Since being shut out by Saint Louis University in the season opener Aug. 23, Indiana men’s soccer’s attack has rapidly ascended.
Senior forward Tommy Mihalic, who struggled mightily to score last season, has netted three of the Hoosiers’ four goals across their last two matches. The combinations are crisper, finishing more precise, and now Indiana looks to carry that improvement into Wednesday night’s clash with Butler University in Indianapolis.
Mihalic garnered Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors Tuesday for his efforts, and freshman Michael Nesci’s emergence has made the season opening loss feel more like an anomaly.
Injured players available
Sophomore Collins Oduro and graduate student Justin Weiss –– two of Indiana’s expected top attackers coming into the season –– are currently dealing with minor injuries.
Oduro suffered an ankle injury in the first half against the University of Notre Dame on Aug. 29, and he was sidelined for the Hoosiers’ ensuing contest against Yale University. Yeagley said Indiana was “conservative” with Oduro but could’ve deployed him if needed.
Weiss played just 37 minutes in the game against Yale and was substituted early in the second half due to an apparent calf injury. Like with Oduro, Yeagley said the team kept Weiss off the pitch for precautionary purposes.
Whether the two are fully healthy against Butler is unclear, but Yeagley said the two showed promise in Tuesday’s training session.
“I think they’ll both be available,” Yeagley said. “When and where we use them, I think is the question.”
Through the first three matches of the season, Oduro and Weiss’s production hasn’t quite been what was anticipated. Oduro has registered only one shot on the season, and Weiss missed a penalty kick against Saint Louis and a couple strong chances against Notre Dame.
Both figured to play considerable roles in Indiana’s attack, with Oduro flashing brilliance as a Big Ten All-Freshman Team Selection last year and Weiss solidifying himself as one of the conference’s most potent attackers at Northwestern.
Still, Yeagley said Weiss’s mere presence forces backlines to centralize and open opportunities on the wings. A “clever” playing style and pedigree of success has Yeagley excited for what could come with Weiss at full strength.
“He was out a little bit even during preseason with another injury that was kind of nagging,” Yeagley said. “We have not seen 100%. That’s the part that’s really exciting for us, and him.”
Seth Stewart providing a ‘shot in the arm’
Redshirt sophomore Seth Stewart never fully slipped through the cracks.
After playing sparingly as a freshman in 2022, appearing in just six matches without a goal contribution, he redshirted his sophomore season. But now, he might be playing his way into an enhanced role.
Yeagley recruited Stewart as a typical central midfielder, but he displayed attacking capabilities against Yale. He embodied what Yeagley hopes to see out of substitutes in terms of energy.
Maouloune Goumballe, who was one of Indiana’s top postseason performers over his five collegiate seasons, had similar traits.
“He has a bit of the Maouloune effect with his ability to hunt and press,” Yeagley said of Stewart.
Yeagley said in hindsight he would have used Stewart against Saint Louis, but now with Oduro and Weiss’s statuses hazy for Wednesday night, there’s a potential void needing to be filled.
In Stewart, Yeagley said the Hoosiers have a player who can offer an immediate jolt, and one who has a keen understanding of the team’s attacking identity.
“I think Seth’s minutes will grow,” Yeagley said. “But in particular setting the tone of a game, coming out of halves, starting a game, or if the game’s just a little slow and we need a shot in the arm.”
Meet Butler
At the Bud and Jackie Sellick Bowl in Indianapolis, Indiana has had mixed results against the Bulldogs in recent years.
Prior to a 2-1 win in 2022, Indiana went four consecutive road matches without a win over Butler. The Bulldogs were middling last season, compiling a 2-7-6 record and 1-3-4 mark within the Big East Conference.
Still, Butler retained some of its most productive players, including leading goal scorer Palmer Ault, a junior from Noblesville, Indiana. Goalkeeper Caleb Norris –– who started all 15 matches for the Bulldogs last year –– returned for a graduate season.
Senior defender Alejandro Moroso-Maza brings a wealth of experience to a relatively new look backline. Moroso-Maza paced Butler in minutes as a junior and has helped the Bulldogs’ defense limit opponents to just over seven shots per game this year.
Butler –– despite facing somewhat lower-tier competition thus far –– has peppered opposing goalkeepers. The Bulldogs, though only scoring 1.67 goals per match, have averaged 17 shots in three outings.
Indiana’s backline kept senior goalkeeper JT Harms clean in the win over Yale, and the Hoosiers’ will look to continue that trend Wednesday night.
Action in Indianapolis kicks off at 7 p.m. with streaming available on FloFC.
Follow reporters Matt Press (@MattPress23) and Mateo Fuentes-Rohwer (@mateo_frohwer) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s soccer season.
