Jack Wagoner stepped on the pitch just around the halfway line. He slowly walked toward the corner entrance to the field, where a group of people wearing Hoosier colors were waiting for him.
Roughly half an hour before, the senior forward was accompanied by his fellow Indiana men’s soccer teammates, disappointment and sadness etched across their faces. But this time, it was just Wagoner.
His walk across the pitch lasted 50 seconds. As he reached the edge of the field, his first steps off Jerry Yeagley Field at Bill Armstrong Stadium marked the end of a longer journey — his Indiana soccer career.
Wagoner’s tenure at Indiana spanned four seasons. He wore the No. 21 number for three of them, but he took up No. 6 for his senior season, along with the captain’s armband.
But following Indiana’s 1-0 defeat to Saint Louis University on Sunday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Wagoner’s time with the Hoosiers came to an end.
“I guess you’re always reflecting during your time here,” Wagoner said postgame. “And you know, even right now, you start to think about some of the last moments, some great memories and achievements since you’ve been here.”
Those achievements include a national championship appearance, two Big Ten regular season titles and one Big Ten Tournament championship win. Even though his final year as a Hoosier finished trophy-less, it was rewarding nonetheless.
In his seventh grade language arts class, Wagoner wrote a letter to his future self. The first line read, “I want to play soccer at Indiana.”
To accomplish that was a success. To captain that team was even more special.
“You can’t even describe it,” Wagoner said.
Wagoner wasn’t the only Hoosier to say goodbye to the program Sunday. Senior forward Palmer Ault, senior midfielder Cristiano Bruletti and graduate goalkeeper Holden Brown all played minutes against Saint Louis, and all three ended their short chapters with Indiana.
Ault committed in December 2024, transferring from Butler University. His time with the Hoosiers concluded with 16 goals, 10 assists and Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year honors.
Bruletti moved from within the Big Ten after he left Michigan State to join Indiana for one season. He started 14 of his 17 appearances in 2025, contributing two assists.
Brown joined the Hoosiers from the University of Virginia in 2024, and while he saw no game action that year, his sixth and final season of collegiate eligibility featured 14 starts and a 1.29 goals against average.
Besides the seniors, head coach Todd Yeagley doesn’t know who he’s saying goodbye to just yet. Roster turnover happens every day, he said, beginning as early as Monday. It could be departures to — or additions from — the transfer portal; he just doesn’t know.
“It’s the world we live in,” Yeagley said. “So you have to be ready to move and quickly building on it.”
The portal is what helped Yeagley build a contender this season. Following a Big Ten regular season title in 2024, the Hoosiers lost seven starters, so Yeagley turned to the portal. Ault and Bruletti joined Indiana as transfers, along with key contributors in graduate defender Ben Do and junior midfielder Jacopo Fedrizzi.
Wagoner brought a different presence as a four-year veteran. His leadership skills elevated with his captain role, and now with the season over, he’s ready to reflect and grow from his experience in Bloomington.
“There’s gonna be a lot that’s going on in my mind here the next couple of weeks, especially,” Wagoner said. “But it’s just, you know, making sure that you tilt it all into a positive tilt, and that way you can grow from it and better yourself.”
Indiana’s 2025 squad didn’t win any hardware, but they’ll still be etched in history. The Hoosiers’ 5-0-1 start to the season was their best since 1997, which turned into a No. 1 ranking in the United Soccer Coaches poll.
But as Yeagley noted postgame, trophies are often a marker for success, especially for a program with Indiana’s prestige. And the Hoosiers didn’t win any of their three possible titles.
It’s another season where Indiana said goodbye before the College Cup. It’s another season coming up empty in its quest for a ninth star.
But it was still a team that etched itself into the fabric of Indiana men’s soccer, and that’s enough to make Yeagley proud.
“I’ll miss this team,” he said.
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 offseason.
