In her third year at the helm of the women’s soccer program, Berbary has been tasked with a daunting schedule, multiple season-ending injuries to starters and a young team that is still looking for a consistent identity.
The injuries to sophomore forwards Mykayla Brown and Nickie Zuckerman, as well as freshman forward Abby Allen, have trimmed IU’s depth, specifically in offensive substitutions.
The Hoosiers’ lack of depth up front has caused for extra emphasis on the remaining forwards that Berbary has been able to utilize. Freshmen Hanna Johnson, Cassidy Blacha and Maya Piper have been thrown into the fire, Berbary said.
Sophomore attacker Kayla Smith, IU’s second-leading scorer from a season ago, has had to work with senior forward Rachel Romero and junior forward Lauren Joray, as well as IU’s midfield, to provide some sort of offense.
“It’s been interesting,” Berbary said of this season. “People that are coming off the bench are playing more minutes than the starters. I’m trying to take a strategic approach to that so we can get the most minutes and maximize the players in their different positions. We’re putting people all over the place, but I think our kids are taking this as a major opportunity, and they’re doing a really good job of it.”
Smith was a bright spot in last year’s 7-11-1 campaign for the Hoosiers. As a freshman, the speedy 5-foot-1 forward started almost every game en route to collecting three goals and three assists.
“I just really try to find the ball and find my teammates,” Smith said. “I make sure that I don’t stop working because, honestly, I’m smaller and I know that if I give up, there’s no chance of me doing anything. I just do whatever I can and hope something comes from it.”
Though Smith has not been able to tally her first goal in 10 games this season, she’s done everything else in order to keep the offense afloat.
She collected her first assist late in the draw with Northwestern, finding a sliding Joray in the 79th minute to tie the game. In IU’s 1-1 draw with Ball State, Smith kept the scoring play alive twice in order for senior midfielder Jessie Bujouves to score off her rebound.
“Kayla can play six positions in one game,” Berbary said. “She’s such a little spark offensively and defensively. She’s going to do everything she can. We’re going to need a little bit more of that effort out of everyone on our team.”
It’s plays like Smith keeping the ball alive that Berbary said have allowed the Hoosiers to gain results despite being shorthanded. Due to conditioning that dates back to last spring and this past summer, Berbary said IU has been able to rely on its fitness to stay in games.
“The reason we’re not breaking down and are able to play with 15, 16 players is because of their hard work,” Berbary said. “They are doing all the right things off the field. They’re taking care of themselves by sleeping and eating right. That enables us to keep going this year.”
In the coming weeks, IU will face some of the strongest opposition that the nation has to offer, without three starters and four freshmen in the lineup.
Berbary said the challenge is accepted.
“My philosophy is that if you’re fit and can defend with 11 players, you have a chance to beat anyone,” she said. “I can truly say that we’re fit and we can defend. That’s why I think we have four draws. We’re getting better. It’s just going to take a little time with such a young team.”
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