Indiana University Athletics
DiPrimio: Trained For Excellence – IU Set for 28th Elite 8 Opportunity
12/2/2022 11:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – December arrives and Indiana remains in the men's national soccer title hunt.
No one is surprised.
The Hoosiers' 28 Elite Eight appearances – the latest comes Saturday at UNC Greensboro – are an NCAA record (Saint Louis is next with 23), as is their 21 College Cups.
This achievement is the result of many things -- good players, coaching and strategy -- but don't overlook smart training. You have to work the players mentally and physically, but not overdo it, especially at the end of a grueling season. Plus, factor in academics with semester-end exams approaching.
Yes, coach Todd Yeagley and his staff have a plan.
"This is a great situation to be in," Yeagley says. "Only a handful of teams get this chance."
Specifically, eight teams remain. Syracuse is the highest remaining seed at No. 3. Duke is next at No. 7 followed by No. 12 UNC Greensboro and No. 13 Indiana. Unseeded Pitt, Vermont, Portland and Creighton are the other teams.
"We told the guys a couple of weeks ago -- get on top of your (academic) stuff," Yeagley says. "There's a lot to manage with the guys.
"Workload wise, we're not changing a lot of what we do in training. We're being smart about loads. We want to keep them fresh. Don't overtrain them. We fine tune areas of their games.
"At this point, there's not a lot of big progressions. You can't make leaps and bounds. It's small increments. Hone in on what you can improve on."
Yes, IU (12-4-6) wins with superstars, a seemingly never-ending run of All-Americans and Hermann Trophy candidates.
But it also wins with guys such as Samuel Sarver, a sophomore forward who has yet to reach that acclaim – although given IU's player-development record, don't bet against him. He did make last season's freshman All-Big Ten team.
After a more limited role in the NCAA tourney-opening victory against Saint Louis (fellow forward Karsen Henderlong got extended playing time), Sarver punished Marshall last Sunday night with aggression, tenacity and competitive nastiness.
"You don't want to deal with him," Yeagley says. "He is relentless."
As far as the Saint Louis game, Yeagley adds, "We felt Sam in the Saint Louis game with the space they provided wouldn't necessarily be his ideal game. You have to feel that out. He's capable of playing with his back to the goal, but he's not as strong as Karsen.
"The Marshall game was more open. His athleticism, his pressing ability was more important. That will still be important in this one.
"We'll pick and choose where we press them. His piece there is incredibility important. His aerobics and ability to close space. I see him being a big part of this."
Yeagley sees similar relentless attributes in fellow forward Maouloune Goumballe, who at 6-2 and 163 pounds, has a size edge on the 5-9, 140-pound Sarver. He, too, made the Thundering Herd pay for challenging him.
"Maouloune is the same way," Yeagley says. "It's not only hard work, it's the timing, the timing and angles, how they step, the shadow steps. When they set traps and didn't is really good.
"You have to have a willingness to do that work. Not all strikers are capable of doing that. We try our best to recruit guys who can.
"Maouloune, with his physical presence, guys bounce off of him."
Greensboro (13-1-6) is making its first Elite Eight appearance.
During the regular season, Greensboro tied then No. 15 Louisville and beat then No. 18 Clemson 2-1. Its only loss was to Campbell.
In the NCAA tourney, it went to penalty kick shootouts to get past Ohio State and Stanford.
Greensboro has three players with 22 or more points, led by Marco Afonso's 24, including eight goals. Ismail El Harchi has 10 goals and 23 points. J.C. Ngando has 22 points and 14 assists.
Afonso and backup goalkeeper Isaac Briner were named to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week after helping Greensboro advance past Stanford last Sunday. Briner took over from starting goalkeeper Niclas Wild when the game went to a penalty kick shootout after a 1-1 score through regulation and overtime. Briner had three big shootout stops.
"They are really good going forward," Yeagley says. "They score a lot of goals. They've played some high-quality teams. They have some experience. I'm not surprised to see them in the Elite Eight. They are a very deserving team."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – December arrives and Indiana remains in the men's national soccer title hunt.
No one is surprised.
The Hoosiers' 28 Elite Eight appearances – the latest comes Saturday at UNC Greensboro – are an NCAA record (Saint Louis is next with 23), as is their 21 College Cups.
This achievement is the result of many things -- good players, coaching and strategy -- but don't overlook smart training. You have to work the players mentally and physically, but not overdo it, especially at the end of a grueling season. Plus, factor in academics with semester-end exams approaching.
Yes, coach Todd Yeagley and his staff have a plan.
"This is a great situation to be in," Yeagley says. "Only a handful of teams get this chance."
Specifically, eight teams remain. Syracuse is the highest remaining seed at No. 3. Duke is next at No. 7 followed by No. 12 UNC Greensboro and No. 13 Indiana. Unseeded Pitt, Vermont, Portland and Creighton are the other teams.
"We told the guys a couple of weeks ago -- get on top of your (academic) stuff," Yeagley says. "There's a lot to manage with the guys.
"Workload wise, we're not changing a lot of what we do in training. We're being smart about loads. We want to keep them fresh. Don't overtrain them. We fine tune areas of their games.
"At this point, there's not a lot of big progressions. You can't make leaps and bounds. It's small increments. Hone in on what you can improve on."
Yes, IU (12-4-6) wins with superstars, a seemingly never-ending run of All-Americans and Hermann Trophy candidates.
But it also wins with guys such as Samuel Sarver, a sophomore forward who has yet to reach that acclaim – although given IU's player-development record, don't bet against him. He did make last season's freshman All-Big Ten team.
After a more limited role in the NCAA tourney-opening victory against Saint Louis (fellow forward Karsen Henderlong got extended playing time), Sarver punished Marshall last Sunday night with aggression, tenacity and competitive nastiness.
"You don't want to deal with him," Yeagley says. "He is relentless."
As far as the Saint Louis game, Yeagley adds, "We felt Sam in the Saint Louis game with the space they provided wouldn't necessarily be his ideal game. You have to feel that out. He's capable of playing with his back to the goal, but he's not as strong as Karsen.
"The Marshall game was more open. His athleticism, his pressing ability was more important. That will still be important in this one.
"We'll pick and choose where we press them. His piece there is incredibility important. His aerobics and ability to close space. I see him being a big part of this."
Yeagley sees similar relentless attributes in fellow forward Maouloune Goumballe, who at 6-2 and 163 pounds, has a size edge on the 5-9, 140-pound Sarver. He, too, made the Thundering Herd pay for challenging him.
"Maouloune is the same way," Yeagley says. "It's not only hard work, it's the timing, the timing and angles, how they step, the shadow steps. When they set traps and didn't is really good.
"You have to have a willingness to do that work. Not all strikers are capable of doing that. We try our best to recruit guys who can.
"Maouloune, with his physical presence, guys bounce off of him."
Greensboro (13-1-6) is making its first Elite Eight appearance.
During the regular season, Greensboro tied then No. 15 Louisville and beat then No. 18 Clemson 2-1. Its only loss was to Campbell.
In the NCAA tourney, it went to penalty kick shootouts to get past Ohio State and Stanford.
Greensboro has three players with 22 or more points, led by Marco Afonso's 24, including eight goals. Ismail El Harchi has 10 goals and 23 points. J.C. Ngando has 22 points and 14 assists.
Afonso and backup goalkeeper Isaac Briner were named to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week after helping Greensboro advance past Stanford last Sunday. Briner took over from starting goalkeeper Niclas Wild when the game went to a penalty kick shootout after a 1-1 score through regulation and overtime. Briner had three big shootout stops.
"They are really good going forward," Yeagley says. "They score a lot of goals. They've played some high-quality teams. They have some experience. I'm not surprised to see them in the Elite Eight. They are a very deserving team."
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