Indiana men's soccer head coach Todd Eagly played his combination in Saturday's game between the Hoosiers and the University of Evansville, using five different defenders, five midfielders and four forwards throughout the game. did.
All five fall starters (senior goaltender JT Harms, senior defender Jansen Miller, freshman defender Alex Berger, and junior forwards Sam Thurber and Tommy Mihalich) started the game.
Eagly faced 14 Hoosiers throughout the game, trying out different matchups, especially on the back line and midfield.
“It’s definitely a bit of a mix,” Eagly said. “If you experiment too much, you won't know what went right or wrong.”
Two minutes into the game, sophomore forward Luca Bezerra received a low cross from the left and attempted a backheel flick with his left foot from six yards inside the box, but graduate student goalkeeper Aidan Montour Saved.
Indiana had most of the ball until the 26th minute and grabbed every scoring opportunity. Evansville graduate student defender Tobias Bak took a shot from outside the box, but it missed the left goal post and was out.
Indiana redshirt sophomore midfielder Grant Eagly created the Hoosiers' best scoring opportunity in the 35th minute. Grant headed the ball from inside the six-yard box, but the ball was weak and Montour saved the shot.
In the second half, the pace was slower than in the first half, and there were a lot of back passes, giving neither team any chances. Indiana's most dangerous chance of the game came in the first half.
Sarver had two dangerous chances from the right edge of the 18-yard box in the 60th minute, but both went just past Montour's left post.
Mihalic scored the first goal in the 87th minute. They received a frontal cross from first-year forward Clay Mourador at their own 18-yard right corner and pushed it in, winning 1-0.
“A lot of little execution moments are good moments for the team,” Eagly said. “There are a lot of little details throughout the play.”
Saturday will be the first of five spring games for the Hoosiers. Yeagley plans to use the upcoming games to build partnerships between players.
“We want to put guys in places where we think they'll fit in with the new guys that haven't been here yet,” Eagly said.
Ahead of the fall season, Indiana plans to add nine players to its roster: four defenders, three midfielders and four forwards.
Indiana University will play against Saint Louis University on March 2 at 5 p.m.Former Hoosier defenseman Joey Maher entered the transfer portal in January after spending four seasons in Bloomington, but since commit to St. Louis February 6th.
The matchup between the Hoosiers and Billikens is scheduled to take place indoors at the Grand Park Sports Complex in Westfield, Indiana.
Follow reporter Leo Paes (@leordo paes) and Giovanni Salazar (@jio_duz_it) Get updates on the entire Indiana men's soccer spring season.
