Offense finds rhythm as Hoosiers win tournament

IU Coach Todd Yeagley was looking for more production on the offensive side of the ball during the weekend.

He got it.

The Hoosiers (2-0-1) outscored St. Louis and Dayton by a combined 9-1. The Hoosiers won the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic for the first time since 2005 and the 12th time overall in 29 years.

In 11 head-to-head matchups with Dayton, the Hoosiers have outscored the Flyers 62-0.

After failing to score in the season-opening tie with Notre Dame last Saturday, Yeagley spoke all week about the importance of balance on this year’s team. That was in full effect Friday and Sunday.

“We see some different guys showing up in different spots,” Yeagley said. “Today was how we thought this year would go in a sense of it may be a different player each game. You have to be aware of several different guys on this team.”

Freshman defender Eriq Zavaleta won Offensive MVP of the tournament with two goals and two assists during the weekend. He said the key to his success was movement by the whole team.

“I was able to find people easier because people were moving faster, and that got myself into spots that were better around goal and got other people into spots,” Zavaleta said.

Goalkeeper Luis Soffner and the defense in front of him have allowed only one goal in three regular season games. Yeagley said the defense in the first three games has been a team effort.

“I think Luis and the defense would say a lot of players in front of them did a lot of work and were disciplined in how they shut down players, and they did their job when it came to their part of the field,” Yeagley said. “Luis, Tommy (Meyer), Chris (Estridge) and Caleb (Konstanski) were really clicked-in all weekend, and that allowed us to play with confidence in our defending unit.”

In a balanced six-goal performance Sunday afternoon against Dayton (0-3), the
Hoosiers received goals from five different players including two from sophomore forward and midfielder Blake Wise.

Wise said he thought the quick starts in both games made a difference for the psyche of the team.

“It’s all about confidence,” Wise said. “We got three goals in the first half against St. Louis, and against Dayton we scored three goals again. It’s a really big confidence booster when you have your team energy going great, and honestly, everything is going great for the team right now,” Yeagley said he was pleased with what he saw during the Classic. He said the Hoosier offense looks very balanced and the team is getting production from numerous players.

“You have to be aware of a lot of different guys on this team, and we want to attack with numbers and surge at teams, and that will create a lot of goals,” Yeagley said. “I’d much rather have six or seven guys scoring than just one or two. We’ll see if this can continue.”

The Hoosiers will be in action again next weekend in South Bend when they face Bucknell and Denver in the Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament.