IU women's soccer is in like a Lyon

IU coach Mick Lyon stops practice. His sweat-soaked shirt sticks to his skin, and the pupils of his eyes are lost in a blaze of blue. The soccer his women are playing during this Tuesday afternoon practice has left much to be desired. All eyes are on him.\n"You're still in Michigan," he yells. "You're still in Michigan celebrating!"\nLyon is teaching his team a lesson -- a lesson some of his players have been waiting their entire collegiate careers to learn. Lyon is teaching his team how to deal with success, and the first step to handling success is forgetting that you ever were a hit in the first place.\n"That last weekend is forgotten," Lyon said after practice. "It's pure focus on the next event because you are only as good as the next result."\nSo far, the results have been favorable and full of possibility. The IU women's soccer team entered unfamiliar territory last weekend after a road trip that produced victories against Michigan State and Michigan and sole possession of first place. At 4-0, the Hoosiers sit atop the Big Ten totem pole. \nThe Big Ten season, however, is a marathon. With strong teams like Penn State, Illinois and Purdue remaining on the schedule, the soul-searching miles for this team are still ahead. For now things look good.\n"Right now, they believe in themselves," Lyon said, "and that gives them the confidence to play well."\nExcuse Lyon for his earlier outburst. It's just that he's greedy. He wants to win them all.\nThe Boston, England, native still can't get over the Hoosiers' back-to-back losses -- single-goal decisions to the University of California and Creighton University -- in August at the Wisconsin Tournament.\n"You analyze the season, and you say, 'You know what? It's been pretty good, but we should be undefeated.' That's what the headline should be," Lyon said.\nSure, his team is on a tear. The Hoosiers went 6-0-3 in Sep. with wins against Ohio State and Minnesota. Sure, it is in the middle of the longest single-season unbeaten streak in the program's history. Sure, this being Lyon's fifth season at IU, he finally has a team where he tapped the shoulder of every player and said: "I want you to play on my team." It's just that Lyon wants the whole pie -- not just a slice. He wants his players to want the whole pie, too. \n"That will make you feel good," he tells them.\nThe Hoosiers have ample reason to be feeling good about their season, especially the seniors who have endured three sub-par seasons. They are scoring timely goals, winning on the road and playing shutdown defense. Oh, and they're having more fun playing soccer than ever before.\n"We're just clicking, for some reason, more than we have in the past, and I think it's because we're more comfortable with each other right now," senior midfielder Ali Brown said. "I really like the team right now, and I'm having a lot of fun. This being my last year, it's nice to see everything finally come together."\nSunday the Hoosiers can claim a huge slice of the pie if they can beat last year's Big Ten regular season champion Penn State, something Lyon and his previous teams have never accomplished.\nA win would mean validation. A win would mean September was no fluke and that October and November will feature more of the same.\n"It would tell the rest of the country that we're here," Lyon said. "It would put a stamp of approval on our program."\nThat is a lesson Lyon can't wait to teach the rest of the country.