BLOOMINGTON — Hugo Bacharach is used to winning.
In 2022, Bacharach spearheaded a Fairleigh Dickinson defense on a team that won the Northeastern Conference regular and postseason titles without losing to a conference foe. His club team, the Flint City Bucks, made the USL League Two national semifinals in both of his seasons.
So when it came time to choose a school to transfer to, he had one program in mind.
“I wanted to play at the highest level,” Bacharach said. “I remember watching the whole NCAA run that Indiana had (in 2022), and I remember when watching those games, I was like, ‘Man, I want to play in such a big school.’”
Kentucky, Providence, San Diego and San Diego State showed interest in Bacharach when he was in the transfer portal. Bacharach also heard from other Big Ten schools.
BLOOMINGTON, IN – November 8, 2023 – defender Hugo Bacharach #4 of the Indiana Hoosiers during the game between the Michigan Wolverines and the Indiana Hoosiers at Bill Armstrong Stadium in Bloomington, IN. Photo By Grace Waggoner/IU Athletics
But in his mind, they weren’t Indiana.
“Once Indiana reached out, I said thank you to all the coaches that reached out, but I knew my place was gonna be Bloomington,” Bacharach said.
A native of Benicàssim, Spain, Bacharach has participated in high-level soccer for a while. He played for 10 years in Villarreal’s youth academy. In the spring of 2020, he helped CD Castellón win a Spanish title at the U19 level before heading to America to play college soccer at FDU.
Bacharach came to America and was immediately one of the top defenders in the country. Bacharach was All-NEC first-team all three years at FDU and won the 2022 NEC Defensive Player of the Year. Last summer, he was the USL League Two Defensive Player of the Year.
But in early October, IU couldn’t score. The Hoosiers came into the season ranked No. 2 in the nation after being the national runner-up last December.
After a tie against Kentucky on Oct. 3 gave Indiana its fourth draw of the season, the historic program ranked 92nd in RPI and was at risk of missing the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1986.
With their backs against the wall — and a pivotal road test looming — the Hoosiers made a change that reshaped their season, moving Bacharach from the backline to midfield.
BLOOMINGTON, IN – August 29, 2023 – defender Hugo Bacharach #4 of the Indiana Hoosiers during the game between the DePaul Blue Demons and the Indiana Hoosiers at Bill Armstrong Stadium in Bloomington, IN. Photo By Grace Waggoner/IU Athletics
In all of his playing years, Bacharach was only a center back. At 6-4 and 210 pounds, he’s always been on the backline because of his size and physicality. Coaches never attempted to put Bacharach elsewhere on the pitch because of his effectiveness at center back. So when Indiana coach Todd Yeagley decided to try Bacharach in the midfield, he was surprised.
“At first, I was a little bit scared,” Bacharach said. “I didn’t know if I was gonna be able to perform good enough, but as the ref blew the whistle, I started not overthinking stuff, giving everything I had, and I started liking it.”
When Yeagley watched Bacharach’s FDU film before he committed to IU, he noticed Bacharach had a lot of free will. Yeagley jokes sometimes Bacharach was the center back, sometimes he was the central midfielder and occasionally played like “the 10,” an attacker that works in between the central midfield and final third.
After Indiana drew with Kentucky, the team had three days to prepare for a road match against Big Ten rival and then-ranked No. 19 Penn State. In those three days, Yeagley switched Bacharach to the midfield and did his best to catch Bacharach up to speed with Indiana’s verbal and non-verbal cues at that spot.
Bacharach entered the Penn State game with no assists on the season. He left State College with two.
In the 21st minute, Bacharach stole the ball from a Penn State attacker in the midfield, and — surrounded by four Nittany Lions — squeezed a push pass into Sam Sarver, who kicked a one-on-one goal past goalkeeper Kris Shakes.
With the score tied 1-1 to start the second half, Bacharach won another ball in the midfield and found Sarver on the left side of the box for the game-winning goal.
“The very first game we put him there, he just raised so much attention from other teams that it kind of almost opened me up more because they’re so focused on him,” said Sarver, Indiana’s leader in scoring and assists this year. “So when he starts driving they’re like, ‘Okay, we need to step to this guy,’ which opens up in behind for me.”
Indiana scored two goals for just the second time all season. With Bacharach in the midfield, the Hoosiers’ offense took off. The Penn State match started a run of Indiana scoring two goals (and winning) in four consecutive matches. On the last day of the regular season, Bacharach scored his first goal of the season and assisted Sarver again to clinch the Big Ten crown against Rutgers.
Putting Bacharach in the midfield transformed IU’s offense. The coaching staff wanted its skilled athlete more involved in the action, and he’s taken the move in stride. His productivity in the new position led Bacharach to be voted to the All-Big Ten second-team at the midfield spot.
“I don’t like to hide, I like to get the ball,” Bacharach said. “I like to make things happen because I like to be a game-changer. … I’ve had that for a long time, just I couldn’t show it as much when I was playing center back because it’s pretty far from the goal.”
Now, Bacharach gets the ball in advantageous positions. Even when he isn’t directly involved in Indiana’s scoring, he’s putting stress on opposing defenses.
Although Bacharach never played in the midfield before this year, he’s always had tremendous ball skills. He scored seven goals in three seasons at Fairleigh Dickinson. IU’s coaches didn’t develop his skills with the ball, they just gave him the freedom to work.
“We just kind of unlocked his ability to use those attacking instincts,” Yeagley said. “It wasn’t like we gave it to him. He’s got it, it’s just we gave him a little bit more of a platform and an opportunity to say, ‘Yes, in these types of moments, go. Make plays for us.’”
Indiana started the year 3-3-4, scoring only seven goals in its first 10 games. The Hoosiers are 11-1 since then and 9-1 in the 10 games Bacharach’s played in. The Hoosiers have scored 22 goals in Bacharach’s 10 games as a starting central midfielder.
“Whenever I play against my friends on other teams, they always call him a cheat code,” Sarver said. “To have someone that big and agile in the middle of the field with that type of presence — and to be as good as he is going forward for his size — is just something you don’t really see a lot. It’s really special to have a player who can do so much on both sides of the ball like he does.”
Bacharach’s soccer knowledge is allowing him to thrive in the midfield for the first time in his life. He has a canny feel for the game that he got from his time in Spain.
BLOOMINGTON, IN – October 29, 2023 – defender Hugo Bacharach #4 of the Indiana Hoosiers during the game between the Rutgers Scarlett Knights and the Indiana Hoosiers at Bill Armstrong Stadium in Bloomington, IN. Photo By Chris Conaway/Indiana Athletics
“When I was in Spain, I played in very, very good academies where your awareness of the game had to be very, very good regardless of your position,” Bacharach said. “And I think that has helped me a lot. When I switched to the midfield, I didn’t start from zero.
“I think I already had some knowledge, and as I said, my coaches have been doing a great job coaching me and showing me what to expect from me. … As games go by, I feel more comfortable in that position.”
Bacharach had two total assists in his first three years of college soccer. In a month and a half as a midfielder, Bacharach has four assists. Yeagley described Bacharach’s setups to his teammates as “user-friendly” because of the weight, timing and accuracy he passes with.
Since changing positions, Bacharach’s also scored four goals. In the second round of Indiana’s 3-2 win at No. 10 Wake Forest on Sunday, he found the back of the net twice.
Bacharach’s first goal against the Demon Deacons came off a corner kick from Patrick McDonald. McDonald booted an inswinger out of the right corner toward the near goalpost, and Bacharach out-leaped everyone to head the ball through the goal.
When McDonald sailed a free kick into the box in overtime, Bacharach realized it was too low to get his head on.
“I saw that it was like below my head, and I’m like, ‘Man, maybe I can catch it with my heel.’ And then I went for it,” he said.
Bacharach — without seeing the ball clearly — connected with his left heel and got the ball past goalkeeper Trace Alphin. Not even Bacharach realized what he had done until he saw his teammates celebrate.
The back-heel flick in the 94th minute won IU the match for its ninth consecutive Sweet 16 appearance. The goal left everyone in disbelief. FDU coach Seth Roland even jokingly texted Yeagley claiming he taught Bacharach how to take shots like that.
“For a guy that big to be doing that is ridiculous,” Sarver said. “You normally see forwards pulling that off. For a defender like that to do that was spectacular.”
Indiana has regained its championship confidence with Bacharach in the midfield. The Hoosiers’ road to another College Cup appearance resumes on Sunday at No. 7 Virginia. Bacharach will be back in the midfield looking to do what he and Indiana do frequently: win.
“When you represent Indiana and you are surrounded by high-quality players, it gives you an extra power,” Bacharach said. “I always go in feeling and thinking that it’s going to be my last game, so I want to give it all I have. … because every game could be the last, and I just want to make sure that when I leave the field, I have no regrets and have given everything.”
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana men’s soccer: Hugo Bacharach leads IU into NCAA Sweet 16
