Thriving offense to be tested on East Coast trip

The IU men’s soccer team heads to the East Coast for its first true road test looking to continue hot offensive play.

The No. 9 Hoosiers (4-0-1)  have scored 14 goals in their first five games, a large spike from last year’s first five games.

Through five games last season, IU was 2-3 and had scored only nine goals.
Senior Alec Purdie and freshman Eriq Zavaleta have led the team offensively, accounting for seven of the 14 goals.

For IU Coach Todd Yeagley, the team has used its aggressive play to create some good opportunities on goal for itself.

“The guys are being efficient,” Yeagley said. “The focus on the final third has been sharp and we have taken our chances well, and when you do that, you can score some goals. I like the mindset of the group. We just have to keep going.”

The Hoosiers have played only one true road game, the season opener at Notre Dame, but will be taken out of their element this weekend when they travel to New York and New Jersey for contests against No. 14 St. Johns (4-1) and Rutgers (3-1), respectively.

Yeagley said he thinks the team will find out what they are made of, and it should be a good test for the entire team.

“It is going to be very difficult,” Yeagley said. “St. Johns is an excellent team, and Rutgers is young, and they have had some turnover. You’re leaving your region, leaving your comfort. Notre Dame was more familiar to us. This will be a completely different test — traveling and playing in a hostile environment. These will be very difficult games.”

While this road trip sends the Hoosiers farther from home than they’ve been this season, competing against the Northeast schools is nothing new to the Indiana program.

Indiana holds an all-time record of 74-16-9 against the schools currently in the Big East, including a 4-1-1 record against Rutgers and 2-3-1 against St. Johns.

As a fifth-year senior and one of the Hoosier captains, Purdie said it will be important for the team to keep its focus on the challenge ahead.

“Right now we’re just focused on St. Johns and ourselves — work hard and hopefully knock another one out,” Purdie said.

Zavaleta said it will be a good test for the Hoosiers to see how they react to travel when they leave the Midwest this weekend.

“We haven’t had a plane trip yet, and we’ll see how we handle the legs after a road trip and hostile environments against good teams,” Zavaleta said. “So far, we have played in neutral environments, so I think it’s a good test for us, and I think we can do well.”