Indiana men’s soccer is back in action Tuesday night at Bill Armstrong Stadium. The No. 21-ranked Hoosiers will face the St. John’s University Red Storm in the second match of a three-match home stand.
The Hoosiers were originally scheduled to play four matches during their current home stand, but Saturday’s in-state clash against the No. 21-ranked University of Notre Dame was postponed due to inclement weather.
[Related: Indiana men’s soccer match against Notre Dame postponed Saturday due to inclement weather]
A 0-1-1 start means the Hoosiers are still searching for their first win of 2022.
Here’s what you need to know and what’s on the line when the Hoosiers and Red Storm kick off at 8 p.m. Tuesday:
Scouting the Red Storm
St. John’s received one vote toward the top-25 in the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll, but it has recently fallen out of consideration altogether following a 1-2-0 start to the season.
The Red Storm suffered back-to-back 1-0 defeats to Monmouth University and then-No. 18 Florida International University, but it got back to winning ways with a 5-0 rout of Lehigh University.
St. John’s head coach David Masur has been at the helm for the Red Storm since 1991, forming a men’s college soccer powerhouse in the Big East Conference. The program has reached the NCAA Tournament in 22 out of his 31 seasons as head coach.
Tuesday’s matchup brings another opponent that qualified for last postseason’s tournament to Bloomington. St. John’s defeated Princeton University in the first round last fall, but its run ended in the ensuing round.
Graduate midfielder/defender Brandon Knapp is back for the Red Storm after leading the team with five goals and 16 points last season. Other veteran pieces returning in attack are senior forward Wesley Leggett and senior midfielder Atila Ashrafi.
New arrivals have also provided solid contributions for the Red Storm. Junior midfielder/defender Antek Sienkiel, a recent transfer from Marist College, is the team’s leading goal scorer following a hat trick against Lehigh.
Defensive Adjustments
Saturday’s postponement gave the Hoosiers a few extra days of rest amid their packed schedule to start the season, pushing the total time between matches to a week. The extra time off could be just what the veteran back line — which hasn’t completely looked itself thus far — needs to reflect on and correct its few, but costly, mistakes.
The same core, which conceded only six goals across the shortened spring 2021 campaign, has given up the same amount in its first two matches this fall.
Granted, the three goals No. 1-ranked Clemson University scored in Indiana’s 3-2 loss on Aug. 26 were hardly the result of loose defensive shape. On the other hand, the three goals the Hoosiers gave up in their home opener against the University of Portland came through overhead crosses against the run of play that simply weren’t dealt with.
Head coach Todd Yeagley said Indiana’s mistakes in such critical moments are all correctable.
“That back line goes to the national championship two years ago,” senior defender Nyk Sessock said following Indiana’s draw against Portland. “We just have to clean some things up defensively, and I know we will.”
Goalkeeping Battle
Behind the back line, Yeagley has already swapped between junior goalkeeper JT Harms and redshirt senior goalkeeper Bryant Pratt. After years of being the second option to goalkeeper Roman Celentano and recovering from an injury in the spring, Pratt made his first collegiate start against Portland.
“It’s been a battle all spring,” Yeagley said. “Pratt was better in a decent amount of nights than Roman was in some of these (fall 2021) scrimmages. (Harms) didn’t lose the job, I just thought Pratt was in a position to also get it — and I wanted to do it early. We have two starting-level keepers.”
Yeagley hasn’t decided who will start in net for the Hoosiers against St. John’s. Despite the uncertainty surrounding the starting spot, the changes haven’t affected the back line’s playstyle or confidence.
“Any guy who comes in to fill any role is going to play that part as well as he can,” Sessock said. “There’s no adjustment, no difference.”
