Freshman plays down success

There are humble athletes, and then there's Kim Grodek.\nTuesday, the freshman midfielder was blushing after a mock-autograph request from assistant coach Wendy Dillinger after a brief photo shoot. Dillinger might have been joking, but if Grodek continues her current level of play, the next autograph request she gets might be sincere.\nThis season, she has scored three goals for the women's soccer team, two which have been game winners, and one which sent Indiana (3-1) into over-time with then No. 3 Notre Dame. Grodek's clutch performances have aided an offense that has been good enough to win, but still has only managed one goal per contest.\n"I don't know if she's a surprise; we expected her to come in and make an impact. She's done very, very well and I'm really pleased and happy about that," coach Joe Kelley said of his top goal-scorer. "We're 3-1. Do I hope we score more goals? Yeah, I do, but we're working hard and getting better. We just have to put them away."\nIt's difficult to say where the Hoosiers would be without the 2000 Illinois player of the year, but Grodek spreads the credit to her teammates and refuses to relish her early season accomplishments.\n"There's no need for it. It's a team sport, so I don't like to say what I've done," Grodek said. "My teammates have made it easy for me."\nFreshman Carrie Fry is more lavish in her praise of her friend and teammate.\nShe's handled (her success) incredibly well," Fry said. "You'd think that somebody with that talent and that skill, who's leading the team, it would get to her head. But she's not cocky at all about it.\n"I have to brag for her in the dorms. People will ask, 'hey did you guys win?' And I have to be like, 'yeah, and she scored the winning goal in overtime.'"\nFor all Grodek's offensive excellence, Kelley said he believes that with her only being a freshman, there's still room for improvement.\n"She's the type of player that will be able to continue to help us and to get better as she goes along," he said.\nAnd Grodek, for her part, is sitting on the laurels of being the team's offensive leader so far. On the other hand, she's prepared to continue improvement on a career that's gotten off to such an impressive start.\n"Goals aren't everything. It's good to score," Grodek said. "But it doesn't show the whole way you've played. I still haven't been playing up to my potential. I still know I can do better. I guess I'll never be happy"