Indiana men’s soccer’s quarterfinal loss to Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament wasn’t a “wake up call” in head coach Todd Yeagley’s mind.
The Hoosiers are well aware of their resume. The seven straight wins to cap the regular season. The drastic turnaround that catapulted them to a share of the conference title. With the NCAA Tournament selection coming Nov. 18, the previous body of work has Yeagley highly confident in his team’s spot in the bracket.
“If you look at what our team looked like the last 10 games, that’s 100% a seeded team,” Yeagley said in a press conference Nov. 12. “Anyone that’s watched us over that period of time would agree with that.”
A berth to this year’s NCAA Tournament would mark 38 straight for the program. Their entry is likely already sealed, but the question turns to where the Hoosiers will be placed. All 16 teams who earn a seed are guaranteed a first-round bye and a home match in the second round.
Despite winning the Big Ten Tournament regular season and tournament titles in 2023, Yeagley’s squad was unseeded for last year’s NCAA Tournament. Regardless, the Hoosiers still advanced to the quarterfinals for the fourth time since 2018.
Indiana checked in at No. 18 in the most recent RPI rankings, leaving them just outside the pool of seeded teams. Still, there are a variety of factors that could compel the selection committee to bump the Hoosiers up.
For one, their lack of results during the nonconference slate doesn’t quite seem as negative anymore. Indiana lost to the University of Dayton on Sept. 9 –– at the time a somewhat shocking defeat –– but the Flyers now rank fifth overall in the nation.
Saint Louis University, which beat Indiana to open the season on Aug. 23, also is projected to earn a spot in the 48-team NCAA Tournament field. But the Hoosiers’ results within the conference, and the general success of the Big Ten, are equally important.
Indiana drew now-No. 1 Ohio State on the road Sept. 27, and the Buckeyes are a heavy favorite over Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament final on Nov. 17. The Hoosiers topped then-No. 8 Wisconsin on Oct. 1 less than a week later, also on the road.
“I feel really confident in our resume as a seeded team,” Yeagley said.
The Hoosiers boast the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year in senior forward Tommy Mihalic, who netted a career-high 10 goals this season. Three other Indiana players earned All-Big Ten First Team distinctions, including senior forward Sam Sarver, senior midfielder Patrick McDonald and junior defender Quinton Elliot.
There’s a wealth of experience on this team, particularly players with tournament experience. Along with Mihalic, Sarver and McDonald, fifth-year senior goalkeeper JT Harms and fifth-year senior defender Jansen Miller all played on the 2022 squad that fell just shy of an NCAA title.
A couple sophomores, like forward Collins Oduro and defender Alex Barger, were key contributors for the Hoosiers last season en route to the Big Ten double and NCAA quarterfinals.
But if Indiana is being weighed against another team with a similar resume to determine a final seed, Yeagley said the program’s history could be a deciding factor. It’s difficult to ignore the eight stars that sit above the IU crest on the Hoosiers’ jerseys, representing their nation-leading eight NCAA championships since 1973.
Indiana has made nine College Cup appearances since the turn of the century, including four since 2017. The seeding selection is far from an exact science, but taking into account the Hoosiers’ form through conference play, individual success and historical dominance, Yeagley certainly believes there’s a case to be made.
“To me, your seeded teams are the teams you feel will have the best opportunity to go farther in those home games,” Yeagley said. “If it’s a tough call, why would you not go with the program that’s been able to prove that?”
“That’s an earned advantage.”
Follow reporters Matt Press (@MattPress23) and Mateo Fuentes-Rohwer (@mateo_frohwer) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s soccer season.
