Aaron Shifron

He’s finally settled in.

After moving teams several times this year, Hinsdale, Illinois native Andrew Gutman has become a staple on FC Cincinnati’s defense following a long successful career as an Indiana Hoosier.

Gutman, despite being a left back, was always more offensive minded at Indiana University, but he has had to take on a more defensive role in the Queen City. Gutman said this change is by design.

“I think it’s just a different role,” Gutman said. “At Indiana I had a free role in terms of what I could do, but here I have to play more as a team player. I just do whatever the manager tells me to do and try to get my job done as best I can.”

Before even becoming a professional in Cincinnati or donning the Cream and Crimson, it all began for Gutman with the Chicago Fire Academy his sophomore year of High School.

Eventually, when it was time to select a University, Gutman chose to become a Hoosier. Despite not being a highly ranked recruit, he started all four years for the Hoosiers as a defender and was named to the All-Big Ten team each season. However, the blossoming to the next level occurred his senior year.

He led the Hoosiers in goals in his final season with 11 and was second in assists with nine. He also won the 2018 MAC Herman Trophy as the college soccer player of the year. In doing so he became the first IU player since current assistant Danny O’Rourke in 2004 to win college soccer’s most prestigious award. It was the seventh time a Hoosier won this award, which is the most among all NCAA soccer programs.

Gutman finished his IU career with 20 goals and led the Hoosiers to two College Cups. After graduation he turned down a homegrown contract with the Fire despite playing for their academy during his youth days. This led him to Europe, where he signed with Celtic F.C. of the Scottish Premiership in January of 2019.

He was then loaned to Charlotte Independence of the United Soccer League, which is the second highest league in the United States. He ended up scoring three goals for the Independence in 14 appearances before heading back to Europe in Late June. 

Finally, on August 3 Gutman’s journey ended up with his Major League Soccer contract at FC Cincinnati, on loan from Celtic, where he has started all three matches with an assist and two shots.

After a 2-2 tie in Columbus to the Crew on August 10, Gutman and FC Cincinnati have had a pair of rough outings losing 4-1 and 3-1 at home to New York FC and again to the Crew respectively. Gutman said the team was not mentally with it following the second loss to the Crew. 

“We were kind of out of whack,” he said. “I think the atmosphere and hype kind of overwhelmed us a little bit.”

Despite playing a defensive role most of the matches, Gutman said he is more than happy to come into the offense at select moments just as he did a majority of the time at IU. This was especially true when his team needed him to do so trying to rally in the two recent losses.

“I think when I get forward, I try to create some attacks,” Gutman said. “I try to help score goals because I have good stamina and I can get up and down.”

Pure domination.

This is what IU’s Justin Rennicks experienced during his time with IU soccer.

During his two-year Hoosier tenure, Rennicks was on teams that went 38-4-7 and never lost a Big Ten game as part of a 27-game regular season unbeaten streak since late 2015. In addition, Rennicks was part of both a Big Ten regular season and tournament championship and two College Cup appearances.

Rennicks said he hopes next year’s team can keep the long conference unbeaten streak going and even without him the program is poised to keep getting strong results.

“That (Big Ten streak) is something I hope to pass on to all the new recruits,” Rennicks said. “We had a great year last year and I am sure we’ll have another great year this year.”

Rennicks, who came to IU as a highly ranked recruit in 2017, said the tradition was a big reason he picked the Hoosiers.

“I went on an official visit there and got my tour with (Hoosier head coach) Todd Yeagley,” he said. “I had a great time. I love the school and he took me to VIP places. It is an amazing school but it came down toward them having a great team and I wanted to go to a place that had a great coach and I thought Todd Yeagley was one of the best coaches in the NCAA.”

Rennicks, who scored 6 goals last year, saw his biggest moment as a Hoosier come late in his second season scoring a rebound goal against Michigan State to end Big Ten play undefeated and untied for the first time since 2002.

Rennicks, who immediately began celebrating by running and slapping his wrist, said this was a highlight of his career while wearing Cream and Crimson. He also said he had a reason for the unorthodox hitting of his arm.

“Definitely one of my best moments,” he said referring to that score. “The celebration was ‘ice in the veins’. I got a lot of questions about that. Scoring that goal to certify us going undefeated was great.”

Despite all of the success of the IU teams Rennicks was on, he never won the National Championship, even though the Hoosiers were right at the top of college soccer his entire career.

Rennicks said finishing on top is difficult and he hopes he can pick up a championship as a pro to make up for it.

“It’s tough not winning it but it’s a learning experience,” he said. “There will be more bigger titles coming up in my future life.”

After just two years at IU, Rennicks departed for professional soccer, signing a Homegrown Player Contract with the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer. While he has made the eighteen man active roster in every match so far, Rennicks has appeared in just two games and made one start tallying 106 minutes with three shots. Despite the minimal playing time so far he was named to the All Star Game for the Home Grown Team.

Rennicks said this year has been a learning experience and he is giving it all he can when given a chance.

“It’s been all over the place,” he said. “It’s been up and down, but when I am getting my minutes I am doing everything I can out there.”

Even though he does not have an official goal to his stats, Rennicks did score professionally in an exhibition match of the US Open Cup against Orlando FC on June 19. He said he was glad to have this tally to his name.

“It was a great goal,” he said. “I came in to make a difference and that’s what I did.”

Moving forward, Rennicks said he hopes to continue to get better and see increased playing time.

“Whatever is best for me,” he said. “Wherever I am, just the best position where I am getting minutes.”

This increased playing time came when the calendar turned to August when the Revolution transferred him to North Carolina FC of the United Soccer League. Since making the move he has appeared in all five matches starting two with three shots.

Rennicks said he is happy about the move and it was his idea.

“I had the option if I wanted to go on loan,” he said. “I chose to go so I could get some minutes and that’s what I’ve been doing.”

Rennicks hopes to show how good he really is with the increased playing time and that the path leads him back to the MLS.

“I am just waiting for my opportunity,” he said. “What’s good about this is I am playing my game so when my opportunity does come I’m ready.”

Indianapolis-He’s part of the last team at IU to taste a National Championship.

Former Hoosier soccer star Femi Hollinger-Janzen returned to Indiana on Wednesday night with his Birmingham Legion FC team to face the Indy Eleven. However, before even getting to this point, it all started in 1993 when Femi was born in Benin, Africa.

After a rough early life that included a deformed leg and a jailed biological mother, Femi was adopted in 1999 by Lynda and Rod Hollinger-Janzen and one year later was brought to Goshen, Indiana by them. This is where his soccer career began that eventually led to IU.

After scoring 155 goals in high school the Hoosiers took notice.

“I attended the Indiana University Soccer Camp not really knowing who (IU coach) Todd Yeagley really was or what he looked like,” Hollinger-Janzen said. “My high school coach Hank Williams told me to go out there and play the best I can.”

This led to an IU offer where Femi would commit and have a standout career.

It all started his freshman season when the Hoosiers won the National title as a 16 seed getting hot after an up and down regular season. Hollinger-Janzen, who scored the game winning goal against the Creighton Blue Jays in the College Cup Semi-finals, said the team came together at the right time after the less successful then hoped season.

“Regular season obviously didn’t go as planned,” he said. “Then we got together as a team and we’re like ‘we’ve got to figure this out’, we went on that run and won the national championship. It was an exuberant feeling.”

For his four year career, Femi scored 22 goals playing both forward and midfield and had nothing but positive things to say about his time as a Hoosier.

“I loved my time at IU,” he said. “I wouldn’t trade it for any other four years anywhere else.”

Hollinger-Janzen then graduated and in early 2016 was taken by the MLS’ New England Revolution where he had a three year career making 32 appearances and scoring two goals. This has led up to this year, where Femi signed with the USL’s Birmingham Legion. Here he has played in 11 of 16 games with seven starts in 690 minutes.

Back in his home state in Indianapolis, he was brought in as a sub off the bench in the 56th minute where his team lost 3-0. Hollinger-Janzen said he was happy to provide energy when entering the game.

“Coming off the bench we were down 2-0 so I just wanted to bring a spark,” he said. “Also on the defensive end be sound back there and cover that outside winger.”

Hollinger-Janzen, who played both forward and midfield in his career at IU, said he is happy to cover whatever position is needed moving forward and enjoys being versatile.

“Being flexible is really important,” he said. “Being able to bring both sides to your team and help them out that way.”