Krawczak’s return boosts Hoosiers beyond box score

With conference play on the horizon, the IU women’s soccer team has little time left to ensure they are prepared for the rigors of a Big Ten season.

This weekend’s matches are the last two prior to Big Ten play. However, they are not different from other non-conference matches, senior defender Kerri Krawczak said.

“Every non-conference game, we’re getting ready for the Big Ten season,” Krawczak said. “The Big Ten season is physical, and every game is close. Xavier and Marquette are really good teams. I think it’s going to be really good preparation for the Big Ten season.”

Xavier has won three consecutive games entering Friday’s match, and Marquette is ranked at No. 12.

Meanwhile, IU Coach Mick Lyon said an eight-minute span prevented his team from having an opportunity to upset Notre Dame.

“Other than an eight-minute spell where we kind of crumbled a little bit under the pressure, and (Notre Dame forward Melissa Henderson) getting a hat trick, our defense has been very solid,” Lyon said.

While the return of Krawczak is visible in a box score, her experience and presence appears indirectly.

Her return from an ACL injury sustained in the spring will benefit the Hoosiers, as she is a four-year starter. She made her season debut Aug. 26 against the University of South Florida and made her first start Sept. 2 against Western Michigan.

Counting this weekend’s matches, she will have had six games to reacquaint herself before conference play commences. She said those games are vital.

“It’s really important to get my confidence back and just start playing again,” she said. “I just needed a few games to get back in it. It’s feeling really, really good. I’m ready.”

Lyon agreed, saying that Krawczak and junior defender Ciersten Burks having an opportunity to play together before conference play will help IU moving forward.

“The two center backs were Krawczak and Burks,” Lyon said. “That’s the first time they’ve played together this year. Kerri had been working herself into more and more playing time and showed on Friday that she was ready to start and play 90 minutes. Those two needed a little bit more communication between them.”

Lyon said he was encouraged by fast improvement in the two player’s chemistry against Notre Dame.

“Those two did a much better job in the second half,” Lyon said. “That tightened things up in the middle of the defense. That was a huge difference of why they weren’t able to penetrate down the middle.”

Offensively, sophomore forward Rebecca Candler said the team has improved greatly since its season-opening draw against Evansville.

“Between the first game and where we are now, we’ve made a huge leap,” Candler said. “We’re finding the chemistry. We’re playing with a new formation with one forward up top. We’re getting used to that.”