IU men's soccer continued its spring season with a 3-0 win in penalty kicks over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at the Shindigz National Soccer Festival Saturday night in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Regulation time ended with the score even at 0-0 and in penalty kicks, IU freshman goalkeeper Sean Caulfield blanked Notre Dame. Caulfield posted a shutout as Hoosier midfielders Trevor Swartz and Austin Panchot, along with defender Timmy Mehl, each converted their shots.
It was a match that saw IU coach Todd Yeagley experiment with many different lineups. Players like Spencer Glass, Ian Black, and Isaac Friendt all saw action after seeing close to none during the regular season. Yeagley said coming into these games he wanted to mix and match lineups.
During the run of play in regulation, IU midfielders Cory Thomas and Rees Wedderburn had chances to affect the scoreline, but were unable to convert on their chances.
IU sent out a starting lineup of Caulfield in goal, Rece Buckmaster, Mehl, Grant Lillard and Andrew Gutman across the back line, AJ Palazzolo, Thomas, Francesco Moore, Wedderburn and Glass in the midfield and Black playing up top as the forward.
Aside from Glass and Black, the rest of the starters are returning contributors. Midfielder Jeremiah Gutjahr is currently not with IU as he is training in London with the U-20 United States National Team.
The Hoosiers will have some big holes to fill for this upcoming season, particularly in goal. Caulfield got the start Saturday night and impressed by posting a shutout and keeping a solid Notre Dame attack out of the back of the net all night long. Moving forward, it will be interesting to see if players like Cody Jewett and Drew Nuelle get some action in goal, or if Caulfield will run away with the job.
Forwards Rashad Hyacenth and Jordan Kleyn also entered the fray during the 90 minutes. They could play an integral part in replacing the attacking options that graduated after last season.
There will be even more reinforcements coming Yeagley’s way when the season starts with the new freshman class. Incoming freshman forwards Mason Toye and Griffin Dorsey both have experience with US youth national teams. There are also a few others that could see some action in their freshman season. Yeagley said that a strength of this recruiting class was the ability to get these freshmen action right away.
The Hoosiers continued their success in the spring season as they have moved their record to 5-0. They won against Evansville, Xavier, Valparaiso and United Soccer League side Swope Park Rangers. Upcoming are two more matches in the spring season against Cincinnati at Grand Park and the U-18 Mexico National Team at Bill Armstrong Stadium.
