Amid some uncertainty, IU will travel to South Bend for its first two matches of the season against Cal Poly on Friday night and San Diego on Sunday morning.
While most of the lineup is just about cemented, there are still three positions left to be announced by IU Coach Todd Yeagley, including goalkeeper, right back and striker.
Throughout the preseason, the Hoosiers have had multiple players rotate through the three positions, and the battles between each spots have made it a hard decision for Yeagley.
Freshmen Mason Toye and Thomas Warr have competed with senior Rashad Hyacenth for the starting striker spot, and Yeagley said each attacker brings different assets to the team that could be useful this season.
“I’m excited,” Yeagley said when talking about the attacking crop. “Goals are hard to come by, but when you have natural finishers it makes life a lot easier and relieves pressure off of our defense. Some of these players also have natural composure in front of goal, and I get excited that the attack could be a lot more consistent.”
Both Toye and Warr have impressed throughout the preseason, and Warr even managed to score three goals in three competitions.
Yeagley said the team could possibly rotate between junior Rece Buckmaster and sophomore Jordan Kleyn at right back.
"I feel really good with both and that might be a rotation based on the strength of the other team,” Yeagley said. “Jordan and Rece do a really good job. Rece gives us some options in the midfield at the beginning of the season so that might also play into our decision of who to start, but they both give us some good different options.”
As for the goalkeeper position, the Hoosiers have multiple options to choose from, and according to Yeagley, it will be a game-time decision Friday night.
Freshman Jacob Gruber and sophomore Sean Caulfield have both featured for the Hoosiers in the preseason, and Gruber even played all 90 minutes against Xavier in their first exhibition game in Bloomington.
Many storylines have come to fruition within the team, and multiple Hoosiers have been recognized on watch lists, including senior defender and newly-named captain, Grant Lillard.
Lillard said he didn’t pay too much attention to being named a preseason All-American because he wants to stay focused with the rest of the team on this weekend’s matchups. He also said it was an honor to be named as one of three team captains for this season, and he said he wants to make an impact on the younger players' experiences on the team.
“Especially since we have so many new guys coming in this year, I’ve gotten to know the freshman really well already,” Lillard said. “Just looking back on my experience with the seniors my freshman year and what they did that helped me, I’m trying to learn from that and give the freshmen the best guidance they can have.”
Since it’s Lillard’s last season in a Hoosier uniform, he said he has high expectations for himself and the team.
“I want to win a Big Ten regular season championship,” Lillard said. “I want to win the Big Ten tournament, and I want to win a national championship.”
Yeagley said he wants to start the season in winning fashion, but there will be some experimenting at the start of the season to get a feel for what his strongest squad will be.
“The first two weeks present a challenge for all of us,” Yeagley said. “We have two games in less than 24 hours so we’ll have a lot more guys rotating especially since it’s the start of the season. As the season progresses, our rotation will get smaller due to who is in form and injuries that we may face.”
As far as confidence goes, Yeagley said he likes the maturity that his team has. Praising its resilience, he said he doesn’t anticipate for too many factors to rattle his team this season.
“We love to win,” he said. “Any win any time is good. This group is steady on our mental approach, and I don’t think they will get rattled if a result doesn’t go in our favor. A great win is a phenomenal way to start. I like the maturity that this team has, and when adversity hits, I don’t think it will be difficult for them to bounce back.”
The Hoosiers will face Cal Poly in their first game of the season at 5 p.m. Friday and will finish their trip to South Bend against San Diego at 11:30 a.m. Sunday morning.
