Collins Oduro receives the ball at the top of the Saint Louis University box, shaking the Billikens defender in his way. He then pump-fakes with his right foot, twitching the moving ball away from a frozen, secondary defender.
The junior forward continues to glide smoothly on the pitch before he sees an opportunity to fire away at the net between two defenders — converting on a rocket of a shot that slips past the diving Saint Louis graduate goalkeeper Jeremi Abonnel.
Oduro then celebrated as his teammates hugged him by pulling out the “calm down” gesture with both his hands, urging his home crowd not to worry.
This moment was the peak of a gritty, physical match for Indiana men’s soccer in its 1-0 victory over No. 16 Saint Louis. The forward’s first goal of the year was a refreshing sight to behold, not just for Oduro but for his teammates as well. For Indiana’s graduate goalkeeper Holden Brown, the early goal brought a relaxing effect for him and the rest of the group.
“I felt a lot of comfort in the net with the lead,” Brown said. “When you go down and have to fight back, there’s no room for error. It was nice to take the lead early tonight.”
Oduro’s aggressive playstyle and willingness to fire shots at the net was another relieving sight for the Hoosiers.
At times last year — and even early this year — the Bibiani, Ghana, native appeared to be passive and indecisive with the ball.
Oduro only netted three goals last season but still recorded 11 points in 20 games played.
Oduro, who got drafted by Orlando City FC in the second round of the 2025 Major League Soccer draft, opted to return to Indiana for his junior season.
Indiana head coach Todd Yeagley said in a preseason press conference on Aug. 5 that Oduro returned to “get his degree” but also to improve on his finishing skills.
In four matches leading up to Indiana’s affair against the Billikens, Oduro had tallied two assists — both of them coming in Indiana’s 3-2 victory over the University of San Francisco — but zero goals on the stat sheet.
However, Oduro’s impact has been noticeable on the pitch, breaking down opposing defenses due to his fast-twitch movement and sure touch with the ball on a game-to-game basis.
In Wednesday night’s case, Oduro thrived on the Billikens’ side of the field.
Yeagley said postgame that Oduro’s impact on the match was a major contributor as to why the Hoosiers were able to secure a hard-earned victory.
“Obviously, he’s explosive,” Yeagley said. “We’ve been asking him to mix up his ability to drive inside and create a shot a little bit more. He was able to do that tonight.”
Ultimately, Oduro played 68 total minutes on the pitch Wednesday night, 22 minutes short of the full 90 minutes.
While the minutes played on paper may seem strange at first compared to the rest of the starting group, Yeagley opted to rest Oduro for the rest of the first half after the 20th minute of play.
“I thought tonight we got through some tired legs,” Yeagley said. “We ask a lot of our attackers. Although Oduro was tired, he was able to make some key plays for the group.”
With a tough match against the University of Notre Dame at 7:30 p.m. on Sep. 7 in South Bend on the schedule next for the Hoosiers, Oduro’s goal could be the spark that gets him going in a goal-scoring sense. Only time will tell, but his mentality of always giving it all on the pitch should give the Hoosiers favorable results as their season progresses.
Follow reporter Elakai Anela (@elakai_anela) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s soccer season.
