Hoosiers face off against Big Ten foes

The Hoosiers women's soccer team travels to Michigan this weekend to take on the Wolverines in Ann Arbor Friday night and then Michigan State Sunday in East Lansing. The team enters the weekend with a record of 5-6-0 (2-3-0 Big Ten), and has won three of its last four games.\nSenior defender Carly Everett said the team hopes to harness the momentum it's gained in the past two weeks.\n"We've continued to keep up the intensity at practice, and obviously having wins under your belt gives you a lot of confidence," Everett said. "We're just going to go in there with a lot of confidence that we can compete with these teams. They're going to respect us when we step on the field,"\nMichigan enters the game with a record of 3-5-4 (2-2-2 Big Ten) and is coming off a loss to No. 16 Penn State. The Hoosiers haven't beaten the Wolverines since Sept. 11, 1994. In order to win the game, the Hoosiers will need to find a way to get through the Wolverines tough defense. Coach Mick Lyon said the team plans to use its speed to get past the Wolverines.\n"Their senior goalkeeper is a problem for us," Lyon said. "I think we can get in our wide with our wing play, our speed. We've been working on our wing play. Their goalkeeper is big, tall, and takes a lot of balls in the air, but we're not going to play in the air. We're going to drive every ball below four feet. That's how we're going to try and score goals."\nAfter Friday's game, the team travels to East Lansing to take on Michigan State. The Spartans currently have a record of 7-4-0 (3-3-0 Big Ten), however, they have lost their last two games where they were held scoreless for both. The Spartans enter the game with one of the most potent offenses in the Big Ten. Everett said the team hasn't made any adjustments to counter the Spartan's offense.\n"We're going to keep our lineup and do the same thing we've always done," Everett said. "We have a strong lineup in the back, and if we keep our positioning strong, it should work for us like it has in the past."\nSenior forward Kristen Zmijewski said the team will be fired up to play the games this weekend.\n"We're going to come out with a lot of intensity and try to get some goals early," Zmijewski said.\nThe Hoosiers take on Michigan Friday night at 4 p.m. and then travel to East Lansing to take on the Spartans Sunday at noon.\n-- Contact staff writer Cory Steger at csteger@indiana.edu.