IUMS Readies for Unique 2020-21 Season
1/27/2021 9:15:00 AM | Men's Soccer
By Jared Rigdon
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – When the Big Ten Conference announced the postponement of all fall sports in August, the IU Men's Soccer program knew a potential 2020-2021 season would look far from normal.
Football was the first sport to come back with Big Ten teams playing up to a nine-game regular season starting in October. Men's and women's basketball followed not long after with a late-November start date. Finally, the rest of IU's 21 athletic programs will start their season in the spring.
Some, like baseball and softball, are used to a spring start. IU head coach Todd Yeagley's team knows this is far from the ordinary.
"It's good to have a schedule out in front of us and some more clarity after a long time," Yeagley said. "Obviously we're not the only ones dealing with uncertainty. The guys have come back very ready to go. We're a few weeks into our training. I feel like we're in as good of a place as we can be all things considered."
For some, the uncertainty was a daunting endeavor. Even without a known start date, athletic programs were allowed to continue training throughout the fall and into the winter. After capturing the Big Ten Regular Season and Tournament crowns last season, IU had high expectations into the fall.
Now, they'll have to carry over to the spring.
"It's felt like five years honestly," senior captain Thomas Warr said. "It's been a lot of waiting. I know I can speak for myself and a lot of the guys that we're all itching to play. We have hit a point where it's kind of stale to train and train every day and without competition it sucks."
Warr is among the members of a deep senior class that features forward A.J. Palazzolo, forward Ian Black and defender Spencer Glass.
This group of players has won Big Ten Titles, been to College Cups and also been through the heartbreak of falling short in the Sweet 16. However, their biggest contribution might've been off the field as they try to help guide a young roster through a pandemic and the beginning of an unusual season.
"It's always important [to have senior leaders,] Yeagley said." I think this year in particular, I don't think every team we've had in the past six or seven years would've handled this as well as this team has. This older group of our four seniors, all of them are leaders in different ways. They've connected well with the younger players. These seniors have been in big games, in big moments and have seen what successful teams look like."
Even with some returning talent, IU will have to replace production from last year's squad. Aidan Morris, who was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, is in Columbus now where he started in the MLS Cup Final win for the Crew over the Seattle Sounders.
Josh Penn signed for USL side Indy Eleven in the fall before being drafted by Inter Miami No. 10 overall in the 2021 MLS Superdraft. Simon Waever and a handful of other players are gone as well.
But IU always reloads its talent and develops the ones that already have experience. Sophomore forward Victor Bezerra, who's hat-trick in the NCAA Tournament carried IU to the Sweet 16, is one of those players ready to take the leap in this squad.
"Victor Bezerra is probably the one that when you watch will make you say, 'wow'," Yeagley said." We thought he was talented last year and he's really grown and developed. To see a player with that kind of ability grow that much over six-nine months is pretty fun to watch. Victor has been really elevating and his scoring clip in training is one of the highest I've ever seen so we're pretty excited about his progress."
IU understands that reality will set in when the season starts. Very few college programs have gone through this season without shutting down or changing games due to concerns at schools. But IU is focusing on what they can control right now.
And right now, the Wisconsin Badgers come to Bloomington in February for IU's first competitive match in 14-and-a-half months.
"It's definitely different than years before but that's exactly what these past five or six months have been," Warr said. "We knew that was most likely what we were going to have to do. This season is going to have to be us being able to adapt to whatever is thrown in front of us. All we're focused on is we've got Wisconsin on the calendar on February 19th. We're doing everything to plan for that."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – When the Big Ten Conference announced the postponement of all fall sports in August, the IU Men's Soccer program knew a potential 2020-2021 season would look far from normal.
Football was the first sport to come back with Big Ten teams playing up to a nine-game regular season starting in October. Men's and women's basketball followed not long after with a late-November start date. Finally, the rest of IU's 21 athletic programs will start their season in the spring.
Some, like baseball and softball, are used to a spring start. IU head coach Todd Yeagley's team knows this is far from the ordinary.
"It's good to have a schedule out in front of us and some more clarity after a long time," Yeagley said. "Obviously we're not the only ones dealing with uncertainty. The guys have come back very ready to go. We're a few weeks into our training. I feel like we're in as good of a place as we can be all things considered."
For some, the uncertainty was a daunting endeavor. Even without a known start date, athletic programs were allowed to continue training throughout the fall and into the winter. After capturing the Big Ten Regular Season and Tournament crowns last season, IU had high expectations into the fall.
Now, they'll have to carry over to the spring.
"It's felt like five years honestly," senior captain Thomas Warr said. "It's been a lot of waiting. I know I can speak for myself and a lot of the guys that we're all itching to play. We have hit a point where it's kind of stale to train and train every day and without competition it sucks."
Warr is among the members of a deep senior class that features forward A.J. Palazzolo, forward Ian Black and defender Spencer Glass.
This group of players has won Big Ten Titles, been to College Cups and also been through the heartbreak of falling short in the Sweet 16. However, their biggest contribution might've been off the field as they try to help guide a young roster through a pandemic and the beginning of an unusual season.
"It's always important [to have senior leaders,] Yeagley said." I think this year in particular, I don't think every team we've had in the past six or seven years would've handled this as well as this team has. This older group of our four seniors, all of them are leaders in different ways. They've connected well with the younger players. These seniors have been in big games, in big moments and have seen what successful teams look like."
Even with some returning talent, IU will have to replace production from last year's squad. Aidan Morris, who was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, is in Columbus now where he started in the MLS Cup Final win for the Crew over the Seattle Sounders.
Josh Penn signed for USL side Indy Eleven in the fall before being drafted by Inter Miami No. 10 overall in the 2021 MLS Superdraft. Simon Waever and a handful of other players are gone as well.
But IU always reloads its talent and develops the ones that already have experience. Sophomore forward Victor Bezerra, who's hat-trick in the NCAA Tournament carried IU to the Sweet 16, is one of those players ready to take the leap in this squad.
"Victor Bezerra is probably the one that when you watch will make you say, 'wow'," Yeagley said." We thought he was talented last year and he's really grown and developed. To see a player with that kind of ability grow that much over six-nine months is pretty fun to watch. Victor has been really elevating and his scoring clip in training is one of the highest I've ever seen so we're pretty excited about his progress."
IU understands that reality will set in when the season starts. Very few college programs have gone through this season without shutting down or changing games due to concerns at schools. But IU is focusing on what they can control right now.
And right now, the Wisconsin Badgers come to Bloomington in February for IU's first competitive match in 14-and-a-half months.
"It's definitely different than years before but that's exactly what these past five or six months have been," Warr said. "We knew that was most likely what we were going to have to do. This season is going to have to be us being able to adapt to whatever is thrown in front of us. All we're focused on is we've got Wisconsin on the calendar on February 19th. We're doing everything to plan for that."
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Men's Soccer
Defender
/ Men's Soccer
Midfielder/Defender
/ Men's Soccer
Forward
/ Men's Soccer
Defender
/ Men's Soccer
Forward
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