Hoosiers Now

Sam Sarver Secures First-Ever Big Ten Offensive Player Of The Week Honors

Indiana soccer's Sam Sarver was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week Tuesday, following his two-goal afternoon in the team's 2-1 victory at No. 19 Penn State over the weekend in Happy Valley. Sarver leads the team with five goals this season.

Matthew Byrne

Sam Sarver Secures First-Ever Big Ten Offensive Player Of The Week Honors
Sam Sarver Secures First-Ever Big Ten Offensive Player Of The Week Honors /

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — For the first time in seven weeks of the regular season, an Indiana men’s soccer player received weekly honors from the Big Ten Conference. 

Junior forward Sam Sarver was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week, the league announced on Tuesday.

Over the weekend, Sarver tallied both of Indiana’s goals in the team’s important 2-1 victory at No. 19 Penn State. In two matches last week, Sarver totaled 10 shots, five of which were on target. The junior leads the Hoosiers with five goals this season, which is tied for second in the conference.

Sarver is the first Hoosier to acquire this offensive Big Ten weekly award since Ryan Wittenbrink did so on Oct. 18, 2022. Wittenbrink was also the team’s leading scorer last season. On Monday, Sarver was named to the College Soccer News 12-player Team of the Week. The two honors in the past two days are both firsts for Sarver, who appeared on the preseason Big Ten Players to Watch List.

Following the Penn State victory, Indiana’s season continues Wednesday at 7 p.m. versus Evansville at Bill Armstrong Stadium. The match on Salute To Service Night will be broadcast on Big Ten-plus. 

Related Stories on Indiana Soccer:

  • SEASON OUTLOOK: BACHARACH'S PLACEMENT IN THE MIDFIELD: Defender Hugo Bacharach, starting in the midfield for the first time this season, had two assists Saturday. Bacharach commanded the space; this could be the answer. CLICK HERE
  • INDIANA BEATS NO. 19 PENN STATE 2-1 ON THE ROAD: Indiana faced Penn State on the road Saturday at Noon ET, winning 2-1 to leap in the RPI and gain points for the Big Ten title hunt. A recap from Happy Valley: CLICK HERE
  • INDIANA ATHLETICS INDUCTS SIX NEW MEMBERS: Former Indiana men's soccer player Aleksey Korol was part of the six-member class of 2023 last Friday night to be inducted into the IU Athletics Hall of Fame. 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
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Matthew Byrne
MATTHEW BYRNE

Matthew Byrne is the first Joan Brew Memorial Scholarship recipient and is interning with HoosiersNow for the 2023-2024 academic year. Matthew is in his senior year at Indiana University, studies sports media and covered the Indiana men's soccer team in the fall.  He covers the Indiana women's basketball and baseball teams in the spring. 

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