Indiana men’s soccer will take a pause from its conference schedule with two nonconference matches in Bloomington this week. Indiana has faced neither of the opponents it will face, the University of Nebraska Omaha nor Trine University.
“They’re all kind of equally important in some ways,” head coach Todd Yeagley said about the nonconference games. “We’re going to continue to tweak a little bit, but nothing over the top.”
With matches on Wednesday and Saturday, here are the top things to know about all three teams.
Records Coming In
Omaha will be coming into Bloomington after a 2-0 victory over the University of Missouri-Kansas City on Saturday, putting the team at 3-4-1 on the season. The match was Omaha’s first Summit League matchup of the season.
The Mavericks have five goals on the season with 87 shots and 33 shots on goal and have not scored more than two goals in a game. They have only allowed five goals.
“They’ve been a little unfortunate with their results this year,” Yeagley said. “If you look at their record, it’s not quite what you expect from Omaha.”
Trine, set to face Indiana on Saturday, is 5-4 on the season. The Thunder have scored 18 goals this season and have allowed 20 to opponents. In its most recent match Trine fell 13-0 to the University of Notre Dame. The Hoosiers beat the Fighting Irish 3-2 in overtime in their first game of the season.
Indiana enters the week with a 5-3-1 record and is 2-2-0 in conference play. After two road wins, the team returned to Bloomington last Friday to face Michigan, conceding a 2-1 loss in overtime, marking Indiana’s third home loss of the season.
Related: Home struggles continue for Indiana men’s soccer in 2-1 overtime loss to Michigan
“It’s tough to swallow at home,” Yeagley said. “(The team) is battling adversity they haven’t felt.”
The Hoosiers have put up 11 goals this season on 87 shot attempts. They have also allowed 11 goals — five more than all of last season.
Players to Watch
Omaha freshman forward Malik Elmi has a team-high two goals on shots on goal with four. Elmi has 12 shots on the season, with only two games where he failed to record at least one. Senior forward Hugo Kametani leads the team with 17 shots and eight shots on goal but is yet to score a goal.
Sophomore forward Tyler Murphy leads Trine with eight goals, 23 shots and 17 points on the season. None of his teammates have double-digit points. Murphy had Trine’s only two shots against Notre Dame but could not score in the shutout loss.
In the match against Notre Dame, Trine sophomore goalkeeper Troy Saylor made six saves to bring his season total to 23.
In Indiana’s most recent match against Michigan, junior forward Herbert Endeley led the team with five shots and three shots on goal. Endeley leads the team overall with six shots on goal. Junior forward Victor Bezerra recorded his first goal of the season against Michigan on a penalty kick and is tied with Endeley for second-most shots with 10.
Overall Takeaways
The Hoosiers have the opportunity to regain some momentum this week with wins at home. They have struggled defensively throughout the season which could provide more offensive opportunities for both the Mavericks and the Thunder.
Related: Defense not enough in Indiana men’s soccer 2-1 OT loss to Michigan
Both Omaha and Trine have been relatively low scoring this season. Omaha has only allowed five goals, and its goalies have a 0.722 save percentage.
“There’s certainly a pressure piece to this group that they feel,” Yeagley said. “And we’re trying to take that and take it away and just enjoy what’s in front of us.”
