DiPrimio: ‘Fun’ Soccer Just the Beginning for Mihalic, Hoosiers
8/30/2024 2:48:00 PM | Men's Soccer
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The spotlight found senior forward Tommy Mihalic, a goal in the books, a return-to-elite-Indiana-soccer-standard found, sensing the No. 12-ranked Hoosiers are ready to roll.
Yes, Thursday night's 2-2 draw with No. 8 Notre Dame in the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic stung given the Hoosiers were tantalizingly close to victory, but in the big picture, with Irish national title hopes mirroring IU's, considering the postseason-like atmosphere from 4,573 fans that kept Bill Armstrong Stadium rocking as one of the nation's most intimidating soccer venues, all-things-are-possible optimism dominates.
"It's like I told the team after the game," Mihalic said, "despite the draw, and you don't want a draw, that performance – if we play like that, we'll have a lot of wins. I'm excited for that. We left it all out there. We executed well."
This was college soccer at its best – spectacular goalkeeper saves, a three-goals-in-three-minutes scoring frenzy, full-throttle intensity and postseason-level passion – plus a lightning-caused weather delay.
No wonder IU coach Todd Yeagley called it a "fun, entertaining game."
"Their keeper made some great saves, and (IU goalkeeper JT Harms), as well," he said.
"Everyone got every bit of that. Our fans would love to see us win, but I think they walked away liking this team. College soccer at that level is fun to watch."
Fun came amid one of college soccer's best rivalries. The teams have tied their last three meetings, although the Hoosiers are 6-0-3 against the Irish since 2017 – even with 2023's Elite Eight penalty shootout elimination.
"It's a game everyone is excited for," Mihalic said. "We have a lot of respect for those guys. They have some phenomenal players."
IU bounced back from its season-opening 2-0 Saint Louis loss in a big way. It totaled 18 shots (11 more than its first game, 12 in the second half), with 10 on goal. It also had nine corner kicks, six in the second half.
"It was night and day from the first match, which we expected," Yeagley said. "We'll win a lot of games with that performance."
That IU didn't win this one, "stung a little bit," he added.
"A win was there. It would have been an amazing win, but a tie is fine. Our guys gained a lot of confidence. They know what they can do."
Hoosier freshman forward Michael Nesci scored his first college goal off a Josh Maher assist. Harms had two saves and the Hoosiers only allowed six shots. Forwards Samuel Sarver and Justin Weiss combined for eight shots, two each on goal.
Nesci, a top-100 recruit out of Chicago, joined Maher, a freshman, and transfers Quinton Elliott (Louisville) and Justin Weiss (Northwestern) as newcomer contributors against Notre Dame.
"Nesci is a confident kid," Yeagley says. "He doesn't play like a typical freshman. He's courageous with looking at the goal. We see that in training a lot. He's a goal scorer. He had a nice finish."
Added Mihalic: "Josh earned that spot. Mikey's goal was phenomenal. To step up as a freshman like that was huge. I knew Quinton and Justin would help us a lot. We're happy to have them."
The Hoosiers weren't rattled by their 1-0 halftime deficit. They dominated the second half.
"I liked the way we came back," Yeagley said. "The second half was excellent. In the first half, we were good, too.
"Notre Dame is a good team. They have a lot of the same players who were in the (College Cup final) last year, and some of the players who replaced them were high-end support guys."
Added Mihalic: "Everyone was positive (at halftime). There were no negative thoughts. No heads were down. We knew if we'd get one goal, we'd get another.
"Never count us out. We're always in the game. We showed that fight."
Mihalic personifies that fight. Last season, he led the Big Ten in shots (66) and shots on goal (24), but scored only two goals. Given he'd combined for 12 goals and three assists in his first two seasons with a stunning display of power and touch (consider his 24-yard bending blast against Michigan as a sophomore, or his two goals against Notre Dame as a freshman), given he'd hit a decade-worth of goal posts and opponent body parts before finally scoring in last season's 14th game, it suggested bad luck normally reserved for those who violate Egyptian tomb curses.
"We know last year he played so well in that early part of the season and couldn't get one," Yeagley said. "That was tough. He couldn't get a break."
Those bad breaks seemed to have returned for a final-college-season encore. Mihalic missed his only shot against Saint Louis. In Thursday night's first half, he drilled a header toward the top corner that would have produced a goal in nine of the 10 universes predicted by string theory. In this universe, Notre Dame freshman goalkeeper Blake Kelly soared to his right and batted the ball away.
"I don't know what goalies eat before our games," Mihalic said with a smile. "Most of the time, that goal goes in. That's unfortunate, but it's part of the game."
Things changed in the second half. Thirty seconds after Nescori scored for a 1-1 tie, Mihalic scored following Harms' free kick with his 15th career goal.
"It's keeping your head," Mihalic said. "The chance fell to me. I took advantage of it. It's not about chasing a chance. It's staying cool. It fell to me, and I buried it."
Mihalic nearly buried the game winning shot. Notre Dame's Josh Ramsey deflected Mihalic's on-goal shot off a Sam Sarver pass in the 88th minute.
For Mihalic and the Hoosiers, more chances will come, perhaps Sunday night against Yale in the final game of the Classic.
"It was great to get Tommy a goal," Yeagley said. "We needed that. He needed that. I think that will calm him down a little bit."
A calm Mihalic found post-game perspective amid individual success.
"It's great to get that goal. As an attacker, you want goals. I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to score. It feels good, but the team is most important. It's about the end results."
He reflected on last season's late team surge that led to a NCAA tourney Elite Eight appearance.
"We found that late last year, and I was part of that, regardless of goals. If I'm scoring, I'm confident I can be a huge part of this team."
Perhaps huge enough for another national title run.
Yes, Thursday night's 2-2 draw with No. 8 Notre Dame in the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic stung given the Hoosiers were tantalizingly close to victory, but in the big picture, with Irish national title hopes mirroring IU's, considering the postseason-like atmosphere from 4,573 fans that kept Bill Armstrong Stadium rocking as one of the nation's most intimidating soccer venues, all-things-are-possible optimism dominates.
"It's like I told the team after the game," Mihalic said, "despite the draw, and you don't want a draw, that performance – if we play like that, we'll have a lot of wins. I'm excited for that. We left it all out there. We executed well."
This was college soccer at its best – spectacular goalkeeper saves, a three-goals-in-three-minutes scoring frenzy, full-throttle intensity and postseason-level passion – plus a lightning-caused weather delay.
No wonder IU coach Todd Yeagley called it a "fun, entertaining game."
"Their keeper made some great saves, and (IU goalkeeper JT Harms), as well," he said.
"Everyone got every bit of that. Our fans would love to see us win, but I think they walked away liking this team. College soccer at that level is fun to watch."
Fun came amid one of college soccer's best rivalries. The teams have tied their last three meetings, although the Hoosiers are 6-0-3 against the Irish since 2017 – even with 2023's Elite Eight penalty shootout elimination.
"It's a game everyone is excited for," Mihalic said. "We have a lot of respect for those guys. They have some phenomenal players."
IU bounced back from its season-opening 2-0 Saint Louis loss in a big way. It totaled 18 shots (11 more than its first game, 12 in the second half), with 10 on goal. It also had nine corner kicks, six in the second half.
"It was night and day from the first match, which we expected," Yeagley said. "We'll win a lot of games with that performance."
That IU didn't win this one, "stung a little bit," he added.
"A win was there. It would have been an amazing win, but a tie is fine. Our guys gained a lot of confidence. They know what they can do."
Hoosier freshman forward Michael Nesci scored his first college goal off a Josh Maher assist. Harms had two saves and the Hoosiers only allowed six shots. Forwards Samuel Sarver and Justin Weiss combined for eight shots, two each on goal.
Nesci, a top-100 recruit out of Chicago, joined Maher, a freshman, and transfers Quinton Elliott (Louisville) and Justin Weiss (Northwestern) as newcomer contributors against Notre Dame.
"Nesci is a confident kid," Yeagley says. "He doesn't play like a typical freshman. He's courageous with looking at the goal. We see that in training a lot. He's a goal scorer. He had a nice finish."
Added Mihalic: "Josh earned that spot. Mikey's goal was phenomenal. To step up as a freshman like that was huge. I knew Quinton and Justin would help us a lot. We're happy to have them."
The Hoosiers weren't rattled by their 1-0 halftime deficit. They dominated the second half.
"I liked the way we came back," Yeagley said. "The second half was excellent. In the first half, we were good, too.
"Notre Dame is a good team. They have a lot of the same players who were in the (College Cup final) last year, and some of the players who replaced them were high-end support guys."
Added Mihalic: "Everyone was positive (at halftime). There were no negative thoughts. No heads were down. We knew if we'd get one goal, we'd get another.
"Never count us out. We're always in the game. We showed that fight."
Mihalic personifies that fight. Last season, he led the Big Ten in shots (66) and shots on goal (24), but scored only two goals. Given he'd combined for 12 goals and three assists in his first two seasons with a stunning display of power and touch (consider his 24-yard bending blast against Michigan as a sophomore, or his two goals against Notre Dame as a freshman), given he'd hit a decade-worth of goal posts and opponent body parts before finally scoring in last season's 14th game, it suggested bad luck normally reserved for those who violate Egyptian tomb curses.
"We know last year he played so well in that early part of the season and couldn't get one," Yeagley said. "That was tough. He couldn't get a break."
Those bad breaks seemed to have returned for a final-college-season encore. Mihalic missed his only shot against Saint Louis. In Thursday night's first half, he drilled a header toward the top corner that would have produced a goal in nine of the 10 universes predicted by string theory. In this universe, Notre Dame freshman goalkeeper Blake Kelly soared to his right and batted the ball away.
"I don't know what goalies eat before our games," Mihalic said with a smile. "Most of the time, that goal goes in. That's unfortunate, but it's part of the game."
Things changed in the second half. Thirty seconds after Nescori scored for a 1-1 tie, Mihalic scored following Harms' free kick with his 15th career goal.
"It's keeping your head," Mihalic said. "The chance fell to me. I took advantage of it. It's not about chasing a chance. It's staying cool. It fell to me, and I buried it."
Mihalic nearly buried the game winning shot. Notre Dame's Josh Ramsey deflected Mihalic's on-goal shot off a Sam Sarver pass in the 88th minute.
For Mihalic and the Hoosiers, more chances will come, perhaps Sunday night against Yale in the final game of the Classic.
"It was great to get Tommy a goal," Yeagley said. "We needed that. He needed that. I think that will calm him down a little bit."
A calm Mihalic found post-game perspective amid individual success.
"It's great to get that goal. As an attacker, you want goals. I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to score. It feels good, but the team is most important. It's about the end results."
He reflected on last season's late team surge that led to a NCAA tourney Elite Eight appearance.
"We found that late last year, and I was part of that, regardless of goals. If I'm scoring, I'm confident I can be a huge part of this team."
Perhaps huge enough for another national title run.
Players Mentioned
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