Jansen Miller floated around the top of the 18-yard box, eyeing the ball. As it passed between his teammates, the fifth-year senior center back delicately raised his hand, signaling for a cross into the box.
Sophomore forward Collins Oduro obliged, and as he went to play the pass, Miller started his movement. Keeping his eyes on the ball, he moved step-for-step with the University of Akron defender next to him, getting lost in the jumble of players.
But when it came to winning the header, there was no mistaking Miller.
Rising just above his defender, Miller placed his header to the bottom left corner of the net, out of the reach of freshman goalkeeper Brett Kamiski. Miller tore off to the corner flag, mobbed by his teammates only seconds later.
“I scored 20 minutes into playing for IU my junior year, so this is a long time coming,” Miller said postgame. “Collins played me a perfect ball, and I just had to go and get it. It’s more like a will to win.”
The goal granted Indiana the 2-1 victory over Akron on Sunday at Bill Armstrong Stadium, securing the Hoosiers’ 10th consecutive appearance in the Sweet 16.
However, Miller’s goal followed a monumental defensive performance that helped carry Indiana to victory and limit a stout attacking Akron squad.
Most impressively, Miller and his backline held star forward Emil Jaaskelainen to 0 shots and 0 shots on goal — the redshirt senior averaged 4.6 and 2.25 per game entering the contest. Jaaskelainen also led the nation in goals, securing 23 on the year while also providing eight assists, numbers which earned him Big East Offensive Player of the Year honors.
Against Indiana, Jaaskelainen looked nothing like the player he had been all season, a testament to Miller and his center back partner, freshman Josh Maher.
“The game plan was don’t let him touch the ball,” Miller said. “He’s very good in the air, but if we can disrupt him with his feet, he’s not as effective. He’s going to win a lot of the headers, but we’ll just cover, and we’ll live with that.”
Head coach Todd Yeagley said postgame he can’t remember the last time he saw a 20-plus goal scorer in one season of NCAA Division I soccer, a testament to Jaaskelainen’s success this season.
When it came to Jaaskelainen’s playstyle, Yeagley and Indiana knew about his tendencies. Their preparation included knowing about his ability to draw in defenders and pass to his open wingers, and the Hoosiers adapted to his movement.
“We just kept talking about, you need to feel and know where he is at all times,” Yeagley said. “We weren’t man marking him, but there was a touch type mentality all day.”
From the first whistle, Indiana implemented the gameplan. Miller, a three-year Hoosier following a brief stint at Xavier University, understood his role, hounding Jaaskelainen every time he got the ball and challenging every one of his aerial duels.
It took until the 85th minute for Jaaskelainen to break free of Miller’s grasp. With a dummy from his teammate, the Zip seemed poised to take his first shot of the game — until Patrick McDonald stepped in.
With Miller beaten by the dummy, the senior midfielder slide tackled Jaaskelainen before he could get a shot up, bounced up and cleared the ball out of danger.
“He’s different,” Miller said about McDonald. “He’s got an engine. His numbers, we always talk about exceed all of ours, and you can tell. He’s our heart and soul in the middle.”
McDonald echoed similar thoughts on his veteran center back.
“He puts out so many fires, and he’s super reliable every game,” McDonald said. “So if I know someone gets by me, Jansen’s there nine times out of 10.”
Ultimately, it wasn’t Miller’s defending that stole the show. Just like his goal two seasons ago against Butler University, coincidentally off a corner from McDonald, Miller headed home the winning goal.
All that matters is Indiana advanced, but Yeagley noted a goal from Miller is one of the best possible outcomes.
“It’s going to help him, just with confidence,” Yeagley said. “Didn’t really matter who scored, but I think a really good player to score.”
As the lowest seeded team in its quadrant of the bracket, Indiana may not get another home game at Bill Armstrong Stadium. For Miller, McDonald and all the seniors, this may have been their last home game.
But Miller isn’t ready to think about that — maybe after a trip to Cary, North Carolina, and a ninth national championship will the veteran look back on his final touch at the Bill.
Follow reporters Matt Press (@MattPress23) and Mateo Fuentes-Rohwer (@mateo_frohwer) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s soccer season.
