With a match against Division III opponent Hanover College on tap, the signs pointed toward a breezy affair for No. 14 Indiana men’s soccer for senior night on Friday.
Head coach Todd Yeagley opted to rest key names such as senior forward Palmer Ault, junior forward Collins Oduro and sophomore defender Josh Maher to open the match. A slow start briefly threatened to sidetrack the Hoosier faithful’s celebrations, but ultimately they ran away with an 8-0 win Friday at Bill Armstrong Stadium in Bloomington..
The Hoosiers celebrated their seniors, both the transfers into the program and ones who stayed loyal to the Cream and Crimson for their four years.
This list included three redshirt juniors: forward Seth Stewart, midfielder Noah Joseph and goalkeeper Cooper Johnsen. Redshirt junior defender Breckin Minzey will return a fifth year next season, head coach Todd Yeagley said in a press conference Oct. 13.
Graduate defender Ben Do, graduate goalkeeper Holden Brown and senior forward Palmer Ault were also celebrated for their accomplishments both at Indiana and their previous schools. All three players transferred into the program.
The two biggest celebrations were for senior midfielder Jack Wagoner and senior forward Luka Bezerra. Wagoner received the loudest applause from the Hoosier faithful.
These celebrations continued throughout the night after Indiana pulled away. But despite the drastic differential on the final scoreboard, the first 35 minutes were competitive.
A breakaway goal to by sophomore Easton Bogard to start the match didn’t count after the forward was flagged for being offsides. He also hit the post in the 14th minute.
Indiana’s attack was flailing. While Indiana’s passes connected, it wasn’t able to secure a goal early on.
Finally, though, the Hoosiers connected in the 21st minute.
Sophomore defender Michael Nesci, who was open on the breakaway, put it past the outstretched arms of Hanover senior goalkeeper Rodrigo Gutierrez Olvera Gonzalez. It was Nesci’s second goal of the year — one the Hoosiers needed badly.
Yet, Yeagley wasn’t pleased with his group’s play. Despite the team resting key names such as Ault, junior forward Collins Oduro and sophomore defender Josh Maher to open the match, Indiana couldn’t get momentum aside from the Nesci goal.
“It was a little sloppy, a slow start,” Yeagley said postgame. “I give them credit. Their coach (Matthew Wilkerson) was at Kentucky for a while; he's been on good teams. They were firing from the beginning.”
The lackluster attack continued until Yeagley and his staff had seen enough. In the 33rd minute, Yeagley opted to sub in Maher, Ault and Oduro.
Oduro and Ault’s impact was felt almost immediately.
In the 36th minute, Oduro was on a run on the right side of the pitch. He found an angle, spotting the open freshman forward Colton Swan. Swan, who had been looking for his first collegiate goal, finally found it.
Swan kneeled to the ground after the goal, on the far side of the field in celebration —almost as if he felt a weight being lifted off his shoulder. This sigh of relief was one the entire group needed.
Yeagley said during the postgame that this could be the goal that gets Swan going. He also mentioned that Swan’s goal was one the freshman desperately needed.
Yeagley compared Swan’s performance Friday night to former Indiana forward Victor Bezerra in terms of needing to score a goal.
After the Swan goal, Indiana finished the half with a bang. Having all momentum on its side, Ault delivered for Indiana.
With the ball in Hanover’s box, Ault weaved through traffic.
After being confronted with four defenders, the Noblesville, Indiana, native, saw the ball pop up into the air. Unable to clear it, Hanover’s defense crumbled at that moment. Ault rushed under the ball and kicked it into the back of the net, avoiding the defenders on his hip.
The goal was the dagger for Indiana.
Although it was only 3-0 at halftime, Indiana’s energy coming out of the break put all questions of a Hanover upset to bed.
In the second half, the graduating players Indiana celebrated pregame shined.
Ault netted two more goals. He now leads the Big Ten in goals with 14 scored this season.
Bezerra scored two goals as well. The five straight goals were all scored by players celebrated pregame.
Ultimately, it was a clinical night for the Hoosiers. Indiana scored eight times on 24 shots — 15 of those shots was on target.
While it was an impressive win, Yeagley said one of the reasons for scheduling an opponent like Hanover at the end of the year is to get players who aren’t in the usual rotations a shot on the field.
“Guys like Luka (Bezerra) haven’t played much this year, but he came out and made an impact,” Yeagley said. “Even Luke Reidell got two assists. It helps build momentum for the rest of the year. Not just momentum on the pitch, but in the training field, locker room, and that’s what we were hoping to get out of this match.”The Hoosiers now face Wisconsin on Oct. 21 at Bill Armstrong Stadium in Bloomington. The final four matches of Big Ten play will conclude Indiana’s portion of the regular season.
Follow reporters Elakai Anela (@elakai_anela and eanela@iu.edu) and Mateo Fuentes-Rohwer (@mateo_frohwer and matfuent@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana men's soccer season.
