SAINT LOUIS, Mo. — In a battle of college soccer’s two most historic programs to open up the 2024 campaign, Indiana and Saint Louis clashed at Robert R. Hermann Stadium. The Hoosiers had the chance to make their mark and start the season on the right foot with a marquee victory against a true non-conference opponent. Instead of a heavyweight fight between two blue bloods, it felt at times more like a bloodbath, as Saint Louis took advantage of a sloppy Indiana side and dispatched the visitors, 2-0 on Friday night.
Here are my three takeaways:
The stats were deceiving
Last year, Indiana typically dominated possession and shots on target and didn’t get rewarded with the goals. Friday, the roles were reversed. The scoreboard showed both teams notching three shots on goal and the Billikens outshooting Indiana 8-7, but the hosts dominated for the first 80 minutes before Indiana had a pair of set pieces: a penalty kick from Northwestern transfer Justin Weiss and a free kick from Sam Sarver, both of which were saved by Saint Louis keeper Jeremi Abonnel. Saint Louis head coach Kevin Kalish mentioned that if the penalty doesn’t get saved and the Billikens’ second goal, which was an Indiana own goal, gets deflected in a different direction, the match could have gone in a different direction. It didn’t feel that was the case; the Billikens were practically in cruise control after going up 2-0 at the hour mark.
Answers to questions surrounding the starting XI
Indiana brought back seven starters from last year and brought in two transfers that started at their previous schools, meaning two positions were up for grabs: The second center-back alongside Jansen Miller and the other central midfielder alongside Patrick McDonald. Jack Wagoner, who started much of 2022 as a freshman and was paired with McDonald, ended up re-earning the position he had lost last season when Hugo Bacharach was moved to the midfield to make room for Miller. Joining the fifth-year senior at center-back was freshman Jack Lindimore, who won the spot over Josh Maher (the brother of Joey and Jack, former Indiana superstars) and Breckin Minzey. Indiana head coach Todd Yeagley has mentioned multiple times that Maher has been dealing with an injury that has limited his time on the pitch in training and that Lindimore’s distribution under pressure was a strength of his and could fare well against Saint Louis’ older strikers. Lindimore got spun to the ground on Saint Louis’ first goal, but it seems like we know who the final defender is on the backline alongside sophomore Alex Barger, Miller and Quinton Elliot, a junior who transferred from Louisville.
This match could follow Indiana to the Selection Show
We all know about the tough non-conference schedule Todd Yeagley and Co. assemble every year. The last four years, the season opener has been on the road against a really good opponent (Notre Dame in 2021 and 2023, Clemson in 2022, and now Saint Louis in 2024). Indiana has only won one of those matches, and in the last two seasons, the lone non-conference match outside of Indiana has resulted in very poor performances (Indiana lost to South Florida 1-0 last September). There aren’t many of these opportunities that give the Cream and Crimson a huge chance for a resume booster right out of the gate and Indiana hasn’t been able to capitalize. On Friday night, it was the Billikens that capitalized and scooped up a top-ten win to start 2024.
Despite winning the Big Ten double last season, the Hoosiers surprisingly missed out on a national seed. One reason was probably that they didn’t have a single win on their resume against a team that joined them in the NCAA Tournament. A weaker Big Ten was a reason for that as the Hoosiers were the only team that represented the conference in the Big Dance, but the committee will look at this result in November. It doesn’t mean Indiana can’t earn a national seed, but if the same offensive struggles that appeared early in 2023 follow the team over to 2024, then this failure could haunt them.
While Indiana’s ‘tradition of excellence’ wasn’t on display in the season opener, the Hoosiers have always responded well after losing and will look to avoid losing two straight, a streak that dates back to 2013. Indiana will return to the friendly confines of Bill Armstrong Stadium, one of the best home-field advantages in the country on Thursday for the home opener against Notre Dame, the team that knocked them out of the Elite Eight last December. It’s safe to say that the team will have put this match in the rear-view mirror and will be ready as ever to get back on track, and the fans will be certainly showing out to support the Cream and Crimson. Kickoff is at 8 p.m.
