Indiana University Athletics
Gutman’s Indiana Roots Run Deep
10/12/2015 11:50:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Andrew Gutman may be an Illinois native, but his Indiana roots run deep.
The freshman defender out of Hinsdale, Ill. remembers making the four-hour drive down I-65 with his parents as a kid to watch Indiana football and basketball games. His earliest memory of Bloomington was being able to walk on Branch McCracken Court as a 10-year-old after an Indiana-Michigan game and being awestruck by the height of the men's basketball players.
His Father Phil is an Indiana graduate. So is his grandfather, grandmother, two aunts and two uncles. His older brother Phillip is set to join the growing list of Gutman Indiana graduates in 2017.
So when Andrew Gutman—the soccer standout of the family—picked up a scholarship offer from Indiana head coach Todd Yeagley, he shut down his recruitment immediately. The road to Bloomington had been paved three generations deep already.
"It's kind of in my blood," Gutman said. "Once I found out about IU's soccer program, I knew if I could just get there, I was going to go there."
Gutman's fondness of Indiana made recruiting easy, Yeagley said. It didn't take much pushing from the coaching staff to get Gutman to join the Hoosiers.
"We didn't have to convince him how great IU was," Yeagley said. "That part was easy. Andrew was one of those recruits where he was all smiles from day one when Indiana called him. We still had to work hard because he was a blue chip kid, but he was one that just carved a path."
Gutman's started all 11 games for the Hoosiers at left back, a position vacated by current Chicago Fire defender Patrick Doody at the end of last season. Gutman has one goal to his credit, a game-winner in IU's season-opening win against St. John's, and has helped Indiana to seven shutouts.
Yeagley said Gutman's transition into the starting lineup as a freshman is a result of his background playing for the Chicago Fire Academy before attending IU. Last summer, Gutman helped lead the Fire's U-18 to a U.S. Soccer Development Academy national championship.
Gutman scored what proved to be the game-winning goal in the Fire's championship match against Real Salt Lake-Arizona. Overall, the Fire posted a 19-4-10 record last season with Gutman starting on the back line.
"I thought last year he was one of the best youth players in the country," Yeagley said. "I say that with confidence. Leading the Chicago Fire to a championship, the national championship for the top academy, he was tremendous and he's been really good from day one. He's learning, he's made some mistakes like they all do, but he's been very good."
Gutman said the experience of watching professionals train each day helped build his confidence. Now with IU, he said he plays relaxed on the field knowing that he's surrounded by similar talent around him.
"Yeagley allows me to play my game, and I know there's great All-Americans around me," Gutman said. "They're all good. I know whenever I'm in trouble, I can just pass it to them and I'll be solid. I just kind of only worry about what I can control on the field. That's probably the greatest thing that's made me successful."
Gutman arrived in Bloomington already knowing he had a talented back playing alongside him in sophomore Grant Lillard. The two trained together with the Fire and were able to pick up right where they left off.
"I knew coming in he was going to help us right away, and I'm excited that he has," Lillard said. "I know what he can do, and I know he can help us win."
Winning is exactly what Gutman came to Indiana to do. He's already well familiar with the traditions and heritage of Indiana men's soccer and wants to add to it before etching his name in the list of Gutmans to graduate from IU.
Every day is a chance to learn, Gutman said. Though teammates like Lillard said he doesn't play like a freshman, Gutman is only halfway through his first college season and still has years ahead of him to reach his full playing potential.
In the next few weeks, Gutman said he and his teammates still have some cleaning up to do if they want to reach their ultimate goal of an NCAA Tournament run. But considering who he's playing for, Gutman said his season was primed to be a success from the day he put on his Indiana kit for the first time.
"I started smiling when I saw the jersey," Gutman said. "This really is a dream come true."
The freshman defender out of Hinsdale, Ill. remembers making the four-hour drive down I-65 with his parents as a kid to watch Indiana football and basketball games. His earliest memory of Bloomington was being able to walk on Branch McCracken Court as a 10-year-old after an Indiana-Michigan game and being awestruck by the height of the men's basketball players.
His Father Phil is an Indiana graduate. So is his grandfather, grandmother, two aunts and two uncles. His older brother Phillip is set to join the growing list of Gutman Indiana graduates in 2017.
So when Andrew Gutman—the soccer standout of the family—picked up a scholarship offer from Indiana head coach Todd Yeagley, he shut down his recruitment immediately. The road to Bloomington had been paved three generations deep already.
"It's kind of in my blood," Gutman said. "Once I found out about IU's soccer program, I knew if I could just get there, I was going to go there."
Gutman's fondness of Indiana made recruiting easy, Yeagley said. It didn't take much pushing from the coaching staff to get Gutman to join the Hoosiers.
"We didn't have to convince him how great IU was," Yeagley said. "That part was easy. Andrew was one of those recruits where he was all smiles from day one when Indiana called him. We still had to work hard because he was a blue chip kid, but he was one that just carved a path."
Gutman's started all 11 games for the Hoosiers at left back, a position vacated by current Chicago Fire defender Patrick Doody at the end of last season. Gutman has one goal to his credit, a game-winner in IU's season-opening win against St. John's, and has helped Indiana to seven shutouts.
Yeagley said Gutman's transition into the starting lineup as a freshman is a result of his background playing for the Chicago Fire Academy before attending IU. Last summer, Gutman helped lead the Fire's U-18 to a U.S. Soccer Development Academy national championship.
Gutman scored what proved to be the game-winning goal in the Fire's championship match against Real Salt Lake-Arizona. Overall, the Fire posted a 19-4-10 record last season with Gutman starting on the back line.
"I thought last year he was one of the best youth players in the country," Yeagley said. "I say that with confidence. Leading the Chicago Fire to a championship, the national championship for the top academy, he was tremendous and he's been really good from day one. He's learning, he's made some mistakes like they all do, but he's been very good."
Gutman said the experience of watching professionals train each day helped build his confidence. Now with IU, he said he plays relaxed on the field knowing that he's surrounded by similar talent around him.
"Yeagley allows me to play my game, and I know there's great All-Americans around me," Gutman said. "They're all good. I know whenever I'm in trouble, I can just pass it to them and I'll be solid. I just kind of only worry about what I can control on the field. That's probably the greatest thing that's made me successful."
Gutman arrived in Bloomington already knowing he had a talented back playing alongside him in sophomore Grant Lillard. The two trained together with the Fire and were able to pick up right where they left off.
"I knew coming in he was going to help us right away, and I'm excited that he has," Lillard said. "I know what he can do, and I know he can help us win."
Winning is exactly what Gutman came to Indiana to do. He's already well familiar with the traditions and heritage of Indiana men's soccer and wants to add to it before etching his name in the list of Gutmans to graduate from IU.
Every day is a chance to learn, Gutman said. Though teammates like Lillard said he doesn't play like a freshman, Gutman is only halfway through his first college season and still has years ahead of him to reach his full playing potential.
In the next few weeks, Gutman said he and his teammates still have some cleaning up to do if they want to reach their ultimate goal of an NCAA Tournament run. But considering who he's playing for, Gutman said his season was primed to be a success from the day he put on his Indiana kit for the first time.
"I started smiling when I saw the jersey," Gutman said. "This really is a dream come true."
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