Indiana University Athletics
DiPrimio: Sarver a Do-It-All Catalyst for Surging Soccer Hoosiers
11/6/2024 9:16:00 PM | Men's Soccer
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Samuel Sarver has seen it all – Big Ten soccer championships, a national title game appearance, dramatic victories, gut-wrenching losses, the thrill of playing with teammates who are, in so many ways, brothers – and found perspective.
"We're close to everyone," Indiana's senior forward says. "We don't look at age. Some teams might have jealousy. It doesn't matter who scores or who doesn't. It's about the team scoring. That's the great part about playing here."
Sarver is a catalyst as the Hoosiers (10-3-5) aim for a second straight conference tourney championship, starting Thursday against Michigan (7-3-6) at SeatGeek Stadium near Chicago.
Sarver earned All-America honors last year and might well again. He's scored 18 points this season with five goals and eight assists. He's also a defensive catalyst, a leader and whatever else coach Todd Yeagley needs as IU has emerged as perhaps the nation's hottest team – 8-0-2 in its last 10 games and seven straight wins while outscoring opponents 32-12.
"Every team has its unique qualities," Sarver says. "You've got a guy like (junior midfielder) Jack Wagoner who plays his role and does a lot of the stuff behind the scenes.
"We're firing on all cylinders. It's not just one guy carrying everyone. Our defenders are scoring braces.
"When our goalkeeper (JT Harms) is getting assists, it's like, 'Wow. Any player can do anything on this team.'"
IU's regular season-ending scoring surge (including 10 goals in its last two matches), senior forward Tommy Mihalic says, was a matter of talent meeting opportunity.
"We knew we could do it. I don't think we're surprised that we're scoring a lot of goals. When you look, we have guys who can finish chances, guys who are dangerous players, guys who aren't scoring, but who are creating a lot for us. They're doing the dirty work that leads to goals."
Mihalic was a beneficiary of that work with two goals and four assists in last week's two regular-season-ending victories over Northwestern and Trine earning him Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors for the second time this season.
"With the guys we have," he says, "it was always possible. To do it now, we're all really confident."
Confidence includes veteran leadership and the understanding that the shared Big Ten regular season title is just the first step.
"It feels like our season is just beginning because there's so much ahead," Mihalic says. "For the younger guys who haven't been here, it's important as an older guy, as a leader, to every day come to training and work as hard as we can, knowing that there is so much more to do. Our team has the guys to stay level-headed and focus on the games coming up."
Over the last three seasons, September struggles have led to October and November dominance. While nothing is guaranteed, IU's half-century-old winning formula never loses relevance.
"I do have a lot of confidence in what we do," Yeagley says. "No one has the crystal ball, but I've been at it long enough as a player, an assistant coach and now a head coach, to know that how you do the first four to six games is not indicative of how the season will go, especially if you're doing a lot of things well.
"If we had played four to five games like the Saint Louis game (a 2-0 season-opening road loss in which IU was outshot 8-7), then you're concerned. We were not good then, but we were really good in portions of a lot of those other games (we lost or tied). We put more of that together."
Or, as Sarver puts it, "Coach Yeagley finds the right puzzle pieces. It's a process. Some teams start hot and count out the Hoosiers. I love that. This is the perfect time to get hot. I'm glad our frontline is clicking. It's remarkable. I've never been a part of so many goals in so short a span."
It helps to have a roster of talented returning veterans (Sarver, Mihalic, Harms, Wagoner, Collins Oduro, Jansen Miller and Alex Barger), well-chosen college transfers (Quinton Elliot, Justin Weiss) and standout freshmen (Josh Maher, Charlie Heuer and Michael Nesci).
"I like the roster," Yeagley says. "We picked up some important players. Personality-wise, we have guys who have played in the biggest games. We have a decent amount who played in the 2022 national championship game. They've had great success in the Big Ten and made deep tournament runs.
"We brought in a new young group to push these guys. Then you challenge the older players. Where do you want to leave your mark? Is it last year or do you want to do something this year?"
The best teams, the championship teams, are always player led. The Hoosiers have that.
"They've taken ownership (down the stretch)," Yeagley says. "There's less the coaches say at halftime or before a game. I hear them talking in the locker room, and they're solving things, they're getting themselves ready. That's when you know you have a special group."
The goal is to sustain the strong play through the Big Ten tourney (a Thursday win would boost IU into a Sunday semifinal matchup against the winner between Maryland and UCLA, the finals are set for Nov. 17), and then the NCAA tourney with the ultimate goal of winning a ninth national championship.
To do so, Yeagley taps into the approach his father, Jerry, used to win six national titles in his Hall of Fame career.
"My dad taught me, don't over-coach in the postseason. Do a little bit less. This time of year, less is more. What the players have learned this far, the base is there. Now they have to trust the process.
"We scale back the training sessions. We keep things shorter and don't implement new things. We try to bring more joy into the sessions.
"They're having a great time right now. We inject some different fun activities. We fine tune the video sessions and get some details in. It's been a good formula for us."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Samuel Sarver has seen it all – Big Ten soccer championships, a national title game appearance, dramatic victories, gut-wrenching losses, the thrill of playing with teammates who are, in so many ways, brothers – and found perspective.
"We're close to everyone," Indiana's senior forward says. "We don't look at age. Some teams might have jealousy. It doesn't matter who scores or who doesn't. It's about the team scoring. That's the great part about playing here."
Sarver is a catalyst as the Hoosiers (10-3-5) aim for a second straight conference tourney championship, starting Thursday against Michigan (7-3-6) at SeatGeek Stadium near Chicago.
Sarver earned All-America honors last year and might well again. He's scored 18 points this season with five goals and eight assists. He's also a defensive catalyst, a leader and whatever else coach Todd Yeagley needs as IU has emerged as perhaps the nation's hottest team – 8-0-2 in its last 10 games and seven straight wins while outscoring opponents 32-12.
"Every team has its unique qualities," Sarver says. "You've got a guy like (junior midfielder) Jack Wagoner who plays his role and does a lot of the stuff behind the scenes.
"We're firing on all cylinders. It's not just one guy carrying everyone. Our defenders are scoring braces.
"When our goalkeeper (JT Harms) is getting assists, it's like, 'Wow. Any player can do anything on this team.'"
IU's regular season-ending scoring surge (including 10 goals in its last two matches), senior forward Tommy Mihalic says, was a matter of talent meeting opportunity.
"We knew we could do it. I don't think we're surprised that we're scoring a lot of goals. When you look, we have guys who can finish chances, guys who are dangerous players, guys who aren't scoring, but who are creating a lot for us. They're doing the dirty work that leads to goals."
Mihalic was a beneficiary of that work with two goals and four assists in last week's two regular-season-ending victories over Northwestern and Trine earning him Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors for the second time this season.
"With the guys we have," he says, "it was always possible. To do it now, we're all really confident."
Confidence includes veteran leadership and the understanding that the shared Big Ten regular season title is just the first step.
"It feels like our season is just beginning because there's so much ahead," Mihalic says. "For the younger guys who haven't been here, it's important as an older guy, as a leader, to every day come to training and work as hard as we can, knowing that there is so much more to do. Our team has the guys to stay level-headed and focus on the games coming up."
Over the last three seasons, September struggles have led to October and November dominance. While nothing is guaranteed, IU's half-century-old winning formula never loses relevance.
"I do have a lot of confidence in what we do," Yeagley says. "No one has the crystal ball, but I've been at it long enough as a player, an assistant coach and now a head coach, to know that how you do the first four to six games is not indicative of how the season will go, especially if you're doing a lot of things well.
"If we had played four to five games like the Saint Louis game (a 2-0 season-opening road loss in which IU was outshot 8-7), then you're concerned. We were not good then, but we were really good in portions of a lot of those other games (we lost or tied). We put more of that together."
Or, as Sarver puts it, "Coach Yeagley finds the right puzzle pieces. It's a process. Some teams start hot and count out the Hoosiers. I love that. This is the perfect time to get hot. I'm glad our frontline is clicking. It's remarkable. I've never been a part of so many goals in so short a span."
It helps to have a roster of talented returning veterans (Sarver, Mihalic, Harms, Wagoner, Collins Oduro, Jansen Miller and Alex Barger), well-chosen college transfers (Quinton Elliot, Justin Weiss) and standout freshmen (Josh Maher, Charlie Heuer and Michael Nesci).
"I like the roster," Yeagley says. "We picked up some important players. Personality-wise, we have guys who have played in the biggest games. We have a decent amount who played in the 2022 national championship game. They've had great success in the Big Ten and made deep tournament runs.
"We brought in a new young group to push these guys. Then you challenge the older players. Where do you want to leave your mark? Is it last year or do you want to do something this year?"
The best teams, the championship teams, are always player led. The Hoosiers have that.
"They've taken ownership (down the stretch)," Yeagley says. "There's less the coaches say at halftime or before a game. I hear them talking in the locker room, and they're solving things, they're getting themselves ready. That's when you know you have a special group."
The goal is to sustain the strong play through the Big Ten tourney (a Thursday win would boost IU into a Sunday semifinal matchup against the winner between Maryland and UCLA, the finals are set for Nov. 17), and then the NCAA tourney with the ultimate goal of winning a ninth national championship.
To do so, Yeagley taps into the approach his father, Jerry, used to win six national titles in his Hall of Fame career.
"My dad taught me, don't over-coach in the postseason. Do a little bit less. This time of year, less is more. What the players have learned this far, the base is there. Now they have to trust the process.
"We scale back the training sessions. We keep things shorter and don't implement new things. We try to bring more joy into the sessions.
"They're having a great time right now. We inject some different fun activities. We fine tune the video sessions and get some details in. It's been a good formula for us."
Players Mentioned
Defender
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Defender
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Goalkeeper
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Midfielder
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Defender
/ Men's Soccer
Forward
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Defender
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Forward
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Forward
/ Men's Soccer
Forward
/ Men's Soccer
Midfielder
/ Men's Soccer
Forward
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