Despite only scoring one goal, Indiana men’s soccer’s attack looked dynamic in its 1-0 win against Seton Hall University.
There was a lot of positional movement in the Hoosiers’ attack Monday night. Multiple forwards played different positions and roles across the front line.
Freshman forward Collins Oduro started the game playing as the left outside midfielder, as opposed to his usual starting position as a more centralized forward. Oduro has played in this area before, but this was the first instance where he started out wide.
This meant that junior forward Tommy Mihalic left his usual spot as a wide player and tucked into a more central role to begin the game. Head coach Todd Yeagley said that a lot of factors go into moving the attack around.
“I was trying to figure out where maybe our matchup could be,” Yeagley said postgame. “You’ll see that continue to change.”
Junior forward Sam Sarver also moved around throughout the night and scored from the left-hand side despite usually playing on the right wing. He combined with senior forward Maouloune Goumballe, who spent most of the night holding the ball up and distributing the ball to his teammates from the striker position.
He did exactly this on the goal, and the understanding between him and Sarver was crucial for it to happen. Goumballe held off a defender and played a short pass back to Sarver, who then dribbled around his man and released a left-footed shot at the near post that beat Seton Hall graduate goalkeeper Mats Roorda. Goumballe said that this was a play straight from the training ground.
“When the ball was coming, I was expecting Sam to get under me. It’s a move we work on in training so it was pretty routine,” Goumballe said. “Once I laid it off, Sam did the rest.”
Sarver was on the same wavelength as Goumballe and knew what to do once he got the ball.
“As soon as the ball came to Maouloune I knew he saw me,” Sarver said. “ We were just moving until we saw an opportunity and luckily we got it and took it.”
Having forwards this versatile should provide a lot of flexibility for the Hoosiers this season. This could prove to be useful when facing teams with systems that might require different approaches. It can also allow positions to be covered in case of an injury along the front line.
Follow reporters Leo Paes (@Leordpaes) and Jovanni Salazar (@jio_duz_it) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s soccer season.
