Indiana University Athletics
IU Heads to Michigan for Conference Weekend
9/26/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Sept. 26, 2006
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Setting the Scene
Indiana heads to the road for its first away Big Ten contests of the season this weekend. The Hoosiers, who bring with them an eight-game unbeaten streak, will face Michigan State on Friday, Sept. 29, at 4 p.m. EDT and Michigan on Sunday, Oct. 1, at 1 p.m. IU won its first two conference contests of the season last weekend, topping Minnesota (1-0) and Ohio State (2-1) in Bloomington.
The All-Time Series
Indiana and Michigan State have met 14 times over the course of the years, and the Hoosiers hold an 8-4-2 all-time lead in the series. MSU has won the last two battles between the two teams, including a 3-0 victory in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament last season. Head Coach Mick Lyon has a 3-3-0 record against the Spartans, including a 3-2-0 mark while with the Hoosiers.
Michigan holds a 9-2-1 all-time advantage over the Hoosiers in the history of the two programs, but IU won last year's battle by a 2-1 score. That victory broke an 11-game unbeaten string by the Wolverines against the Hoosiers. Lyon is 1-2-1 against Michigan, all while on the IU sideline.
Last Time Out
The Hoosiers opened up their Big Ten slate with a pair of crucial victories last weekend, topping Minnesota (1-0) and Ohio State (2-1) in Bloomington. Ali Brown had two goals and an assist for the Hoosiers on the weekend, while Lauren Lamping also scored for the Hoosiers.
Brown scored a pair of goals off free kicks, including the game-winner with 9:26 to play, to give Indiana a 2-1 victory over OSU on Sept. 24. Stacey Van Boxmeer added three saves in the victory, making her the fifth keeper in IU history to top the 100-save plateau.
On Sept. 22, Lamping scored the lone goal of the contest as the Hoosiers outlasted a 1:55 rain delay for a 1-0 victory over Minnesota. IU got the game's only goal at 58:14 after a Gopher foul gave the Hoosiers a free kick just outside of the box.
Media Information
Indiana Athletic Media Relations Staff Assistant Matt Brady is the primary media relations contact for the women's soccer team. He can be reached at his office (812-856-0215), via cell phone (413-222-2788) or e-mail (mlbrady@indiana.edu).
Scouting the Opponents
The Spartans enter the weekend with a 4-4-1 mark overall and an 0-1-0 record in Big Ten action. MSU opened its conference slate with a heartbreaking 3-2 overtime loss at Penn State on Friday, Sept. 29. Freshman Lauren Sinacola scored both goals for the visitors, including the tying goal with four seconds to play, but Ashley Myers netted the game-winner for the Lions in the 93rd minute for a 3-2 victory.
Michigan brings a 4-4-2 record into the weekend, and, like its in-state counterpart, opened its Big Ten schedule on the losing end of a trip to State College, Pa. The Lions netted a 4-1 victory over the Wolverines on Sunday for PSU's fifth straight victory.
Earning Brownie Points
Senior Ali Brown doubled her career goals output on Sept. 24 with her first career multi-goal game. The midfielder netted both of IU's goals in the contest, and both came off free kicks. She also added the lone assist on Lauren Lamping's goal against Minnesota on Friday night. Brown now has four goals and 10 assists in her Hoosier career. The senior joined classmate Carrie DeFreece as the only Hoosiers with multi-goal games this season. Brown was named to TopDrawerSoccer.com's National Team of the Week for her performance on the weekend.
Light the Lamp
Lauren Lamping's goal against Minnesota on Sept. 22 was her second of the season and her career. Lamping has added four assists this season, giving her the team lead in both assists and points (eight). Each is a career-high for the senior defender. She has also been a starter on the defense in all 10 contests and has played the entirety of each of the last six matches for the Hoosiers, a stretch of 580 minutes of action.
Going Streaking
After topping OSU 2-1 on Sunday, the Hoosiers stretched their unbeaten streak to eight games, the second-longest such streak in school history. The longest streak in school history came from Oct. 3, 1993-Sept. 14, 1994, as those Hoosiers won 14 in a row. During the current Hoosier streak, IU has outscored its opponents 13-4 and outshot them by a margin of 145-67. Indiana has recorded more shots than its opponents in all nine games this year, a school record.
Home Sweet Home
The Hoosiers have played five games this season on Yeagley Field at Armstrong Stadium, and so far the results have been very strong for IU. Indiana has won all five contests, scoring 10 goals, and had not allowed a goal until OSU's Lara Dickenmann scored in the 46th minute on Sept. 24. The five-game home win streak is the longest for the Hoosiers since 1998, when IU went a perfect 8-0-0 at Armstrong on the way to a berth in the NCAA Tournament. In 2005, the Hoosiers were 5-3-1 at Armstrong Stadium and outscored their opponents 15-10 at the venue.
Senioritie
The Hoosiers have seen significant contributions from their senior class this season. The top three scorers on the team (Lauren Lamping, Carrie DeFreece and Ali Brown) are all seniors, while Megan Pipkens and Lauren Dieter have combined for two assists on the season. The senior class is the second-smallest on the Hoosiers (there are two sophomores on the team), but the party of five has represented more than half of IU's points on the season.
Scoring by class:
Seniors: 7-8-22 (56.4%)
Juniors: 4-1-9 (23.1 %)
Sophomores: 0-0-0
Freshmen: 3-2-8 (20.5%)
Watching the Milestones
Brown's first-half goal against Ohio State on Sept. 24 represented the 350th point in IU history during Big Ten play. Additionally, with five saves on the weekend, the Hoosiers are just two shy of the 600 mark in Big Ten play. IU is just five away from reaching 400 goals as a program, and is just one win away from 125 wins.
Keeping `em Blank
When Charlotte scored with just 20 seconds to play in the first half of the Hoosiers' 1-1 tie with the 49ers on Sept. 15, it stopped the second-longest shutout streak in IU history. Heading into the game, the Hoosiers had run off three straight shutouts, the seventh time in program history that Indiana has recorded three or more shutouts in a row and the first since Oct. 3-10, 2003, when IU shut out Iowa (1-0), Marshall (4-0) and Michigan (0-0).
Longest scoreless streaks:
808:34 Oct. 2-31, 1993
404:57 Sept. 1, 2006-Sept. 15, 2006
366:39 Sept. 28-Oct. 12, 2003
329:38 Sept. 1-18, 1998
In the Polls
Indiana's eight-game unbeaten streak has vaulted the Hoosiers into the Great Lakes regional rankings by both the NSCAA (National Soccer Coaches Association of America) and SoccerBuzz.com. The Hoosiers are ranked sixth in the Soccer Buzz poll, which is their highest ranking since 2003. Indiana has climbed to No. 5 in the NSCAA polls, trailing Big Ten rivals Purdue and Illinois by a slim margin. The Hoosiers also received votes in the NSCAA national poll.
Climbing the Ladder
Several other Hoosiers are approaching individual milestones, including senior forward Megan Pipkens. Pipkens is tied for sixth on the Hoosiers' list in career assists (12) and is eighth in career shots (117). The Holt, Mich., native is tied with Kris Fosdick for sixth and is one behind Carrie Watts on the all-time assists list. The senior is just two assists behind Emily Hotz, who is fourth in IU history.
Right behind Pipkens on the career assists list is her classmate, Ali Brown. Brown's assist against Minnesota on Sept. 22 was the 10th in her career, which ties her for ninth on the school's all-time list.
Junior Stacey Van Boxmeer's 102 career saves are the fifth-most all-time and her 11 career wins are fifth in IU history. Van Boxmeer needs four wins and 31 saves to move past Lauren Fabbro into fourth on both lists. Her 1.17 career goals against average is fifth all-time for the Hoosiers.
Shot Down
The Hoosiers have now outshot all 10 of their opponents this year, totalling 183 shots, 18.3 per game, which is third-most in the Big Ten behind Purdue's 251 and Penn State's 186. IU has allowed just 86 shots on the season, which is second-lowest in the conference to North-western's 80. Indiana has taken 97 more shots than its opponents, an average of 9.7 per game, which is the second-largest differential in the conference behind Purdue's 10.1.
First Goal Wins
Indiana has scored the first goal of the contest in six of its 10 contests this season. IU is 5-0-1 when it has scored first this year, but 0-2-2 when its opponents score first. In 2005, Indiana recorded a 7-1-0 record when scoring first.
Consistently Defensive
Defense has been a strong point for the Hoosiers this season, as they have allowed 86 shots (second in the Big Ten) and six goals (third in the Big Ten) this season. Part of that strength has come from Indiana's consistency on the back line, as IU has started the same back four in each of the last seven games.
Those four - Kelly Lawrence, Jessica Boots, Lauren Lamping and Jenna Babcock - have played nearly every minute for the Hoosiers recently, as Lamping has been on the field for the entirety of each of the last six games and Boots has played all but 12 minutes of the last five. Of a possible 960 minutes this season, Boots has played 919, Lamping has played 910 and Babcock has played 861. Additionally, Stacey Van Boxmeer has played all but 17 minutes in net for the Hoosiers.
