For Hall of Fame outfielder Reggie Jackson, postseason heroics with the New York Yankees and Oakland Athletics earned him the distinction “Mr. October.”
It might be an appropriate moniker for Indiana men’s soccer, which has registered a 16-3-6 record in October across the last three seasons. Most recently, the Hoosiers rescued a point in slippery, soggy conditions against No. 4 Ohio State on Sept. 27, drawing the Buckeyes 2-2 in Columbus, Ohio.
Now, as the urgency for wins grows more intense, Indiana turns to another ranked matchup on the road against No. 8 Wisconsin on Tuesday night, the first of eight critical matches in October.
‘There’s more goals in our group’
Senior forward Tommy Mihalic’s resurgence has been a welcome development for an Indiana squad still searching for consistent goal scoring.
Last season, Mihalic followed a second-team All-Big Ten sophomore campaign with a relatively disappointing year. He only notched two goals despite making 19 starts and leading the Big Ten in shots and shots on goal.
But after scoring off a scramble in the penalty area against Ohio State, Mihalic pushed his total to five goals this season, ranking third-best in the Big Ten.
“That’s what one season can do,” Yeagley said on Sept. 27. “How you just rescript it.”
Despite Mihalic’s finishing improving greatly from last year, there’s a lingering caveat: the rest of the Hoosiers have combined for just four goals, with two coming from senior forward Sam Sarver.
Indiana’s inability to convert strong chances was the squad’s primary flaw throughout the nonconference slate, and it resurfaced in a 1-0 loss to Maryland on Sept. 21. However, those struggles vanished against the Buckeyes, leading Yeagley to believe it might be sustainable.
“We have guys that are capable,” Yeagley said. “There’s more goals in our group. There’s more goals.”
Before the season, many of those goals figured to come from sophomore Collins Oduro and Justin Weiss, a graduate transfer from Northwestern. But partially due to a few missed games for injuries and a lack of effectiveness near goal, the two remain without a goal this season.
It’s somewhat troubling given Oduro and Weiss’ proven potential. Oduro scored five goals last year and was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team, and Weiss garnered first-Team all-Big Ten honors after leading the conference in assists and scoring the third-most goals.
While Indiana was able to match Ohio State’s attack, it very well may need Oduro or Weiss to step up Tuesday night.
Meet the Badgers
Indiana salvaged a point against a Buckeye squad featuring some of the Big Ten’s most dynamic attackers, but things won’t be much easier against the Badgers.
Dean Boltz has burst onto the scene as a freshman, leading the conference and ranking fourth in the country with eight goals through eight matches. After netting seven goals through the first four games of the season, his production slightly dipped — Boltz has only scored once since.
Impressively, Boltz has tallied staggering numbers without playing a full 90 minutes. In fact, he’s only exceeded 70 once, when the Badgers topped UCLA 4-1 on Sept. 16. But Boltz, who was named to Top Drawer Soccer’s preseason Best XI Freshman Team, hasn’t been relied on to shoulder the entirety of Wisconsin’s scoring.
After finishing dead last in the Big Ten with 17 goals last season, the Badgers have since revamped their attack. Boltz is the centerpiece, but sophomore midfielder Trip Fleming has five goals of his own, good for the second-best mark in the conference.
Like Boltz, Fleming’s total is slightly inflated by two matches in the nonconference slate, when he scored four goals between wins over Drexel University and the University of Illinois Chicago. Still, five other Badgers aside from Boltz and Fleming have scored, and Wisconsin boasts undoubtedly one of the Big Ten’s most dangerous attacks.
Indiana’s backline fended off a siege from Ohio State late in the second half, and the Hoosiers could be placed in a similar position Tuesday night. Yeagley continues to rotate between sophomore Alex Barger and redshirt sophomore Breckin Minzey at left back, but the rest of the unit, namely the partnership at center back between freshman Josh Maher and fifth-year senior Jansen Miller, has continued to progress.
Still, while Wisconsin’s forwards may not be quite as explosive as Ohio State’s, the threat is still present. Tuesday night’s match is set to kick off at 8 p.m. with streaming available on Big Ten Plus.
Follow reporters Matt Press (@MattPress23) and Mateo Fuentes-Rohwer (@mateo_frohwer) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s soccer season.
