Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Collect Two Points on the Weekend
9/21/2015 2:09:00 PM | Women's Soccer
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Two games. Two draws. Two points.
Indiana played to a pair of overtime draws on the opening weekend of Big Ten competition, finishing with a come-from-behind 1-1 tie Sunday against Northwestern after a scoreless stalemate against Illinois on Friday.
The results weren't ideal, but they were a start. Head coach Amy Berbary said she liked her team's fight on the weekend, adding that it's good to pick up points at the beginning of what's expected to be a testing conference season.
"Anytime you can walk out of the weekend with some points, it's huge," Berbary said. "Two is better than zero. But I liked the fight in our team today."
The opening Big Ten games featured more of the same strengths and struggles the Hoosiers have experienced all season long. While the defense was nearly unbeatable, paying for only one mistake, the offense struggled in finding its final touch around the net, converting on just one goal.
"It's definitely mixed feelings," junior forward Lauren Joray said. "Way better than two losses. It's really hard to come out of the weekend with points in the Big Ten. It's better than two losses, so we'll take it."
Senior goalkeeper Sarah Stone continued her stretch of nearly unbreakable goalkeeping, only being beaten by a header from Northwestern's Niki Sebo on a corner in the 46th minute of Sunday's contest.
Stone remained calm even after allowing her first goal in 192 minutes, knowing all it would take was one breakthrough on the other end of the field to pull even. She's gotten used to making saves time and time again to keep her Hoosiers within striking distance this season.
"I enjoy getting a little bit of action," Stone said. "I wouldn't say I enjoy getting tons of action because that doesn't always end well. I guess I'm used to it. If I need to do it, I do it."
The weekend's results are frustrating, but reason to be optimistic at the same time.
It's hard for Berbary to be disappointed when her defense allows only one goal over 200 minutes, but the Hoosiers know they're one or two offensive breakthroughs away from turning a two-point weekend into a six-point weekend.
Though the scoreboard hasn't shown it, Berbary and Joray both said there are optimistic signs of the offense inching closer to where it needs to be to net the goals to turn ties into wins.
The Hoosiers' lone goal Sunday, scored by Joray on a low cross by sophomore forward Kayla Smith, was their first in the run of play in two weeks. They managed to scrap in the box, creating chances to score and ultimately capitalizing to force the tie.
In total, Indiana registered 21 shots on the weekend, forcing seven saves.
"What was really good was that that goal was scored through the run of play," Joray said. "It's what we've really been working on. We've scored a lot of goals off of set pieces. I think once we get that last final product of scoring through the run of play we'll be really dangerous."
Berbary agreed. That's why she has her team spending practice time working exclusively on finishing on crosses in the final third.
The Hoosiers have proven to be one of the Big Ten's best defenses, but they need goals. They've still got time to sharpen up in the final third, but they're running out of time.
Right now, that's been the difference between picking up two points and picking up six points in competitive weekends like the last. Indiana (3-3-4, 0-0-2) came out of the opening weekend right in the think of the Big Ten standings and has games against Wisconsin (3-4-3, 0-1-1) and Minnesota (7-1-2, 2-0-0) scheduled for the upcoming weekend.
"I like that our teams a little bit disappointed," Berbary said. "I think that's good. They're not walking out of here with big smiles on their faces. They know we've still got more work to do, and it's only going to get tougher as the weeks go on. I'm proud of their fight and walking out here with two (points)."
Indiana played to a pair of overtime draws on the opening weekend of Big Ten competition, finishing with a come-from-behind 1-1 tie Sunday against Northwestern after a scoreless stalemate against Illinois on Friday.
The results weren't ideal, but they were a start. Head coach Amy Berbary said she liked her team's fight on the weekend, adding that it's good to pick up points at the beginning of what's expected to be a testing conference season.
"Anytime you can walk out of the weekend with some points, it's huge," Berbary said. "Two is better than zero. But I liked the fight in our team today."
The opening Big Ten games featured more of the same strengths and struggles the Hoosiers have experienced all season long. While the defense was nearly unbeatable, paying for only one mistake, the offense struggled in finding its final touch around the net, converting on just one goal.
"It's definitely mixed feelings," junior forward Lauren Joray said. "Way better than two losses. It's really hard to come out of the weekend with points in the Big Ten. It's better than two losses, so we'll take it."
Senior goalkeeper Sarah Stone continued her stretch of nearly unbreakable goalkeeping, only being beaten by a header from Northwestern's Niki Sebo on a corner in the 46th minute of Sunday's contest.
Stone remained calm even after allowing her first goal in 192 minutes, knowing all it would take was one breakthrough on the other end of the field to pull even. She's gotten used to making saves time and time again to keep her Hoosiers within striking distance this season.
"I enjoy getting a little bit of action," Stone said. "I wouldn't say I enjoy getting tons of action because that doesn't always end well. I guess I'm used to it. If I need to do it, I do it."
The weekend's results are frustrating, but reason to be optimistic at the same time.
It's hard for Berbary to be disappointed when her defense allows only one goal over 200 minutes, but the Hoosiers know they're one or two offensive breakthroughs away from turning a two-point weekend into a six-point weekend.
Though the scoreboard hasn't shown it, Berbary and Joray both said there are optimistic signs of the offense inching closer to where it needs to be to net the goals to turn ties into wins.
The Hoosiers' lone goal Sunday, scored by Joray on a low cross by sophomore forward Kayla Smith, was their first in the run of play in two weeks. They managed to scrap in the box, creating chances to score and ultimately capitalizing to force the tie.
In total, Indiana registered 21 shots on the weekend, forcing seven saves.
"What was really good was that that goal was scored through the run of play," Joray said. "It's what we've really been working on. We've scored a lot of goals off of set pieces. I think once we get that last final product of scoring through the run of play we'll be really dangerous."
Berbary agreed. That's why she has her team spending practice time working exclusively on finishing on crosses in the final third.
The Hoosiers have proven to be one of the Big Ten's best defenses, but they need goals. They've still got time to sharpen up in the final third, but they're running out of time.
Right now, that's been the difference between picking up two points and picking up six points in competitive weekends like the last. Indiana (3-3-4, 0-0-2) came out of the opening weekend right in the think of the Big Ten standings and has games against Wisconsin (3-4-3, 0-1-1) and Minnesota (7-1-2, 2-0-0) scheduled for the upcoming weekend.
"I like that our teams a little bit disappointed," Berbary said. "I think that's good. They're not walking out of here with big smiles on their faces. They know we've still got more work to do, and it's only going to get tougher as the weeks go on. I'm proud of their fight and walking out here with two (points)."
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Women's Soccer
Midfielder
/ Women's Soccer
Goalkeeper
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