Women's soccer returns from two-game roadtrip without a loss

The IU women’s soccer team stormed back from an early deficit to win 3-1 against Milwaukee on Friday but suffered its first setback of the season when Loyola forced a scoreless draw on Sunday to bring IU’s record to 3-0-1.

Milwaukee struck first Friday with a goal in the 17th minute that forced the Hoosiers to play catch-up for the first time all season.

The game was delayed because of weather, which IU Coach Amy Berbary said she believed affected her players.

“We started the game a little bit late,” Berbary said. “We sat around a little bit because of the rain delay and we started the game flat.”

The Hoosiers responded with a pair of goals from junior midfielder Bekah White from 35 feet and sophomore midfielder Kayleigh Steigerwalt from 43 feet to close out the first half.

Berbary said she was pleased with the way her team stepped up after trailing for the first time all season.

“We scored a goal to go up just before halftime and we never really looked back,” she said. “I was really pleased with the way they responded to the adversity.”

Senior goalie Shannon Flower said she saw a change in the way this year’s team was playing in the face of adversity.

“If this was our team last year, I think we would have put our heads down and kind of given up a little bit,” Flower said. “But this team is completely different. I don’t think I saw anybody put their heads down.

“It was like, ‘All right here we go, we’ve got to score two now.’It was really good to see that the goal didn’t really affect anybody, it was just, ‘All right next one, here we go.’”

Not only did they regain the lead, but senior midfielder Lisa Nouansengsy added a third goal in the second half off an assist from senior forward Rebecca Candler to extend the lead.

That goal added breathing room after IU was forced to play at an 11-to-10 disadvantage for the final 20 minutes when freshman midfielder Veronica Ellis was issued a red card.

Despite being down a player, Berbary saw her defense hold the Panthers from scoring again to preserve the 3-1 victory.

“They did a great job of adjusting to what we were trying to deal with,” Berbary said. “We did better with 10 on the field in that last 20 minutes than we had done with 11.”

Sunday against Loyola, the Hoosiers failed to keep their winning streak alive, but remained unbeaten by forcing a tie. The game went 110 minutes without either team scoring despite IU outshooting Loyola 20-8.

The Hoosiers had a number of near misses, including four shots that caromed off the crossbar. One of those came off the foot of junior midfielder Abby Smith, who had a shot ricochet off the crossbar in the second 92nd minute.

The near misses would become a recurring theme for the day.

Berbary was disappointed that IU could not come out with a win, but she was still pleased with the season’s start.

“It is a little disappointing after dominating the game and not coming out with a victory,” Berbary said. “But we really only allowed one goal in four games and that really just says a lot about our team.”

The Hoosiers will be heading home for their next six games. Flower said she thinks the team will be coming back with confidence after adding a win and a tie on the road.

“To not lose during the weekend is a definite confidence booster, especially for our road games in the Big Ten,” Flower said. “It is really hard to go on the road and win. We know that we will be able to rise to the occasion and get stuff done.”