Indiana University Athletics
Women's Soccer Ready for Tough Road Battles
10/12/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Northwestern and Wisconsin Game Notes in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Oct. 12, 2005
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Indiana women's soccer team continues Big Ten action on the road against Northwestern on Friday, Oct. 14, at 4 p.m., followed by a contest at Wisconsin on Sunday, Oct. 16, at 1 p.m. The Hoosiers wrap a three-game road trip in Big Ten play that started in Columbus, Ohio.
"We are looking at the start of a playoff weekend for us," head coach Mick Lyon said. "We need to win three of the next five games to stay in contention for the Big Ten tournament. Every game is an elimination game for both teams from here on out, as everyone looks to finish strong."
•HEAD COACH Mick Lyon's PREVIEW AGAINST NORTHWESTERN•
"Northwestern is a tough place to play," Lyon said. "It will be a physical game. Northwestern has not had as many wins as one would think with the quality of team they have. Kelsey Hans is a dangerous player for them and we are going to have to do a good job of containing her forward progression on offense."
•HEAD COACH Mick Lyon's PREVIEW AGAINST WISCONSIN•
"They are a good team," Lyon said. "They have a talented midfield that will have to be guarded closely. We are going to have to do a good job of holding the midfield and shutting them down. If we can do this, I think we have a good chance of creating multiple scoring opportunities when we transition from our strong defense to offense."
•LAST TIME OUT•
The Indiana women's soccer team fell to the Ohio State Buckeyes, 3-2, in its last outing at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. Senior Courtney O'Bryan scored her first career goal to lead the effort for the Hoosiers in the closely contested match.
The Buckeyes took the lead in the 27th minute with a goal from midfielder Lisa Collison assisted by midfielder Lara Dickenmann. Collison's goal remained the only score in the first half as the Hoosiers trailed entering the locker room, 1-0.
Senior Kristen Zmijewski then opened scoring for the Hoosiers off a shot in the 59th minute. The ball deflected off a Buckeye leg to find its mark in the back of the net for Zmijewski's fifth goal on the season.
Ohio State fired back in the 69th minute off a penalty kick from Danielle Dietrich. Dietrich had an open shot at the goal after an Ohio State bounce took the ball over the Hoosiers' Fabbro coming out to challenge the play. Fabbro, forced to foul, led to the Dietrich penalty kick and the ensuing goal.
It was not long before the Hoosiers continued their scoring agenda, this time from first-time scorer O'Bryan. Junior midfielder Ali Brown served the ball to Zmijewski, off a corner kick, and headed the ball to O'Bryan for the score in the middle of the net.
The game became a scoring battle with the Buckeyes getting the last word. Dickenmann found the Hoosier net in 81st minute to give Ohio State the win, 3-2.
Sophomore Stacey Van Boxmeer drew goalkeeper duties in the first period and collected four saves. Senior Lauren Fabbro finished in between the pipes with one save and took the loss for IU. State's sophomore Stacey Sinkway collected eight saves to lead the Buckeye defense.
Indiana remained offensive minded throughout the contest, outshooting the Scarlet and Gray, 16-12, 11 of which found their mark on goal, and had the advantage in corners, 4-3.
•SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN•
The Hoosiers are 6-5-2 against the Wildcats, losing their last meeting in Evanston, Ill., 1-0. Indiana has beaten Northwestern three times at Lakeside Field and tied the Wildcats on another occasion, 1-1. Both teams have scored in only three games between the two Big Ten teams, with the other 10 matches decided by a shutout. Indiana is 3-2-1 on the road against Northwestern.
Despite outshooting the Spartans, 10-5, the Northwestern women's soccer team fell victim to another late goal, losing to Michigan State, 2-1, in its last outing.
•SCOUTING WISCONSIN•
Wisconsin holds the narrow edge over the Hoosiers with a 7-5-2 edge in the series. Indiana has lost the last two meetings between the two squads, a loss coming both at home and on the road. IU is 3-3-1 overall in Madison against the Badgers.
The Wisconsin women's soccer team ended its four-game losing skid in its last outing, a 2-1 victory at Michigan. Senior Katy Lindenmuth and junior Allison Preiss scored for the Badgers to lead them over the Wolverines, who just two weeks ago were ranked nationally in the top 25 (NSCAA).
•SENIOR STYLE•
Senior Courtney O'Bryan notched her first career goal against Ohio State (10/7/05) to equalize the match 2-2 against the Buckeyes. Ohio State went on to win the affair 3-2 off a late goal in the Big Ten matchup. O'Bryan's goal marks the second time a back has tallied a goal this season as fellow senior Robin Barker netted one against Bowling Green (9/18/05).
•A LOOK IN THE MIRROR•
The Wisconsin Badgers look a lot like the Indiana women's soccer team when you look at common opponents. The Hoosiers and Badgers have both played and defeated the once-ranked Michigan Wolverines, both notching late goals to topple the Big Ten power. Both squads also lost to Michigan State in the same weekend.
•REPEAT PERFORMANCES•
Indiana has twice lost two consecutive matches and bounced back with a record feat to bring it back into the win column. The first time, IU dropped matches at Southern California (6-0) and Missouri (2-0) before toppling Iowa State (1-0) by notching its first goal of the season, from freshman Molly Beckwith, and defeating the Cyclones for the first time in as many tries.
The second time, the Hoosiers lost to Big Ten foes then-No.2 Penn State (2-0) and Minnesota (2-1) before edging the then-No.22 Michigan Wolverines at home. The win marked the first time this season the Hoosiers topped a ranked opponent.
Indiana again looks at the same situation after falling to Michigan State (1-0) and Ohio State (3-2) before traveling to Northwestern this weekend. This time, the Hoosiers season is on the line for qualification for the Big Ten tournament.
•IU HOLDS ITS FATE•
Indiana looks to close the Big Ten season with a bang, with its hopes of returning to the Big Ten tournament on the line. The Hoosiers will face three teams (Iowa, ninth; Wisconsin, 10th; Northwestern, 11th) that are currently tied or below IU in the Big Ten standings at the end of the Big Ten schedule. Also in the Hoosiers path are Illinois and Purdue, which that currently sit in a tie for third in the standings.
IU's Big Ten and NCAA tournament berths lay in its hands, as the Hoosiers look to stay above .500 overall, and in the top eight in the Big Ten standings to make the conference tournament. First up for the Hoosiers is Northwestern, which stands in 11th in this week's standings.
•EIGHT IS A CROWD•
The Hoosiers have become what head coach Mick Lyon called, "a multi-headed monster," as Indiana has scored from every position on the field, minus goalie.
Senior back Courtney O'Bryan recently joined the Hoosier scoring brigade by notching her first career goal against Ohio State (10/7/05) in the Hoosiers' 3-2 loss.
Seniors back Robin Barker (1) and midfielder Kristen Zmijewski (5), junior forward Megan Pipkens (1), sophomores forward Kristin Radcliffe (3) and midfielder Katy Stewart (1) and freshmen forward Molly Beckwith (1) and midfielder Molly Kruger (1) round out the 2005 scorers.
•RANK AND FILE•
For the first time in three tries, the Hoosiers dethroned a ranked opponent in No. 22 Michigan. At Yeagley Field at Armstrong Stadium, Indiana battled to a 2-1 victory against the Wolverines on Sept. 30 for its first win against a ranked foe. This is the highest ranked opponent to fall at the Hoosiers' hands since Mick Lyon took the reigns of the program four years ago.
Last year, the Hoosiers took down then-No. 24 Auburn (Sept.11, 2004) before tying then-No. 24 Illinois (Oct. 17, 2004), 1-1, in Big Ten action.
•IU ON THE ROAD•
The Hoosiers hit the road for a Big Ten road trip with three consecutive games away from Armstrong Stadium. IU opened the excursion in Columbus, Ohio, on Oct. 7, with a 3-2 loss at Ohio State. This week, the Hoosiers travel to Evanston, Ill., for a contest at Northwestern on Oct. 14, and conclude the trip in Madison, Wis., against Wisconsin on Oct. 16. This is the second longest road trip of the season, as the Hoosiers opened the 2005 campaign with four games away from Bloomington.
•LARGE AND IN CHARGE•
Senior Kristen Zmijewski was named the 2005 team captain for the Hoosiers and has taken the role to heart. As an on- and off-the-field leader, Zmijewski has led the Hoosiers to a 5-7-1 record on the season, while scoring five of IU's 14 goals and two assists in 2005.
Zmijewski currently leads the team in points with nine, and entered the IU record books with 12 goals in her career to rank seventh all-time. The Aurora, Ill., native also ranks seventh in game-winning goals, with four in her career. Against Minnesota, the midfielder tallied her seventh career assist and first of the season setting up Molly Kruger for the Hoosiers' only goal in the loss.
•SHUTTING OUT THE COMPETITION•
The Hoosiers have held an opponent scoreless three times in the 2005 campaign, the first coming in a 0-0 tie against Loyola Marymount in the season opener, followed by a 1-0 victory against the Iowa State Cyclones. The most recent shutout came against Bowling Green, as the Hoosiers handed the Falcons a 2-0 defeat at home.
•FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH•
Freshman Molly Beckwith and Molly Kruger have teamed to be two of IU's most talented feet on the field. Beckwith (a goal and two assists) currently has four points to her name on the season, while Kruger has tallied a team-best three assists and one goal, leads all Hoosiers with 40 shots and 17 on goal and is third on the roster with five points. Kruger also recently scored her first career goal against Minnesota.
Kruger has started every match for Indiana at the midfield position, while Beckwith has remained a solid reserve at forward, registering action in every game as a valuable substitute.
•THE BARKER FILE•
Senior back Robin Barker scored her third game-winning goal of her career against Bowling Green Sept. 18 to rank 10th all-time in the category. The Brownsburg, Ind., native has scored six goals over her four year career, all coming from the back position. The senior has been able to turn the solid IU defense, which has turned out three shutouts so far this season, into a formidable offense.
•BIG TEN ACCOLADES•
Sophomore defender Beverly Markwort earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors for the week ending Sept. 16 announced the conference. This recognition is Markwort's first-career conference honor, while it is Indiana's first selection since senior goalkeeper Lauren Fabbro garnered defensive honors on Sept. 27, 2004.
Markwort earned the conference accolade by contributing to a back unit that led Indiana to a 2-0 weekend. The sophomore defender led an Indiana defense that allowed just six shots on goal over the weekend, and 10 shots overall over two matches. The Hoosiers downed Butler, 2-1, on Friday and shutout Bowling Green, 2-0, on Sunday. The victory over Bowling Green is Indiana's third shutout of the season.
•HOOSIER HONORS•
Seniors Kristen Zmijewski and Courtney O'Bryan represented the Indiana Hoosiers on the 11-player Hoosier Classic All-Tournament team, after leading IU to a 1-1 record over at the Classic. Zmijewski, a midfielder, and O'Bryan a defender, made the first ever all-tournament list as IU hosted the inaugural Classic inviting then-No.18 ranked Marquette, Miami (Fla.) and Xavier for the event. Marquette took home the tournament title with a 2-0 record, while Miami (1-1) finished second, followed by Indiana (1-1) and Xavier (0-2) in third and fourth.
•GOOD GOLLY MISS MOLLY•
It was the freshmen duo of Molly Beckwith and Molly Kruger who teamed up to notch the Hoosiers' first goal of the season against Iowa State (9/11). The feat came in the 37th minute of action against the Cyclones, as Beckwith moved toward the goal, collecting a dish from Kruger to knock the ball in for Beckwith and Kruger's first collegiate goal and assist, respectively. IU, which had gone scoreless in its first four contests, could not be denied in its offensive domination of Iowa State, posting a 13 to four shot advantage.
