It hasn’t been that long since the Indiana Hoosiers lost a heartbreaker to Notre Dame in the Elite 8 last season. The spring season lets the teams get on the pitch and wash that bad taste out of their mouths, while letting the entire team get some playing time. On February 24, the Hoosiers laced them up against Evansville and came away with a 1-0 victory.
Today, the Hoosiers faced St. Louis at Grand Park. St. Louis scored early for the only goal of the game. IU seemingly tied it up early in the second, but an offsides penalty negated the score. Final: St. Louis 1 Indiana 0. Of course, Spring soccer means nothing as it is more of a practice in terms of results. The Hoosiers were without some key players like Collins Oduro and Justin Weiss. So what, if anything, can we take away from these games? So, here without further ado are three take-aways.
- JT Harms is still in great form. He was challenged early and often. Much of the first half was played in front of him. It was difficult to determine much in terms of time because there are no clocks or scoreboards at Grand Park, but it would not be terribly inaccurate to say that St. Louis possessed the ball nearly 75% of the first half. They put the ball on net frequently. IU did a better job with the ball in the second, but Harms was tested a lot there too. He was up to the challenge all night making save after save. The lone goal was not his fault. The Hoosiers were out of position leaving Harms on an island to make the initial save. Again, out of position, the Hoosiers allowed a St. Louis player to net the rebound. Harms looked outstanding and will provide veteran leadership next fall.
- Tommy Mihalic was solid on the ball. Mihalic used excellent footwork to supply IU with their best chances. He was the Hoosier who delivered the pass on the overturned goal. While he was solid, the issue was simply midfield. IU struggled to get the ball through the middle of the field cleanly. If it wasn’t Mihalic, it wasn’t happening. The Hoosiers dealt with this issue when Aidan Morris left and finally solved it last year with Hugo Bacharach. Today’s game is no real indication if there will be a mid-field problem, but it will be worth keeping an eye on. IU simply struggled on the attack today.
- Sam Sarver has a lot of passion. He wasn’t particularly effective today, but it was easy to see that he will be the on-field leader. He played with passion and aggression. He was very vocal. On one play, two players did not hustle to the ball and allowed it to go through the end resulting in a corner kick. He let them know that they screwed up. In fact, everyone in Grand Park knew he was mad. He was loud the entire time directing the Hoosiers around the pitch. Once the Hoosiers add the other strikers, this unit should produce a lot of goals.
In a rather surreal moment, Joey Maher was on the pitch with his former Hoosier friends. Maher graduated from IU after last season and chose to play his final year while going to grad school in St. Louis. The Hoosiers will miss his leadership on the backline next year, but all Hoosiers will wish him well. And, good news for IU, there is another Maher coming in the form of his younger brother! A team can never have too many Mahers.
The Hoosiers are back in action again on April 6 at Kentucky. Check back for more results.