No. 11 Indiana men’s soccer has spent 12 seasons searching for a ninth star.
The Hoosiers last won the national championship in 2012. Since then, they have reached the College Cup four times, making the final game in three of those seasons. Their eight national championships are second only to Saint Louis University, which has 10.
The journey for that elusive ninth star has now carried over into a 13th season. Indiana’s squad has suffered serious turnover from last season, with seven of their starters departing the program. But head coach Todd Yeagley leads a program that simply “reloads” rather than rebuilds.
And with their reload in talent, Indiana’s quest begins Thursday at Bill Armstrong Stadium against another storied program — No. 9 Clemson University.
A successful preseason with new faces
On paper, Indiana’s preseason could not have gone better.
The Hoosiers defeated No. 20 Western Michigan University 5-0 on Aug. 11, then secured a convincing 3-0 victory over the University of Louisville on Aug. 16. One encouraging trend that emerged was Indiana’s goalscoring, with eight goals spread across six different goal scorers.
“We’ve been dangerous with different players, it’s not been just one,” Yeagley said in a press conference Monday. “This team’s a little bit more combination driven than our team in the past — we had the 1v1 abilities of others, now this team is a little better in combination play.”
Indiana lost three of its starting forwards from a season ago — Tommy Mihalic, Sam Sarver and Justin Weiss — and their new forwards have slotted in seamlessly. Freshman Colton Swan and Butler University senior transfer Palmer Ault netted three of the preseason goals, and both are set to have prominent roles for the Hoosiers this season.
Key departures in their backline also forced the Hoosiers to find quality replacements, as both All-American fullback Quinton Elliot and No. 8 Major League Soccer draft pick and center back Jansen Miller left to play professionally. Early indication shows that the replacements will be University of Virginia junior transfer center back Victor Akoum and University of Pennsylvania graduate transfer right back Ben Do, both who will likely start alongside junior left back Alex Barger and sophomore center back Josh Maher.
Entering the preseason, Yeagley had a decision to make regarding the goalkeeper situation as three-year Hoosier veteran JT Harms ran out of college eligibility. Returning graduate student Holden Brown stayed with Indiana and has fought for the top spot this preseason, but his position isn’t secure as freshman Judewellin Michel has also vied for the top spot.
Yeagley doesn’t know who the top spot will go to as of now — or even if his game one decision will be the same by game six. Regardless, the one thing Yeagley does know is that Indiana’s net will be in good hands.
“We have a great battle” Yeagley said. “Both are ready. We’ll see what we end up going with. Maybe it’s both, who knows.”
Meet the Tigers
Clemson and Indiana last faced in the 2022 season opener, one which the then-No. 1 Tigers prevailed 3-2. With two national championships in the past five years — one in 2021 and the other in 2023 — Clemson figures to pose a serious challenge for a new-look Hoosier squad.
“This is a massive opportunity for us to get a result against a top team,” Yeagley said, “and to help us not only move forward with confidence but with a positive result in our bag that would help us if we’re putting the portfolio together.”
Clemson’s 2024 season featured both highs and lows. The Tigers secured 15 wins and an appearance in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament final, but they lost on penalties to Wake Forest University — the same squad that they would eventually lose to in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
However, Clemson returns 15 players from last season to their 2024 squad, including sophomore midfielder Ransford Gyan. The Sunyani, Ghana, native contributed five goals and six assists in a campaign that culminated with both ACC Freshman of the Year and Top Drawer Soccer Freshman of the Year honors.
“They’re very gifted, they’re very good in combination play,” Yeagley said of Clemson. “They have some dynamic mobility in 1v1 players, so how we help, where we give them space, will be a big part.”
The Hoosiers and the Tigers are slated to kick off their regular season opener at 8 p.m. Thursday at Bill Armstrong Stadium in Bloomington. Coverage will be available on Big Ten+.
Mateo Fuentes-Rohwer covers Indiana men’s soccer for the Indiana Daily Student. You can follow him at @mateo_frohwer on X and contact him via email at matfuent@iu.edu.
