For a little over 80 minutes, No. 7 Indiana men’s soccer’s attack was uninspiring. Possessions were brief. Threatening chances were scarce, if not nonexistent.
Then, Friday night against Saint Louis University in the Hoosiers’ season opener, fifth-year senior defender Jansen Miller was dragged to the grass in the Billiken’s penalty area. Graduate forward Justin Weiss — making his Indiana debut after transferring from Northwestern this past winter — was called to the penalty spot.
With a conversion, the Hoosiers could transform the match’s momentum. For so long, the 2-0 deficit seemed insurmountable. Saint Louis senior goalkeeper Jeremi Abbonel bounced on his line as Weiss took three slow steps to the ball.
Weiss fired to the bottom left corner. With an outstretched right glove, Abbonel dove to parry the shot away and keep Indiana’s attack seeking desperate answers.
“I thought we were really surging well at the end,” Indiana head coach Todd Yeagley said postgame. “I like the emotional response at the end, but it was too late.”
Senior Tommy Mihalic started the match alongside Weiss up front, with senior Sam Sarver and sophomore Collins Oduro aiding on the wings. The four lacked cohesion early and struggled to connect, often failing to simply reach the final third.
Saint Louis’ backline — anchored by redshirt junior Max Floriani and Indiana senior transfer Joey Maher — was stout and organized. The Hoosiers’ attack, meanwhile, looked unimaginative.
“We had some guys that were tentative,” Yeagley said.
Indiana didn’t register its first shot until roughly 30 minutes into the contest, when Mihalic had a strike blocked outside the 18-yard box. Yeagley opted to give freshman Michael Nesci extended run in his collegiate debut, and while he flashed in moments, his presence didn’t necessarily add a spark.
The same applied to freshman midfielder Charlie Heuer, whom Yeagley offered praise of leading into the season and made his debut in the second half Friday night. Still, while Heuer didn’t appear overcome by the pace of play or quality of opponent, the Hoosiers’ woes persisted.
After Saint Louis notched its second goal around the 60th minute, the eventual result became imminent. For a Hoosier squad that graduated key contributors on the attack like Maouloune Goumballe and Karsen Henderlong, the sluggish start wasn’t necessarily a shock.
The Billikens boast an impressively experienced team, and Indiana featured seven players making their Hoosier debuts. There was a heavily diverse split of playing time for the forwards, as Yeagley continued to adjust in hopes of mustering anything on the attack.
“There’s a good number of experienced players on our team that just didn’t have their game tonight,” Yeagley said.
Oduro played the entire match, Nesci logged 60 minutes, Sarver and Mihalic each played 59, and Weiss and sophomore Clay Murador checked in with 48 and 46, respectively. The fusion of freshmen was intriguing, as was the lack of involvement for Weiss.
Last season, Weiss led the Big Ten in assists and finished third in goals. He averaged just over 70 minutes per match with the Wildcats in 2023, offering a clinical presence near goal and constant playmaking threat.
Yeagley said Weiss would be used similarly with the Hoosiers, complementing a trio of quick attackers in Mihalic, Sarver and Oduro. But Friday night, the lack of playing time as a group was evident.
There’s relatively little cause for concern given the team’s collective talent, and Indiana showed last season its ability to overcome a lackluster start to the season, but Yeagley still didn’t believe Friday night’s performance was up to the program’s standards.
“No championship is won the first game,” Yeagley said, “but it was a lost opportunity tonight. I was encouraged going in and certainly leaving disappointed we didn’t capture that.”
Regardless, a challenge awaits when Indiana returns home Aug. 29 to face No. 2 University of Notre Dame. The Hoosiers fell to the Irish in a heartbreaking penalty shootout in last year’s NCAA Tournament quarterfinals, and with a chance for revenge on the horizon, will be relying on the attack to find its form.
Matt Press covers Indiana men’s soccer for the Indiana Daily Student. Follow him on X @MattPress23 or reach him via email at mtpress@iu.edu.
