Indiana Soccer Hosts DePaul in Home Opener Tuesday Night

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Following Indiana's 1-1 season-opening draw last Thursday at Notre Dame, the Hoosiers will aim for their first win of the year in their home opener against DePaul Tuesday night at Bill Armstrong Stadium.

Tuesday's temperatures should be far cooler, projected in the low-80s at 8 p.m. ET kick-off, compared to the muggy mid-90s conditions from Thursday's draw.

The Hoosiers most recently played the Blue Demons in last year's preseason, winning 2-1 in 120 minutes, with goals from then-sophomore Tommy Mihalic and redshirt senior Daniel Munie. Tuesday's match is the first regular-season matchup between the two teams. It'll also mark the start of Indiana's three-match homestand with Washington and Seton Hall next.

Indiana head coach Todd Yeagley said Monday there will be few changes to Thursday’s starters. Yeagley explained players like forwards sophomore Luka Bezerra and fifth-year senior Karsen Henderlong are better suited for when the match develops. Henderlong formerly played in the Big East, scoring against DePaul once in league play. Henderlong transferred to Indiana two seasons ago and played in 23 matches last year with one start.

"Whether it's Karsen, who I thought who had good minutes, right now seems to be more effective for us coming in as the game kind of settles for a little bit," Yeagley said to the media Monday. "Luka is probably a similar case of that. He's certainly a player that has starting-level ability in the front but isn't the right combination to start the game. It also gives us a chance to see what the other team is doing. It allows us to have some flexibility with our substitution."

Yeagley revealed he doesn’t quite know what to expect tactically from DePaul. The Blue Demons lost four players who started in their second-to-last match of the 2022 season prior to their Senior Day finale. That included the team’s leading goal-scorer, Jake Fuderer, who signed an MLS Next Pro contract with the Chicago Fire organization in February. Regardless of how the DePaul’s team might look, Yeagley expects them to play with elevated enthusiasm.

“They have some new pieces, lost some important pieces,” Yeagley said. “They're a bit of a different team than they were last year when we played them in preseason. They're well coached, they're going to be very excited for this match, as they should be. And as we are.”

DePaul played four top-25 teams last season, drawing each game. The Big East fielded three teams to last year’s NCAA Tournament, but DePaul didn't make the cut. The Blue Demons went 4-6-7 and 1-4-5 in the Big East in 2022, placing ninth out of 11 teams. Sixth-place Creighton eventually made last year’s College Cup. DePaul beat Lindenwood University 1-0 at home to open the season last Thursday. Junior midfielder Callum Watts tallied the go-ahead goal.

“[DePaul’s] a good side and they've played against good teams,” Yeagley said. “The Big East is a good conference. They've seen top teams. So, the guys that have been there for them it's not like they've not seen the type of talent we have. The Big East has some similar players. it's gonna be a great test. I'm excited for this one.”

The first 500 students at Tuesday’s match will receive free Hoosier Army shirts. Indiana’s home-opener will start at 8 p.m. ET, and the match will air on Big Ten Plus.