IU soccer finished its slate of preseason games Saturday with a 1-1 draw against Duke in Fort Wayne, Indiana. In addition to that draw, the Hoosiers defeated Xavier and Louisville in their two other exhibition games in the past week.
Saturday was the last chance for IU Coach Todd Yeagley to see his squad compete before the games start counting for real. Yeagley sat a few of his regulars to start the game, potentially to rest those players ahead of the season starting later this week.
There wasn’t much notable action until the final stages of the Duke match. After a penalty kick was awarded in the 87th minute, redshirt junior midfielder Trevor Swartz converted from the spot to put IU up 1-0. Just moments later, the same happened with Duke, which tied the match at 1-1 in the final minutes.
The IU backline was tested early without IU junior defender Andrew Gutman and IU senior defender Grant Lillard. The backline still held strong without those two. They fended off a few early Duke attacks without allowing a goal until the penalty kick.
As the match wore on, IU saw a few more chances fall its way. IU freshman forward Mason Toye once again saw himself in good positions to score goals. He figures to be in the mix along with a few others for the starting forward spot. It is a spot that could see a few changes throughout the season.
In goal, redshirt sophomore Sean Caulfield got the start — his second this preseason. However, in the second half, freshman Jacob Gruber took over in between the pipes for the Hoosiers. Gruber got the start for the full 90 minutes on Monday versus Xavier.
Freshman winger Griffin Dorsey was one of the top recruits in the country when he signed with IU this past spring. Dorsey, the freshman from Evergreen, Colorado, was a player Yeagley raved about after Monday’s first exhibition match.
Thursday night, he showed more of that potential, energizing the Hoosiers’ attack.
No. 7 IU won its second exhibition match, 3-2, over the No. 9 Louisville Cardinals on Thursday at Grand Park in Westfield, Indiana.
Dorsey got the IU scoring started in the 10th minute with his first goal in an IU kit. The service came from Gutman, who tallied an assist. The goal put the Hoosiers up 1-0 at the time.
“With Dorsey, he’s just a different type of attacking player,” Yeagley said after Monday’s exhibition match. “He’s just running downhill, that’s the best way I can put it. He just puts teams under pressure.”
Dorsey tallied another goal in the 40th minute on a strike from about 15 yards out.
Then redshirt junior defender Timmy Mehl scored a goal from 30 yards out, giving the Hoosiers another lead in the 65th minute. It is his second goal in as many exhibition matches after scoring one from a set piece Monday. The Cardinals saw two goals go into the back of the net Thursday, both from junior midfielder Adrien Cabon. The first came in the 25th minute on a header, and the second came on a corner kick in the 61st minute.
Caulfield got the start in goal Thursday for the Hoosiers. He got the start in favor of freshman Jacob Gruber who started Monday. That position battle will continue to evolve as the preseason moves along, with other names also potentially being considered.
The preseason is now complete for the Hoosiers after two wins and a draw in three matches. They will begin their regular season Friday in South Bend, Indiana, against Cal Poly as part of the Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament.
