IU go to Evanston, Madison to begin Big Ten this weekend

The Hoosiers are embarking on the start of Big Ten conference play this weekend.
IU will travel to Northwestern (3-5-1) and Wisconsin (4-4-1) on Friday and Sunday, respectively.

Last time they played, the Hoosiers shut out Green Bay 2-0 at home and improved their record to 8-1, the best start in school history and the Big Ten this year.

Freshman forward Orianica Velasquez Herrera scored both goals for IU and was honored as both the Co-offensive Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week by the Big Ten.

The Colombia native leads the team in goals and is tied for the lead in points with nine.

The Hoosiers’ defense did something they had not done since becoming a varsity sport in 1993 by not allowing a shot by Green Bay the entire game.

The lone Hoosier loss this year came at St. John’s, where the conditions weren’t ideal. It had been raining, and that, combined with playing on artificial turf, made for a difficult field.

On Friday, against the Northwestern Wildcats, IU will play on turf again, so it’s prepared for the difficulties if the conditions aren’t favorable.

In 2008, Northwestern beat the Hoosiers 2-1 in Evanston, Ill., but IU is returning all of its starters from last year, whereas Northwestern lost five of its 11 starters.
The Wildcats have been outscored 13-7 in 2009.

One player IU will keep an eye on is senior forward Alicia Herczeg, who leads Northwestern with three goals.

Another player to watch for is senior midfielder Kay Sampson, who is second on the team in points and scored the game-winning goal in the 87th minute against IU last year.

The Hoosiers will look to even the overall series, as Northwestern leads 8-7-2 against IU.

“We’re more than capable of getting two wins this weekend if we perform to our level,” IU coach Mick Lyon said. “We’ll have to play very well, especially against Northwestern because they play on turf.”

Similar to allowing the late-game-winning goal against Northwestern, in 2008 the Hoosiers lost 1-0 at Wisconsin when Taylor Walsh scored the game-winning shot with a little more than a minute left in the game.

The Badgers are returning eight of their 11 starters, including sophomore forward Laurie Nosbusch, who led the team with 21 points last season. Wisconsin finished 10th in Big Ten conference play with a 3-7 record.

Thus far this year, the Badgers have been outscored 13-6, including a crushing 6-0 loss in their last match against No. 2 Stanford. However, Wisconsin is 4-0-1 at home this year.

Freshman midfielder Alev Kelter leads the team with four points.

Along with their No. 19 national ranking, the Hoosiers have been ranked No. 1 in the Great Lakes Region. They will look to keep their game balanced and not let either Northwestern or Wisconsin get too focused on one player.

Indiana has spread its 17 goals this season across eight different players. The defense will also have to maintain its intensity the entire game and not allow late goals, something that the seniors have improved on since last season.

Sophomore goalkeeper Lindsay Campbell has been nearly flawless in the goal this year, holding an impressive 0.63 goals-against average.

Of the eight victories for IU this year, six of them have come at home. They are 2-1 on the road and will be tested with another weekend away from Bloomington.

“Wisconsin’s field is like playing on carpet, the grass is so thick,” Lyon said. “So, it’ll be two totally different games. But we went up there last year and played very well in both games and came away with two losses. So, our returning players will look to get some revenge.”