Indiana men’s soccer head coach Todd Yeagley played with his pairings in the Hoosiers’ match against the University of Evansville on Saturday, using five different defenders, five midfielders and four forwards throughout the game.
Five starters from the fall — senior goalkeeper JT Harms, senior defender Jansen Miller, freshman defender Alex Barger, and junior forwards Sam Sarver and Tommy Mihalic — started the game.
Yeagley played 14 Hoosiers throughout the game, experimenting with different matchups, especially in the back line and midfield.
“Definitely a little bit of a mix,” Yeagley said. “Tough to experiment too much, then you’re not sure kind of where it could’ve gone right or wrong.”
In the second minute of the game, sophomore forward Luka Bezerra received a low cross from the left and tried a backheel flick with his left leg from inside the 6-yard box, but graduate student goalkeeper Aidan Montoure saved it.
Indiana had most of the possession and all the goal-scoring chances until the 26th minute. Evansville graduate student defender Tobias Bak fired a shot from outside the box, grazing the left goalpost and going out of play.
Indiana redshirt sophomore midfielder Grant Yeagley had the Hoosiers’ best goal-scoring opportunity in the 35th minute. Despite Grant heading the ball from inside the 6-yard box, it was weak, and Montoure saved the shot.
The second half had a slower pace than the first with numerous back passes leading to a lack of chances for both sides. Indiana’s most dangerous chances in the game came in this half.
Sarver had two dangerous chances from the right edge of the 18-yard box in the 60th minute, but both grazed Montoure’s left post.
In the 87th minute, Mihalic opened the scoring. He received a frontal cross from freshman forward Clay Murador from the right corner of the 18-yard box, tapping it in to make the score 1-0 and win the game.
“It’s just good moments for the team in a lot of small execution moments,” Yeagley said. “A lot of little details on the whole play.”
Saturday marks the first of five games the Hoosiers will play in the spring. Yeagley plans to use the upcoming games to build partnerships between the players.
“We want to put guys where we think they’ll fit with the new players coming in, which aren’t here yet,” Yeagley said.
Ahead of the fall season, Indiana will add nine players to its roster — four defenders, three midfielders and four forwards.
Indiana looks ahead to its matchup at 5 p.m, March 2, against Saint Louis University. Former Hoosier defender Joey Maher entered the transfer portal in January after four seasons in Bloomington, later committing to Saint Louis on Feb. 6.
The Hoosiers’ contest with the Billikens is set to be played indoors at the Grand Park Sports Complex in Westfield, Indiana.
Follow reporters Leo Paes (@Leordpaes) and Jovanni Salazar (@jio_duz_it) for updates throughout Indiana men’s soccer's spring season.
