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Monday, March 18
The Indiana Daily Student

sports women's soccer

Hoosiers looking to bounce back, wrap up road trip

Then-junior forward Abby Allen dribbles the ball against Nebraska on Oct. 15, 2017, at Bill Armstrong Stadium. Allen and the Hoosiers lost to Nebraska and Iowa this weekend to fall to 2-2 in the conference. 

The IU women’s soccer team got a reality check after going winless in its two games this past weekend. 

After looking nearly flawless in its season-opening 3-0 win against Miami, IU drew with Georgia and lost to Clemson. 

This coming weekend, the team will wrap up their four-game road trip when they head out west to California. They’ll play Pepperdine University on Friday before squaring off against Loyola Marymount University on Sunday. 

After the Hoosiers gave up four goals to Clemson on Sunday, IU Coach Amy Berbary quickly prioritized defense as what the team needs to work on the most before its next contest.

“We made an emphasis on our team defending this week in practice,” Berbary said. “I think we’ve done a very good job with that. We’ve taken it to heart. I think you’ll see a big difference this weekend.”

Berbary also said she will push the team to be “harder and more physical” when challenging the ball. 

Through three games, the team has scored seven goals to its six goals allowed. Loyola Marymount has similar numbers to IU, as they have netted five goals and let up six. 

Pepperdine, 1-3-0, is struggling on offense as the team has allowed seven goals while scoring just one. 

Although IU has several adjustments to make, one bplayer for the Hoosiers continues to impress. 

Senior forward Abby Allen has been lightning in a bottle through three games. Scoring in each match, Allen is starting to get serious recognition from her teammates.

“She has been getting us going,” junior midfielder Chandra Davidson said. “She’s on a new level this year. It’s really helping us in the attack.”

At just over three points per game, Allen leads the Big Ten and is fourth in the nation in scoring per game. This success not only translates to more goals for IU, but also a balanced offense that will be able to produce more chances. 

With Allen stepping up, weight is taken off the shoulders of Davidson, who scored the second-most goals for the team last year. That being said, the junior has had more time to develop other parts of her game. 

“This year I’m definitely working more on final balls, slipping people through and attacking the net more,” Davidson said.

After this weekend, the team won’t be on the road until late September. 

Once IU is back from California, it’ll be set to play four straight games in Bloomington, including the Big Ten opener against Michigan on Thursday, Sept. 13.

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