Do-it-all Dan: sophomore willing to play any position for the soccer team

IU soccer plans to dominate Spartan resistance

Early strike sparks men's soccer to 2-0 win at Butler

This past weekend against unranked Michigan, the IU men’s soccer team was upset 1-0 after the lone Wolverine goal came less than two minutes into the match. But come Tuesday night, it was IU sophomore forward Daniel Kelly providing the early spark for the Hoosiers in their 2-0 win at Butler.Kelly scored his second goal of the season just 11 seconds after the opening whistle was blown, when a pass back to Butler junior goalkeeper Nick Hegeman was misplayed on the wet field. Kelly rushed in on the loose ball to put it in the back of the net and give his team a one-goal advantage.

Cyclists ride in Bucket 100 to raise money for Habitat for Humanity

The third annual Bucket 100 Bike Tour, sponsored by the IU and Purdue University Habitat for Humanity chapters, is an event where cyclists from both schools travel from Bloomington to West Lafayette in hopes of raising awareness and money for their local chapters.  

Rough atmosphere awaits IU men's soccer’s chance to rebound

After the team’s 2-1 loss to UC-Santa Barbara on Saturday night, IU men’s soccer coach Mike Freitag said his biggest concern was the “casualness” his team displayed on the field. The Hoosiers hope to show a more aggressive approach today when they travel to Evansville for an 8 p.m. showdown against the Purple Aces. This weekend’s loss dropped the Hoosiers to a No. 17 national ranking and 4-2-2 on the season. The Purple Aces are 6-2 and coming off their largest margin of victory this year, a 6-0 win over Centenary.

Men's soccer felled by Gauchos

With three losses in their past four games, the UC-Santa Barbara Gauchos were supposed to be the team struggling on both sides of the ball Saturday night. Think again. The Hoosiers (4-2-2), who hoped to build on a three-game winning streak, fell to the Gauchos 2-1 after a lackluster first half put them in an early deficit too wide to overcome.

A financial system in FREE FALL

The financial crisis that took place on Wall Street last week can be summed up in one word: chaos. Lehman Brothers, one of the top investment banks in America, filed the largest bankruptcy claim in U.S. history after going $613 billion in debt.  One of Lehman’s main rivals, Merrill Lynch, nearly suffered the same fate before being bought out by Bank of America.  And in the largest government bailout ever, insurer AIG was given an $85 billion loan from the Federal Reserve after plummeting share prices and credit downgrades caused investors to sell shares. Now, President Bush is requesting that U.S. lawmakers pass a $700 billion bailout plan to help financial institutions holding large amounts of bad mortgage debt. The turmoil leaves students with plenty of questions.

West Coast trip brings ‘lift’ for IU

With two decisive victories this past weekend in Los Angeles, the men’s soccer team for the first time this season will have momentum on its side. And with Big Ten play approaching, it could not have come at a better time.

Looking to rebound

Heading into his weekend matchups against No. 24 UCLA and San Diego, both in Los Angeles, sophomore midfielder Rich Balchan said he feels good about his team’s chances.“We are moving forward and are confident going into this weekend,” Balchan said. “I’m honestly not too worried about (UCLA). If we just play our game, we will be fine.” The No. 19 Hoosiers, 1-1-2, are hoping to rebound from a 4-0 loss this past weekend against Dartmouth in South Bend. The outcome was the largest margin of defeat in the program’s history.

IU ties, loses at Mike Berticelli Tournament

The IU men’s soccer team hoped to leave the Mike Berticelli Tournament in South Bend this weekend with continued confidence defensively and a solution to its lack of scoring. Neither happened. The Hoosiers lost 4-0 to Dartmouth on Sunday after tying No. 5 South Florida 0-0 Friday night.

Young Hoosiers set for next big test

Zips take home Classic crown; men's soccer wins, ties

Having won its two exhibition games by a combined score of 6-1, the IU men’s soccer team entered the Adidas/IU Credit Union Classic this past weekend with high expectations for its offense. But it was the defense, allowing only one total goal for the tournament, that enabled the No. 7 Hoosiers to start the regular season undefeated.

Delta Gamma becomes 4th sorority to win Women's Little 500 title

Sometimes, team strategy is more valuable than overall talent. Delta Gamma proved this Friday afternoon, as they out-smarted their opponents in the final five laps to win its first-ever Little 500 title.\n“It really is a dream come true,” senior Jessica Lander said. “My whole college career we have trained for this and we are finally able to do it our senior year. There is nothing more we could ask for.”\nThe team finished the 100 laps with an unofficial time of 1:12:20, beating second place Teter by two seconds. Delta Sigma Pi rounded out the top three with Kappa Alpha Theta and Kappa Delta in fourth and fifth.\nGoing into lap 96, Delta Gamma coach Ryan Knapp noticed both Teter and Kappa Alpha Theta preparing for a bike exchange to get their fastest sprinters onto the track. Rather than do the same, Knapp allowed junior Kristina Heath to continue for an extra lap in hopes of building a large lead for the team’s last rider, Lander. By the time Lander jumped on the bike the following lap, Delta Gamma’s lead was so far ahead that there was no chance for Teter, Delta Sigma Pi or Kappa Alpha Theta to catch up in time. \n“We got a good burnout from (Kristina) that gave our sprinter a gap on the rest of the field,” Knapp said. “She was able to go hard from the start and hold that gap. It is taking advantage of a situation when it comes up.”\nTeter senior Sarah Rieke said Delta Gamma’s lead in the final lap was too much to overcome in that span of time.\n“We knew that we could sit in for a sprint and have one of those good finishes again,” Rieke said. “But Delta Gamma got away and had too big of a lead. We couldn’t cut it much more than in half.”\nKappa Alpha Theta junior Brittany White said the race was very unpredictable in terms of who might come out of the final pack.\n“You blink and it’s gone,” White said. “One time you think you’re ahead, and then next thing you know you’re chasing with one lap to go.”\nWith its victory, Delta Gamma becomes just the fourth sorority – along with Kappa Kappa Gamma, Kappa Alpha Theta and Kappa Delta – to win the Little 500. \nHeath said with her team not favored to win going into the race, it gave extra motivation to prove something on the track.\n“I think we definitely were the underdog going in, but we made it work,” Heath said. “This has been a three-year investment, and for our seniors, I think it is great. Everyone in our house is so excited.” \nFor seniors Lander and Julianne Ellis, winning the race was the best way to end their collegiate careers.\n“This is definitely something that is really special for Jess and I, being seniors,” Ellis said. “We have put in so much time, work and energy the past three years, and to come out on top is perfect. We could not have had it scripted any other way.”

ATO returns to Little 500 glory after failing to qualify in 2007

Alpha Tau Omega just wanted to gain back the respect it once had as a top cycling team. After a fourth-place finish Saturday in the 58th annual Little 500, they might have gotten it.\n“Everyone really just counted us out and didn’t think that we were any kind of force to be reckoned with,” junior Steve Ziemba said. “We just wanted to surprise people when we came out.”\nIn 2006, behind the legs of IU racing legend Hans Arnesen, ATO took home the Little 500 crown.The riders had everything going for them at the time and wanted to continue their success the following season. But during last year’s qualifications, ATO was unable to correctly complete the necessary bike exchanges, and as a result, were not allowed to participate in the race.\n“We use it as motivation,” junior Robert Perez said. “It was rough last year when we were a really good team in contention but just had a bad day at qualifications. We just trained our ass off this year to come back.”\nATO coach Norm Houze said the disappointment from the previous year helped give the team something to work for. \n“Last year was totally frustrating, so there was a lot of pent-up emotion in these guys,” Houze said. “It’s been two years since these guys were last on the track for a race, so they were ready to go.”\nDespite starting in 26th position, ATO was able to get to the front of the pack early and was able to stay there for a majority of the race. At various times, they were leading all competitors. Until about lap 180, when the Cutters began to break free from the pack, ATO looked as if they were going to be there on the final stretch for a chance to win.\n“The last few laps were hell,” Perez said. “Team Major Taylor burned out and we tried to stay on their tail as much as we could, and I did. After that I just pulled as hard as I could, and as soon as I saw a half lap left, I just gave it everything I had.” \nSenior Alex Malone said he liked the fact that few people gave his team a chance to win before the race. \n“We were definitely like an underdog,” Malone said. “I don’t think people mentioned us anywhere in the top 15, but we knew we were one of the top teams. We knew we had what it takes to win as long as we could stay out of wrecks, which we were able to do.” \nThe team’s success Saturday was also surprising because of the amount of riders competing. While most other teams had four riders, ATO was limited to three because sophomore Derek Bailey had dislocated his shoulder two nights prior and was unable to race.\n“We had only three riders so we knew that we needed to have one of our guys ride practically half the race,” Houze said. “Alex Malone did about 90-100 laps. I think we only had 11 exchanges so it was just trying to do lots of laps in a set and see what we could do at the end.” \nHouze said the top finish Saturday will help the team in future years. \n“Of course we would have loved to win, but you have to give the Cutters credit,” he said. “We are perfectly happy with where we are at, and we will be back next year.”

Delta Gamma becomes 4th sorority to win Women's Little 500 title

Delta Gamma became the fourth sorority in race history to win the women's Little 500 on Friday afternoon.  SLIDESHOW:  Obama visits Little 500  SLIDESHOW:  Women's Little 500  VIDEO:  Women's Little 500

Two members of Men's Little 500 Championship team arrested

According to Monroe County Jail records, shortly after midnight Sunday morning Cutters rider Sasha Land and coach Jim Kirkham were arrested on misdemeanor battery charges.

Delta Gamma snags Little 500 title

Going into the final four laps of the Women’s Little 500, the pack was as close as ever with Kappa Alpha Theta, Delta Sigma Pi, Teter and Delta Gamma stride for stride. That is when Delta Gamma senior Jess Lander decided to take over and ensure her team its first Little 500 victory.\n“It really is a dream come true,” Lander said. “My whole college career we have trained for this and we are finally able to do it our senior year. There is nothing more we could ask for.”\nThe team finished the 100 laps with an unofficial time of 1:12:20, beating Teter by two tenths of a second. Delta Sigma Pi rounded out the top three with Kappa Alpha Theta and Kappa Delta in fourth and fifth.\nDelta Gamma became just the fourth sorority to ever win the race.\nSenior Julianne Ellis said that she is ecstatic to be able to leave the race as a champion.\n“This is definitely something that is really special for Jess and I being seniors,” Ellis said. “We have put in so much time, work and energy the past three years and to come out on top is perfect. We could not have had it scripted any other way.”\nKeep checking idsnews.com for updated Little 500 coverage.

Cutters Win Little 500

On a cold and rainy day, the Cutters pulled away late behind the legs of Sasha Land to win the 58th annual Little 500 race. The team--made up of Land, Paul Sigfusson, Erik Hamilton and Clayton Feldman-- started to speed away from the pack around lap 180 to earn the victory.

Start your pedals

The months of intense training are now over. All of the series events have been completed. For riders, today is finally the day. The 21st Women’s Little 500 is here.\nThe much-anticipated event will begin at 4 p.m. at Bill Armstrong Stadium with 32 teams competing for the crown. \nLast year, Kappa Delta won the race handily and became just the third sorority to take the title. Sophomore Jenna Cerone said riding as the defending champions will not add any extra pressure on this year’s team going into the race.\n“Since we are going to be wearing the yellow jersey, I feel like people will recognize us, but each year is different,” Cerone said. “Every team gets new riders and loses riders so I don’t really think that much extra pressure is on us. We put it on ourselves because we want to repeat.”\nBut while Kappa Delta is a strong contender again this year, the clear pre-race favorite to win is Teter. The veteran team was victorious at Team Pursuit and every member of Teter placed in the top 11 riders at Individual Time Trials. They hope to avenge last year’s second place finish. \n“We are four whole different riders from last year,” junior Jackie Moeller said. “We are going to be smarter, watch a lot of other teams and have fun. We want to be confident going into Friday knowing that we can do our best.”\nOther top teams to watch, based on Team Pursuit finishes, include Delta Gamma and Kappa Alpha Theta.\nDelta Gamma senior Julianne Ellis said to be successful, working well as a team is vital.\n“You need clean exchanges, avoid wrecks and a little bit of luck,” Ellis said. “A safe race is very important.”\nOne factor that could affect riders is the weather. Unlike last year, when race day was sunny and warm, reports call for strong wind and rain throughout Friday and Saturday. Poor weather conditions could increase the possibility of wrecks on the track.\n“The last two years, I have been in wreck situations, so you just have to go with what you got,” Kappa Alpha Theta senior Liz Pallotta said. “If you are chasing for a few laps, just do that and get back on. You kind of plan for the worst to happen and hope for the best.”\nDelta Zeta senior Amanda Marquet said the weather will not have a very significant impact on how teams ride in the race.\n“If it is pouring, it will be a little bit harder because the rain may make the track a bit faster,” Marquet said. “But we will not really be focused on the rain, we will be focused on the race and what is going on around us.”\nPallotta said the rain will not affect her team, and in the end, will help make the race more balanced.\n“I am going to love it ... it’s going to be great,” Pallotta said. “I think it will be a completely different race and even out the field a lot. It will be anyone’s game.” \nThousands of screaming fans will pack the bleachers to cheer their favorite teams and riders on to victory.\nCerone said she expects the environment of Little 500 race day to be like nothing she has ever participated in before. \n“All of my family is coming in and they haven’t experienced Little 500 at all,” she said. “It is nice to have people come out and support you. I’m very excited to show people what we have done.”

21st Women's Little 500

Today is finally the day...the 21st running of the Women's Little 500. Check in before, during and after the 4 p.m. race for updates and news on the bikers.