The look on his face didn’t totally convey excitement. It was more relief.
Justin Weiss’ goalscoring drought was no secret. After transferring from Northwestern over the offseason for his final year of eligibility, the Indiana men’s soccer forward was expected to be the crowned jewel of the Hoosiers’ five-player transfer class.
Indiana could’ve used the attacking reinforcements –– especially one of Weiss’ ilk. But a nagging injury kept him out of preseason action. A calf injury sidelined him from the Hoosiers’ 1-1 draw with Butler University on Sept. 4.
Through the squad’s first 11 matches of the season, Weiss was held without a goal or assist.
And still, head coach Todd Yeagley was confident they’d arrive.
“He’s fantastic on little details, whether that’s his defensive marking, or a lot of things that a guy with his experience you don’t take for granted,” Yeagley said Aug. 27. “The goals and assists will start coming for him.”
The goals certainly did. Tuesday night, Weiss bagged two first-half scores in Indiana’s 5-0 thrashing of No. 18 Michigan. After the second, a curling, outside-the-box shot into the right corner, Weiss shrugged and looked to the sky before offering a quick pump of his right fist.
Relief.
31' | Gonna have to update the graphic. ?#IUMS 3, Michigan 0 pic.twitter.com/JwiNbRcHQl
— Indiana Men's Soccer (@IndianaMSOC) October 15, 2024
“That was a long time coming,” Weiss told the Big Ten Network after the match. “... It was my classic finish with the inside of the boot to the top right.”
The road win marked the Hoosiers’ third straight victory and extended their unbeaten streak to six games. Indiana’s performances under Yeagley in October have seemingly become mythic over recent years.
Despite an underwhelming first month of the season, the turnaround almost felt inevitable. The Hoosiers’ attack started to rapidly improve once the calendar turned, scoring 15 goals across six matches.
And still, goals remained elusive for Weiss. Meanwhile, four separate Hoosiers logged braces in that span, including sophomore Collins Oduro’s against then-No. 8 Wisconsin, junior Quinton Elliot’s against Washington, senior Tommy Mihalic’s against the University of Kentucky and freshman Charlie Heuer’s against Penn State.
For a surging Indiana team, which moved to 4-1-2 in the Big Ten, Weiss’ two-goal outing served as a continuation of the Hoosiers’ recent offensive blitzkrieg. His first perfectly encapsulated the type of messy and haphazard goals Yeagley hoped earlier this season he’d see more of.
In the fifth minute, senior midfielder Patrick McDonald whipped a cross into the box that Michigan senior goalkeeper Hayden Evans initially mishandled. The ball took a skip off the head of a Wolverine defender and fell neatly to Weiss, who only needed a tap of his right foot to find the back of the net for his first time as a Hoosier.
Yeagley looked stoic on the sidelines immediately after the goal. But a few moments later, he was grinning.
“Justin will bring some different composure in front of goal,” Yeagley said before the season. “He’ll bring some IQ. He also can create and score his goals. That’s not a problem either.”
All those traits were present in Weiss’ two goals Tuesday night. At Northwestern, Weiss picked up two First-Team All-Big Ten distinctions, one in 2021 and the second in 2023. As a senior last year, Weiss finished third in the Big Ten in goals with seven and matched that tally in assists to lead the conference.
Indeed, Weiss is a different player than what the Hoosiers had in their attacking unit. Mihalic and senior Sam Sarver, along with Oduro, use their pace and shiftiness to create chances around goal.
Weiss’ central play is more akin to Maouloune Goumballe, who graduated from Indiana after being a staple up top. Goumballe’s postseason heroics were especially noteworthy, and through the offseason, Yeagley regarded Weiss as Goumballe’s replacement.
Tuesday night, Weiss finally broke through. As Indiana’s ascent continues, and the final stretch of the regular season dwindles, it couldn’t have come at a more opportune time.
Follow reporters Matt Press (@MattPress23) and Mateo Fuentes-Rohwer (@mateo_frohwer) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s soccer season.
