Hoosiers look to 'boot' Boilers today

The IU women's soccer team is looking for a win to guarantee a spot in the Big Ten tournament tonight. However, its game is about more than getting into the tournament. It's also about a boot.\nThe Hoosiers will take on Purdue tonight in Bloomington, and the victor will take home the Golden Boot, given annually to winner of the regular season contest between the two rivals. For every victory, an emblem of an "I" or a "P" is added to the trophy.\nWhile IU has not worn the Golden Boot since 1999, losing the last seven straight contests, the team feels like it is hitting its peak at the right time.\nAfter a shutout loss to Illinois on Friday, the Hoosiers rebounded Sunday, breaking out for three goals in a dramatic overtime victory against the Iowa Hawkeyes. Spreading the scoring around has been imperative for the Hoosiers this year, and it continued as IU was paced by three different goal scorers. \nFreshman Molly Krueger scored her third goal of the season, giving her nine points total, the most ever by an freshman.\n"This is the biggest game we've had all season," Krueger said. "We've been doing a lot of team-building activities this week. We're all so pumped for this game."\nKrueger said she thinks the team is peaking at the perfect time. With one final game to go, the team seems to be grasping the offensive system coach Mick Lyon has been trying to stress the whole year.\nThe team showed glimpses of its potential Sunday. It passed the ball well and played its best offensive game of the season, Krueger said.\n"We've learned from our defeats," Krueger said. "There's no better time for us to be peaking."\nThe Hoosiers will face off against the Boilers at 7 p.m. tonight on Yeagley Field at Armstrong Stadium.