When Stephane Njike lined up across from Maryland on Friday night, the turtle was on the other side.
Last season, Njike rocked the Terrapins’ colors and helped catapult Maryland to the top of the Big Ten. He also earned first-team All-Big Ten honors, emerging as one of the conference’s revered attacking players.
On Friday, Njike faced many familiar faces as a member of the opposition. And in the 63rd minute, he scored against them.
Njike’s goal was the cherry on top in No. 2 Indiana’s 3-1 victory over No. 6 Maryland at Bill Armstrong stadium and perhaps having the most fitting moment in his collegiate soccer career.
Njike was one of Indiana’s biggest acquisitions during the offseason. Beginning at Long Island University, the French forward led the Sharks with six goals and five assists as a freshman. After just one season, Njike went from a Shark to a Turtle, transferring to a top Big Ten team in Maryland for the 2025 season.
In just one year in College Park, Njike blossomed into one of college soccer’s elite attackers. He started all 18 of his appearances for the Terrapins, tallying seven goals and seven assists. Five of the seven goals as well as five assists came in conference play, with four goals being game-winners. Njike finished the 2025 campaign as a first-team All-Big Ten and first-team All-North Region.
Ironically enough, one of Njike’s best moments came when he scored the game-winning goal in Maryland’s 3-2 victory over Indiana one year ago. Months later, he headed to the mid west and became a Hoosier.
Indiana head coach Todd Yeagley knew exactly what his Hoosiers were adding.
"Stephane provides a dynamic blend of pace, power and competitiveness that will bring proven production and pure excitement to IU soccer fans,” Yeagley said when announcing his arrival. “He is aggressive running at defenders, creates problems in transition and has the athletic profile to impact the match at a high level.”
The expectations followed him to Bloomington as Top Drawer Soccer ranked Njike No. 15 nationally following a strong campaign at Maryland, and D.C. United selected him with the 61st pick in the 2026 MLS SuperDraft.
Njike’s Indiana career didn’t take off as quickly as it did in Maryland as he missed the first two matches before making his debut against Butler. As he meshed with Indiana’s attack, his influence was apparent beyond goals.
In nine appearances, all starts, Njike has two goals and a team-leading five assists. His nine points ranks third on the team behind fellow forwards Oliver Moller-Jensen and Easton Bogard. That production reflects the role Njike says he wants to play.
“I love it,” Njike said afterward. “For me, the game is not to score goals, but help my team in the best way to win and have fun, and when I have fun for me it’s a good day.”
Against Maryland, he did both. Njike helped create Indiana’s second goal, sending a ball toward the back post during the sequence that ended with Charlie Heuer doubling the Hoosier lead 2-0. By halftime, Njike already had an assist and two shots against his former team.
Bill Armstrong Stadium watched with bated breath as Njike’s moment was on the horizon.
In the 63rd minute, a deflected pass left the ball at Njike’s feet with an open goal in front of him. He blasted his shot into the bottom-left corner to give Indiana a 3-0 advantage. And what better way to cap it all off with some acrobatics.
Njike dashed and broke into the backflip celebration Indiana fans had already seen after his goal against Michigan. This one though just meant more.
The moment perfectly illustrates why Indiana pursued Njike in the first place. The Hoosiers did not necessarily need him to replicate his seven-goal Maryland season instantly. Indiana already has several scoring threats throughout the front line. Moller-Jensen leads the team with seven goals, while Bogard has four. Instead, Njike has become another piece opponents have to contain. He’s a forward capable of creating chances, attaching defenders himself or capitalizing when an opportunity goes his way.
That versatility has helped Indiana start 2026 in dominant fashion posting a record of 9-0-2 overall and 4-0-1 in Big Ten play. After Friday’s victory, the Hoosiers sit atop the conference with 13 of a possible 15 points in five Big Ten matches.
Friday night brought two chapters together. Njike saw some old teammates, played against old friends and admitted there was some emotion tied to the matchup.
But once the ball found his foot in front of goal, there was no hesitation. The ex-Terrapin had come out of his shell and this time he was scoring for the Indiana Hoosiers.
