As a cross from junior forward Stephane Njike floated over University of Denver defenders inside the box, freshman forward Michael Adu-Gyamfi received the pass. After one touch off his chest, Adu-Gyamfi rocketed a shot into the top left corner of the net.
Adu-Gyamfi's chest-first slide into the right-side corner flag capped off No. 6 Indiana men’s soccer’s 3-1 victory over Denver on Monday inside Bill Armstrong Stadium. The Ghanaian native produced his first collegiate goal in the 56th minute and propelled the Hoosiers to the victory on International Night.
“With his left, which is not the strong foot for Mike Adu,” Indiana head coach Todd Yeagley said postgame. “The guys were so pumped because he can strike a ball really well with his right.”
Coming into the season, Yeagley knew his freshman class of five players was only going to play spot minutes, but the potential was boundless.
Adu-Gyamfi has been the most prominent of those five so far this season for the Hoosiers. He’s appeared in five games for a total of 93 minutes.
“He's got some special sauce as we call it, and he just lights it up,” Yeagley said after Indiana’s 2-0 win over California Polytechnic State University on Sept. 4. “He moves.”
The Accra, Ghana, native enrolled in the Right to Dream Academy in his hometown, following in the footsteps of many other Ghanian soccer players with aspirations of making it to the biggest professional soccer leagues.
The academy — built on the pillars of “Football” “Education” and “Character” — was also a key stepping stone for senior forward Collins Oduro.
Oduro and Adu-Gyamfi both found themselves playing high school soccer in the northeastern United States. Oduro played for The Phelps School in Chester County, Pennsylvania, while Adu-Gyamfi was at Suffield Academy in Suffield, Connecticut.
During his final three seasons at the private preparatory school, Adu-Gyamfi totaled 53 goals and assists. He was named the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council Class B Player of the Year in 2024, as Suffield won the Class B championship with an 8-1 victory.
“Mike Adu, in a couple years, he might be the featured attacker with a couple years under his belt, just like Collins Oduro was, or obviously is,” Yeagley said during a press conference Aug. 18.
The similarities continued between the Ghanaian duo, as Adu-Gyamfi joined the Hoosiers after graduating from high school.
“We want to keep growing with him,” Yeagley said after Cal Poly. “We think his October, November could be another piece for our team. So, we're kind of wedging him in, even though other guys are playing well.”
Yeagley has fit Adu-Gyamfi into the lineup to the best of his abilities, but he will have a hard time breaking into a front line of proven collegiate soccer stars.
Oduro returned to Yeagley’s starting 11 for the first time this season Monday, recording a beautiful assist on senior forward Oliver Moller-Jensen's 79th-minute goal. Oduro moved past the Denver backline before crossing to Moller-Jensen inside the box, who stuck the ball into the back of the net on the volley.
The goal was Moller-Jensen's fifth of the season, a team high through the Hoosiers’ first six games of the season. Even after Moller-Jensen moved to midfield on Monday, Njike’s 13 career college goals and junior forward Easton Bogard’s six stand in the way of Adu-Gyamfi in the starting lineup.
However, Adu-Gyamfi also ran the 100-meter and 4x100-meter races in high school. It’s an aspect of his game that has translated to the soccer field.
“He’s a beast,” senior defender Alex Barger said postgame. “Absolute beast. You saw with the goal, even with his left foot. I mean, he's got some special finishes. We see it in training all the time. It's nice to see that finally paid off tonight.”
In only 21 minutes Monday, Adu-Gyamfi put his name into Indiana’s record book for the program’s 850th win.
With a 5-0-1 record in the early nonconference slate, Indiana travels to the U-M Soccer Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Friday for a showdown against Big Ten foe Michigan. The Hoosiers were picked third in the Big Ten preseason poll, while the Wolverines ranked fifth.
“Heading into conference play, we know the team's going to be tough, and we know there's going to be a lot of battles,” Barger said. “...We have the confidence now.”
Follow reporters Noah Boudouris (@noahboudouris and nboudour@iu.edu) and Sean McAvoy (@sean_mc07 and semcavoy@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s soccer season.
