Indiana men's soccer continues preparations for the 2024 season with an exhibition match against the University of Evansville on Saturday.
The Hoosiers lost several key players in the offseason, including defensemen Hugo Bacharach, Joey Maher and Brett Bevey. They also lost forwards Malone Gombale and Carsen Henderlong. Bacharach was selected in the MLS SuperDraft, and Maher transferred to Saint Louis University. Bebey, Gombale, and Henderlong all graduated.
Saturday was an opportunity for several players to get significant playing time in Indiana's first spring game.
Sophomore defender Quinton Elliott, a recent transfer from the University of Louisville, played in his first game as a Hoosier. Elliott saw significant minutes in this game, lining up as a wingback on both sides of Indiana's backline throughout.
“He can play both.” [sides]Indiana head coach Todd Eagly said after the game. “I wanted to keep him on the right today, but as soon as Berger went down, I moved him to the left.”
Eagly said Elliott, who will play on the left on Saturday, is not needed and plans to keep him on the right.
Freshman defender Luke Reidel and freshman midfielder EJ Dreher also played in the game after not playing in the fall. Eagly said he liked what he saw from the freshmen.
“[Dreher is] The kids that come from this area just keep getting better and better,” Eagly said. “His first few real minutes, I thought he looked like a really mature player for a redshirt freshman.”
Rydell also saw some of his first action, lining up as a wing-back throughout the match.
“Rydell was really good at times and Luke had a good performance as well,” Eagly said.
Eagly toyed with different formations throughout the match, alternating between a three-back formation and the 4-4-2 he primarily used last season. Eagly also mixed in some rookies along with experienced starters throughout the game.
“It’s definitely a bit of a mix,” Eagly said. “If you experiment too much, you won't know what you did right and what you did wrong. You've noticed that you have several types of anchor players coming in at different times.”
The Hoosiers had multiple scoring chances throughout the game, but struggled to convert them. Indiana broke through with two minutes left in the game on a shot by junior forward Tommy Mihalich inside the 18-yard box.
Indiana University will continue its spring game against Saint Louis University on March 2 at 5 p.m. at the Grand Park Sports Complex in Westfield, Indiana.
Follow reporter Leo Paes (@leordo paes) and Giovanni Salazar (@jio_duz_it) Stay up to date with the entire Indiana men's soccer season.
