Collins Oduro, patrolled up top.

The Hoosiers had been shut out two times before hosting Wisconsin, averaging 0.80 goals per match, which has since sunk to 0.67. Deprived of goals, coach Todd Yeagley adjusted the starters Friday night — not the personnel in the attack — but their placements. Regardless, Indiana was shut out again, and for the third time in the past four matches, tying 0-0 to begin Big Ten play.

Yeagley hushedly revealed post-match that the team barely spoke afterward in the locker room. The head coach was sure Wisconsin was satisfied to depart Bloomington with the result, but his team wasn't pleased. And, when Yeagley was asked what he said to his players, he replied, 'see you tomorrow.' The Hoosiers only outshot the Badgers 2-1 in shots on goal, but retained better chances.

"Tonight, we still didn't even create enough," Yeagley said post-match Friday. "We're still missing the frame, which is disappointing. We've been really focusing on keeping shots on frame … There's a little bit of frustration with consistency of some performances and that's where some of our front players have been really good at seven, eight out of 10 things but not the final pass, not the finish."

As for the adjustments to the attack, Sarver and Oduro swapped sides and positions together. Sarver was one of the two forwards up top versus the Badgers, which was commonly his position in the attack last season, while the rookie Oduro shifted to outside midfielder. Goumballe and Mihalic remained as forward and outside midfielder, respectively, though in partnership, swapped sides, too.

"I was trying to find some combinations to get goals," Yeagley said. "We've been doing it in training a little bit and they're all pretty interchangeable. They're used to playing in those spots."

That pre-planned positioning, however, intentionally didn't remain intact throughout the first 45-minute half. Around 20 minutes in, Yeagley called Oduro to the sidelines and soon, the freshman swapped sides with Mihalic. Five minutes later, the attack more resembled the usual starting lineups from the first five matches. Oduro shifted to forward, while Sarver reverted to an outside midfielder.

Regardless, the Hoosiers had the lone shot on target three minutes into the uneventful half. Indiana led 6-4 in shots in the second 45 minutes, though both sides were even at one shot on target each. In the 63rd minute, Karsen Henderlong drilled his free-kick just outside the box into Wisconsin's wall of players. In the 80th, Sarver barreled into the box, but whiffed with space on Oduro's low-cross.

There's also the triad of veteran Quinten Helmer's contributions to chances that merely missed. Helmer played 29 minutes, yet in that short span, he supplied the through-ball pass to freshman Clay Murador, whose low-cross in the wide-open box failed to connect with teammates. Helmer did the same to lead on Oduro, whose shot barely exceeded the crossbar. Finally, Helmer's sturdy header from an exceptional 15 yards out was saved at the top right corner with five minutes left.

"We had we had some good chances to win the game," Yeagley said.

With the draw, Indiana’s record in Big Ten openers stalled to 23-4-7, while moving to an even 2-2-2 this year. The Hoosiers will have to wait until next Tuesday night, when they host Butler, to attempt to uncover their long-awaited and sought-after breakthrough goal. Indiana has posted double-digit shots in each match so far, leading the whole conference in shots with 96, just ahead of Wisconsin.

Indiana is tied for last in goals scored amongst nine Big Ten teams. 

Related stories on Indiana Soccer: 

• ATTACK PRODUCTION ON PACE WITH 2022, WHERE ARE THE GOALS?: The Hoosiers, now 2-2-1, are averaging fewer than one goal per match, yet are on pace to match or surpass last year's attack numbers in shots and shots on target. CLICK HERE
• INDIANA SOCCER BLANKS SETON HALL: Indiana followed up Friday's shutout loss to No. 22 Washington by beating Seton Hall Monday night, 1-0. As the Hoosiers outshot the Pirates 14-4, Sam Sarver's goal seemed more than just relief. CLICK HERE
• NO. 10 INDIANA FALLS TO NO. 22 WASHINGTON: Consensus top-25 teams Indiana and Washington met Friday night for the first time since Washington's postseason victory in 2021. The Hoosiers put up five shots on target in the second half, though they conceded the lone goal of the match in the 77th minute. CLICK HERE
• JT HARMS FEATURE: JT Harms dove into goalkeeping at 9 years old. He trained with far older players at academies, but his progress stalled at Duke. At Indiana, a position battle brought humility — and confidence. CLICK HERE