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(10/04/06 3:17am)
When the team bus for the IU women's soccer team rolls into Evansville on Wednesday afternoon, the driver probably won't need a map to figure out where to go. At least four people on the bus will know the area fairly well.\nThe Hoosiers (7-2-3) will head to the alma mater of IU coach Mick Lyon, who was the head coach for the University of Evansville from 1993-2001, when they take on the Purple Aces tonight. IU assistant coach Ian Rickerby was an assistant coach under Lyon at Evansville from 1994-1999, and two Hoosier players, junior defender Jenna Babcock and sophomore forward Ashley Seib, are from Evansville.\n"I'm so excited," Babcock said about playing back in her hometown. "All my family will be there, and a bunch of my friends stayed in town to play, so I'm really pumped."\nIU is in the midst of a 10-game undefeated streak, the second longest in program history. It is 4-0 in the Big Ten following wins against Michigan State and Michigan on Friday and Sunday, respectively.\n"Every game is huge for this team right now," Lyon said. "That's what we said Friday, that it was the most important game of their lives as they pursue the Big Ten title. And we told them again that (last Sunday) became that next game of being the most important game that they will play. And we're going to approach it the same way on Wednesday."\nEven though Wednesday's game against Evansville is a nonconference game, the Hoosiers still feel it is a key game on their schedule.\n"We know it's really important game, a game that we have to win," senior forward Carrie DeFreece said. "We're looking to get into the NCAA Tournament, so we need to win the games we're supposed to win."\nFor the second week in a row, a Hoosier women's soccer player received national recognition. Babcock was named to the topdrawersoccer.com National Team of the Week, an honor that was given to senior midfielder Ali Brown the previous week. Babcock was also named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week after leading a defense that allowed only one goal in two conference games during the weekend. Babcock is the second Hoosier to be named a Big Ten Player of the Week this season after DeFreece, who was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 11. But Babcock isn't letting herself get distracted by personal recognition.\n"We're pretty hyped up about (being) 4-0 in the Big Ten," Babcock said. "But I've been reminding everyone that first of all, they're a tough team. They're going to come out hard 'cause this is their biggest game. And we need every win we can get for the bid to the NCAA (Tournament). You can't bank on winning the tournament; you need a solid record going in. So we need to take every game as seriously as a Big Ten game."\nLyon said he will always have respect for Evansville, a school that gave him a scholarship and an opportunity to come to the United States from England to play soccer. But for Wednesday night, he only has one thing on his mind.\n"It's going to be a very special occasion to play there," Lyon said about the game. "That won't distract from the fact that I'm going in to win the game"
(10/02/06 3:40am)
With the way September was going, the Hoosiers might not have wanted to see it come to an end. But so far, October isn't looking too bad for them either.\nThe IU women's soccer team defeated Michigan State 1-0 Friday night in East Lansing, Mich., to close out the first undefeated September in the program's history. IU followed that up with a 2-1 win Sunday in Ann Arbor, Mich., against Michigan to extend the team's unbeaten streak to 10 games. \nThe wins improved IU's overall record to 7-2-3, including a 4-0-0 record in Big Ten play.\n"After the (Michigan) game we were saying, 'Wow, this is so exciting. We're 4-0 in the Big Ten,'" senior forward Carrie DeFreece said. "It's building our confidence." \nIU's win against Michigan State came thanks to a goal in the 47th minute by DeFreece, who put a shot from the right side of the box into the left corner of the net to score her fourth goal of the season. The unassisted goal was the only scoring for either team as the Hoosiers earned their fifth shutout of the season.\nThe Hoosiers then traveled to Ann Arbor to take on the Wolverines. IU struck first in the 48th minute, when senior midfielder Ali Brown kicked a long pass to freshman forward Kristin Arnold, who put a high shot past Michigan goalkeeper Megan Tuura. The Wolverines tied it up in the 60th minute when Michigan's Katelin Spencer headed a corner kick into the net. But freshman forward Christie Kotynski came through with the game winner in the 75th minute when a shot by Arnold hit off the crossbar. The ball found its way to Kotynski, who headed it into the net for her third goal of the season.\nIU now has four wins in the Big Ten season, which is more than last season's Hoosiers, who finished with a 3-6-1 Big Ten record. \n"Somehow we would find a way to lose the game -- a bad mistake, a bad decision, an unlucky pass, all those kind of things," coach Mick Lyon said of the 2005 Hoosiers. "And then all of a sudden that happens for five or six games, and you lose confidence, and players don't play with bravado. They play intimidated."\nBut this year Lyon said he sees a change in the players' attitudes.\n"All of the sudden I got a busload of girls that are confident and excited," Lyon said. "They are confident in their own abilities, and it's really showing on the field."\nOne of the goals Lyon has had this year is to win all Big Ten home games. But he said the road conference wins are helpful as well.\n"If you can win all your home games and get a few points on the road, then you're going to be in fairly good shape," Lyon said. "Obviously being 4-0 and winning all the games at home and all the games on the road, I'll take that. That's a championship record.\nAll four wins during this year's Big Ten season have been by one goal, a difference from last season's IU squad, which dropped five of its six conference losses by only one goal.\n"Our forwards are doing a nice job of finishing their chances this year," junior defender Jenna Babcock said about the difference. "And the defense is a lot stronger I feel, so we're holding out a lot more goals than usual."\nIU looks to continue its unbeaten streak Wednesday when the Hoosiers travel to Evansville to take on the Purple Aces.
(09/25/06 4:14pm)
For freshman Kelly Lawrence, football was a way of life growing up.\n"I played football since I was 5 years old," Lawrence said. "As soon as I touched the ball, I knew this is what I wanted to do. I just kept on playing for the love of the game, and it's just gone from there."\nLawrence has followed her dream, and it has landed her halfway across the world in a country where football is a sport with a pigskin ball. What Lawrence knows as football, her new teammates know as soccer.\nLawrence left her home in England, where she played for the U-17 and U-19 national teams, as well as two top teams in the English Premier League. She landed in Bloomington, where she is a starting defender for the Hoosiers as a freshman.\n"You take a significant step in your life by making that kind of choice," said IU coach Mick Lyon, who, like Lawrence, left England to pursue a soccer career in the United States. "I made mine a little later at age 21, and she's made her's just as she's turned 18. I think she's more mature at 18 than I was."\nLawrence said she originally thought about coming to the United States to play at age 14, when she heard about the professional league here.\n"I started talking to coaches when I was 14," Lawrence said. "I was planning to come over here when I was 16 but decided I wasn't quite ready. I took two years away from home training every day, and when I got to 18, I realized this is the time to come over here."\nLawrence joins a starting defense that features another freshman, Jessica Boots, junior Jenna Babcock and senior Lauren Lamping. \nLamping said Lawrence has brought a lot of confidence to the Hoosiers' defensive core.\n"It's been great to have her on defense because she's so quick," Lamping said. "And one-on-one battles, it's great because I always know she's going to win them. So that's great for the confidence of the rest of the backfield, just knowing they can rely on her."\nThe Hoosiers are hoping Lawrence's experiences playing for the English national teams and the EPL teams will help them out when it comes to Big Ten play.\n"Already in games I feel like I'm starting to bring in a few things from my international experience," Lawrence said, "such as the time management -- when we need to keep the ball, when we need to lead the ball and not just kick it back to the players."\nLamping said the experiences Lawrence had should make her ready to face teams in the Big Ten, one of the elite conferences in the nation.\n"I think it's just brought a wealth of knowledge, to the back especially," Lamping said about Lawrence's experiences on the national team. "Just playing these tough opponents and ranked teams, especially going into Big Ten games with them, although she's a freshman, she's been in these high-pressure situations before."\nLawrence said she didn't know what to expect when she came to the United States to play, so nearly everything to her was a culture shock.\n"Every day is a new experience for me," Lawrence said. "I love learning about this culture and Indiana. I'm just enjoying every day."\nBut one of the things that Lawrence said has made the transition easier is knowing that Lyon, as well as IU assistant coach Ian Rickerby, both grew up in England and were able to make a soccer career for themselves in the United States.\n"It sort of helps knowing those people have been there, done the same sort of things you've done in the same country as you," Lawrence said about her two English coaches. "I sort of feel like because they're here, I feel a little bit more at home because they're from the same country. I can understand them so that helps."\nLyon joked that his biggest piece of advice to Lawrence about making the transition was to "get over here."\n"The two times I saw her play, I knew she was a heck of a player," the coach said.\nLyon said he did advise Lawrence about the many opportunities she would have playing in America.\n"But the biggest opportunity is coming over here and getting an education at Indiana University and playing Big Ten soccer and college soccer," he said.
(09/25/06 4:12pm)
Mick Lyon has a recipe for scoring goals.\n"You start with talent," the IU women's soccer coach says. "You've got to have talented players to score goals. There's no doubt about it. And then that talent has to be fit and motivated. And I think you put those three things together, and that's what we have this year that we didn't have last year."\nLyon hopes his three key ingredients, when mixed together, will produce more goals and more wins in Big Ten play than last season.\n"I think this year we have a lot more team chemistry, and we want to work more for each other and have a little more experience," said senior midfielder Carrie DeFreece. "I think we're going to push over and get it done."\nThe Hoosiers went 3-6-1 last season in Big Ten play, finishing sixth and earning a trip to Ann Arbor, Mich., to play in the Big Ten Tournament, where they lost to Michigan State 3-0. Five of IU's six Big Ten losses last year were by one goal, so getting more balls into the net will be key for the Hoosiers this season.\n"First of all, we need to not concede any goals," said senior defender Lauren Lamping. "And second step is finishing our chances. I think that's ultimately going to be the main improvement for our game in the next coming weeks is just scoring goals."\nLyon said he has seen some improvement from last year's team into this year's.\n"I think we had some talent last year, but I don't think we were motivated," Lyon said. "And I certainly don't think we were fit enough to go all the way. So when we dominate Minnesota for 65-70 minutes, and they come away with a 2-1 overtime win, that ain't good enough. That will be the difference this year I think; this is a group that's very fit, well-motivated and the skill level of the group is certainly better."\nIn the Big Ten, the Hoosiers will see some of the best teams in the nation, five of whom appeared in last season's NCAA Tournament. One of the teams, Penn State, was a No. 1-seed and advanced to the Final Four, before eventual champion University of Portland knocked it out in penalty kicks.\n"Every time you show up, you know you're going to have a cracking game," Lyon said about the competition. "That's why I came to this school to coach. That's (one of the reasons) why these players came to this University, because they want to play with and against the best players in this country. When you're playing schools with the names Ohio State and Michigan and Penn State, I mean how can you not get excited about that?"\nThis weekend the Hoosiers travel north to take on Michigan State on Friday and Michigan on Sunday. While Lyon says the Hoosiers need to take care of their home matches, he said that they can't leave road trips empty-handed.\n"Any time you go on the road, Michigan-Michigan State, Iowa-Illinois trip, you got to get a result somewhere," Lyon said. "Whether it's a couple of ties or a win and a loss ... get a result. Get some points."\nThe Hoosiers regular season closes Oct. 27, when the Hoosiers travel to West Lafayette to take on Purdue. \n"We can always finish up by going over to those people we hate down in Lafayette on 65 and tearing it up over there," Lyon said. "That would be the best part"
(09/25/06 4:22am)
Blow out those birthday candles, Hoosiers. You deserve them.\nSenior defender Lauren Lamping scored the lone goal for the IU women's soccer team Friday night -- \nher birthday -- to lead the Hoosiers to a 1-0 win against Minnesota. Senior midfielder Ali Brown followed suit Sunday -- the day after her birthday -- scoring two goals for the Hoosiers in a 2-1 victory against Ohio State.\n"It was really exciting," Lamping said about getting the game winner on her birthday. "Then Ali scored two the day after her birthday. We're hoping we have a few birthdays next weekend so we can get a few goals."\nThe games were the first of the Big Ten season for the Hoosiers, who were able to pick up the two home wins. IU coach Mick Lyon has said he hopes to win all of the Hoosiers' home Big Ten games and was happy with his team's effort this weekend.\n"It's no different than (IU football) coach (Terry Hoeppner) Hep saying 'hey, we got a rock, and we're going to protect it.' That's what we're doing; we want to win every game and protect Yeagley Field."\nIU started Friday night with a game against the Golden Gophers of Minnesota. Just three minutes after kickoff, lightning was spotted from Bill Armstrong Stadium, and the players were called off the field. The delay lasted nearly two hours until, finally, at 9:03 p.m. the game resumed.\n"I could tell even from just the first three or four minutes we played before the rain delay that we were on, and so I was hoping that would continue," Lyon said.\nFreshman defender Kelly Lawrence left the game for nearly 10 minutes because of a bloody nose. Not even a minute after returning, Lawrence was able to make a defensive play on the Gophers' Lindsey Schwartz, who was looking to take a shot on Hoosier goalkeeper Stacey Van Boxmeer.\nIU's defense was able to keep the Gophers from getting any solid shots on Van Boxmeer, and the game was scoreless at halftime. However, IU was able to break the tie in the 59th minute of the game off a Brown free kick pass to Lamping, who blasted the ball toward the net from 30 yards out.\n"I think just because of the wetness, (the ball) was spinning a little bit," Lamping said.\nFrom there the Hoosiers' defense was able to stop Minnesota's offense from getting a decent shot on net. With 10 seconds remaining, Boots kicked a possible Gopher attack out of bounds, securing a 1-0 win for the Hoosiers.\nIn the OSU game, IU was able to put pressure on the Buckeye goal, but early on the bounces seemed not to go its way. An apparent goal by freshman forward Kristin Arnold in the 15th minute was called offside. With 34 seconds left in the half, the Hoosiers finally caught their break.\nFollowing a foul called on the Buckeyes, Brown took the free kick and attempted to pass it to a Hoosier inside the goal box. The pass went too far and looked to be going to the right of the net, but a bounce on the ground caused the ball to change direction, and OSU goalkeeper Lauren Robertson was unable to make an adjustment for the bounce. The Hoosiers were up 1-0 going into the half.\n"I turned to run back on defense because I didn't think that it was going to go," Brown said. "I thought the goalie had it, then all of a sudden I heard the crowd roar."\nThe Buckeyes tied the game up just 27 seconds into the second half off of a goal by Lara Dickenmann. Once again Brown came through for the Hoosiers with less than 10 minutes remaining. On another free kick, Brown -- already with a goal and an assist for the weekend -- scored the game-winner when she lifted her shot above Robertson's arms into the top left corner of the net from 25 yards out, giving the Hoosiers a 2-1 win.\n"I mean that's Beckham-ish, that's how good that was," Lyon said. "They got a good keeper; that was Beckham-ish."\nIU -- now on an eight-game unbeaten streak -- continues Big Ten play next weekend when it travels to Michigan to play the Wolverines and Spartans.
(09/22/06 4:28am)
Two weeks ago, it was senior Carrie DeFreece netting all the goals for the IU women's soccer team.\nLast weekend, freshmen Christie Kotynski and Liz Holby scored both goals for the Hoosiers.\n"I think it's the weekend for juniors to step up and score some goals," IU head coach Mick Lyon said. "I'll be happy with that."\nThe Hoosiers (3-2-3) kick off their Big Ten season with a 7 p.m. game Friday against Minnesota (6-1-1) and a noon matchup Sunday against Ohio State (4-2-1). Both games will be at Bill Armstrong Stadium.\n"We can't wait. We've been waiting for this the whole season," Kotynski said about her first Big Ten experience. "It's been what we've been building up to. ... We're ready to play."\nLast season IU dropped games against both the Buckeyes and Golden Gophers. In the game against Minnesota, the Hoosiers lost 2-1 on a Gopher goal 9:22 into overtime. \nWhen the Gophers media guide came out this season, it featured a picture of the Gophers celebrating their win over IU.\n"We'll make sure everybody gets plenty of pictures of that right before the game," Lyon said. "We know -- as all the returning players know -- that we had that game in hand, and through just a little bit of fatigue, we gave it away."\nIn the game against Ohio State last season in Columbus, the Hoosiers were able to tie up the game twice after the Buckeyes went ahead 1-0 and 2-1. The game-winning goal came in the 81st minute by Buckeye midfielder Lara Dickenmann, "one of the best players in the country," Lyon said.\nDickenmann's goal put Ohio State up 3-2, the final score.\n"We had a lot of those close losses last year, and it was just so many what could have been, what should have been (moments), and I think this year we just are committed to giving that extra effort in the game," senior midfielder Ali Brown said . "A lot of those game were decided off of a set piece where we didn't follow our mark in or some silly little mistake we made, so we've been committed to really doing the little things right this year and not settling for ties or losses."\nLyon said that the key in the Ohio State game will be to contain Dickenmann -- now a junior -- who in addition to scoring the game winning goal recorded the first assist for the Buckeyes in last year's matchup.\n"She's a super player to play against because she's so creative," Lyon said. "We may adjust our lineup personnel-wise a little bit to adjust for her because she's such a difficult player coming out of midfield."\nEven though this is the first weekend of conference play for the Hoosiers, IU shared some common non-conference opponents with the Buckeyes and the Gophers. Ohio State beat the University of California 1-0, a team IU lost to 1-0 in its season opener. Minnesota lost to Creighton 2-1 in an exhibition match, the identical score Creighton beat IU by in the Wisconsin Tournament Aug. 27.\n"I try not to really compare too much against common opponents," Lyon said. "You look for one or two things. Maybe I just keep that in the back of my mind."\nIU brings a six-game unbeaten streak into the weekend, the second longest in the history of the program behind a 14-game winning streak which spanned the 1993 and 1994 seasons.
(09/18/06 3:32am)
Youth came up big for the Hoosiers this weekend.\nFreshmen accounted for two goals and an assist for the IU women's soccer team in a pair of 1-1 ties against teams from North Carolina over the weekend.\n"You're always disappointed with a tie," IU coach Mick Lyon said about his team's performance, "because in most instances there's going to be parts of the game where you felt like you should have won it. Sometimes though, within that time, there are moments where you could have lost it all. So I'm mostly disappointed because both games I never felt we were going to lose either game. It was always a case of any moment now we're going to score and be able to take home a win."\nThe Hoosiers began the weekend Friday playing at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. IU brought in a three-game shutout streak, but that was snapped with 20 seconds to go in the second half by a goal from 49ers Rachel Mees off a Charlotte corner kick. Mees' goal was the first goal allowed by the Hoosiers in 409 minutes and 57 seconds, the second longest in the history of the IU program.\nThe Hoosiers responded to Mees' goal with some late-half heroics of their own in the second half. With less than three minutes to go in regulation and the score still 1-0, freshman defender Kelly Lawrence placed a free kick in the right place for freshman midfielder Christie Kotynski, who headed the ball into the back of the net to tie the game at one. The goal was Kotynski's second of the season. \nIn Sunday's game against UNC at Greensboro, the Hoosiers were once again able to score a late-period goal when freshman forward Liz Holby scored with six seconds left in the first half off an assist by senior forward Megan Pipkens.\n"The game is 90 minutes long for a purpose," Lyon said about his team's late-period goals. "You got to play all 90 minutes. We get the goal with a few seconds left in the first period ... We haven't given up many goals close to the end of periods, but for us to score a few as we push and search for goals is pretty good."\nHolby's goal, the first of her Hoosier career, gave IU a 1-0 lead going into halftime. It was the second goal and third point of the weekend by an IU freshman.\n"There's some freshmen playing well amongst the upperclassmen," Lyon said. "I think easily four or five of them at the same time, so there's always going to be a chance that a freshman gets a point."\nIU was able to keep the lead until the 67th minute of the game when the Spartans' Karla Davis put the ball past IU junior goalkeeper Stacey Van Boxmeer to tie the game at 1-1, which held for the rest of the game.\nIU (3-2-3) is now undefeated in their last six games, the second longest streak in program history and the longest since the 1993-94 season when they went 14 games without a loss. The Hoosiers outshot both the 49ers and the Spartans, something they have done against each of the eight opponents they have faced this season. Against Charlotte, the Hoosiers had an 18-8 advantage in shots, including a 10-0 advantage in the second half. In the Greensboro game, IU had 17 shots, compared to the Spartans' 11. Van Boxmeer made eight saves in the two games.\nThe Hoosiers kick off their Big Ten season next week when they return to Bill Armstrong Stadium to take on Minnesota and Ohio State.
(09/15/06 3:40am)
Offense wins games, and defense wins championships, according to an old coaching cliche.\nThis saying applied to the IU women's soccer team last weekend when it won two games on three goals by senior forward Carrie DeFreece and its defense shut out Northern Arizona University and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to earn IU the Old National Bank Hoosier Classic Championship.\nThe Hoosiers (3-2-1) hope to improve on their three-game winning streak this weekend as they travel to North Carolina to take on the University of North Carolina-Charlotte Friday and UNC-Greensboro Sunday. The Carolina matches will be their last two matches before conference play begins.\n"I think we're excited about the wins we've had in a row and looking forward to getting a couple more this weekend," DeFreece said.\nIn the games against Northern Arizona and Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the offense and defense worked together well, as the defense got involved with the offense. Two of DeFreece's goals over the weekend were assisted by IU defenders, junior Jenna Babcock and senior Lauren Lamping.\n"We've got to get those defenders into the offense to help support so we can get second balls so when they clear it, we're going to win the ball back," IU coach Mick Lyon said about the relationship between the offense and the defense. "And that's, most of the time, a Lamping or a (freshman Jessica) Boots coming forward."\nAll four defensive starters were honored with All-Tournament spots at the Hoosier Classic, and the offensive and defensive MVP went to IU players DeFreece and junior goaltender Stacey Van Boxmeer respectively. In addition to offensive MVP, the Big Ten named DeFreece offensive player of the week earlier this week.\n"I wasn't expecting to get that," DeFreece said, "but I'm very honored."\nThe two shutouts from the Hoosier Classic, along with a shutout against Texas Tech University the previous weekend, have given IU three straight shutouts. It has been 360 minutes and 17 seconds since the Hoosiers allowed their last goal, which was against Baylor University Sept. 1, the third longest shutout streak in the history of the IU women's soccer program. \n"I think we're pretty confident, although we're not getting over-confident by any means," Lamping said. "It's just two games, so we have a long season to go."\nShould the Hoosiers go six minutes and 22 seconds without allowing a goal in the game against Charlotte, they would pass the 2003 Hoosier team for the second-longest streak. Nabbing that record would require quite a bit more. In October 1993, IU went an amazing 808 minutes and 34 seconds without allowing a goal. The current Hoosier team would have to shut out its next five opponents to reach that mark.\nTo have success on the weekend, Lyon said the Hoosiers will need their defense to step up like it has the last three games. The Charlotte 49ers (3-2-1) feature sisters Hailey Beam and Lindsey Beam Ozimek, who together have four of the nine 49ers goals this season.\n"Charlotte's bubbling with a new coach," Lyon said. "John Lypsitz's a nice, good coach. They got a couple of really nice players and have had up and down results. ... They've certainly got some talented players. The Beam sisters are both talented players, but I think we will match up well with them because they have quite a lot of youth on that team."\nGreensboro brings a 1-6 record into the weekend, but three of those losses have come on the road to ranked opponents -- UNC-Chapel Hill, University of Tennessee and Wake Forest University. Lyon said the key to IU's success for this game lies in stopping forward/midfielder Carolin Feierabend.\n"If we shut her down," Lyon said, "and the things that she does well -- which is she's got a great left foot and she's good in the air -- we shut those down and we should have a good day"
(09/11/06 3:31am)
With parents in attendance, Carrie DeFreece showed why she is a team leader.\nThe weekend of Parents' Day at Bill Armstrong Stadium, the senior midfielder/forward and co-captain from Olathe, Kan., scored all three goals for the IU women's soccer team as the Hoosiers defeated Northern Arizona University 1-0 and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee 2-0 to win the Old National Bank Hoosier Classic Championship.\n"They're an awesome set of parents, and my little brother, Sam," DeFreece said. "They've made it to every game so far, and I think they're going to get to them every weekend, but it means a lot for them to be here with me and just watch what they've contributed to."\nIU began the tournament Friday night against the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks, a team coached by former IU men's goaltender Andre Luciano. The game was scoreless going into halftime, but the momentum was clearly in the Hoosiers' favor as they out-shot the Lumberjacks 10-2.\nDeFreece broke the tie around three minutes into the second half when she blasted a shot from the right corner of the box into the top left corner of the net above Lumberjacks goaltender Elizabeth Winkelblec for an unassisted goal, her first of the season. The goal proved to be all the Hoosiers needed for the victory as the IU defense shut down the Lumberjacks' attack, allowing only one more shot in the second half.\nDeFreece proved to be the star once again Sunday against the Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers when junior defender Jenna Babcock found an open DeFreece making a run for the net, giving the senior a one-on-one opportunity against Panthers goaltender Erin Kane. After Kane misjudged the dive, DeFreece easily put the ball in the net for a goal in the 13th minute.\nJust past 10 minutes after her second goal of the weekend, DeFreece found herself in the right position once again. A shot by senior defender Lauren Lamping hit off the top cross bar right into the path of DeFreece, who once again had a one-on-one chance against Kane. Just like the first round, DeFreece got the goal.\n"It definitely was a case of being at the right spot at the right time," said DeFreece, who was named the offensive MVP of the tournament. "Jenna (Babcock) and I made eye contact before the first goal, and I knew she was going to play it there, and she played a great ball. Then Lamping's shot was good, and I've just always been taught to follow it up, so that's what I did."\nIU coach Mick Lyon said he was pleased to see a successful weekend for DeFreece, who he said is the type of person for whom you want good things to happen.\n"She is always recognized by her teammates, other teams and spectators as one of the hardest-working players on the field," Lyon said. "For that hundred pounds of body she's got, she packs a punch."\nOnce again the Hoosier defense was able to shut down the Panthers' offensive attack, and junior goaltender Stacey Van Boxmeer made some key saves to secure IU's second shutout of the weekend and third shutout in a row. \nAll four defensive starters -- Babcock, Lamping and freshmen Kelly Lawrence and Jessica Boots -- were named to the all-tournament team.\n"It's surprising," Boots said about all four defenders being honored. "But we've been working hard at it. In practice coach has been really harping on us, so we finally got it together."\nIn addition to the four defenders, Van Boxmeer earned the title of defensive MVP of the tournament.\n"...As all the famous coaches will tell you, you win championships based on defense," Lyon said. "I mean our defense this weekend was spectacular -- that's why you get five of them getting awards. They're a tremendous unit, they were well balanced, they were tough in their tackling."\nSunday's game was Parents' Day for the Hoosiers, so many of the IU players' parents were honored during a halftime ceremony.\n"It's a neat organization as far as the parents' organization of this team," Lyon said. "I think that organization is coming on as strong as the team. They are a well-oiled machine in their tailgating, their organization, attending games, basically just putting themselves out there saying to the coaches when we travel, 'Hey, we're there for anything extra that you need; we're there to support the team.'"\nThe Hoosiers play again Friday and Saturday when they travel to North Carolina to take on the University of North Carolina-Charlotte and the University of Northa Carolina-Greensboro.
(09/08/06 4:18am)
Familiar faces will be in Bloomington this weekend.\nThe IU women's soccer team will take on two teams at Bill Armstrong Stadium in this weekend's Old National Bank Hoosier Classic -- one that IU coach Mick Lyon is well acquainted with, the other whose coach knows IU very well.\nThe Hoosiers (1-2-1) kick off their weekend at 7:30 p.m. Friday against Northern Arizona University in a game that will be a homecoming for Lumberjacks coach Andre Luciano. Luciano was a goalkeeper for IUmen's soccer team during its 1991 and 1992 Big Ten Championship seasons. He also helped lead Jerry Yeagley's 1991 team to the NCAA Final Four, the same year Luciano was named Big Ten Goaltender of the Year.\n"Anytime anyone graduates from here, they want to bring their team here and show what they can do outside of IU," said junior goalkeeper Stacey Van Boxmeer. "They want to come back to IU and be like, 'This is my field.' But we have to go out there that night and say, 'No, it's ours.'"\nLyon is hoping his team can do more than just rain on Luciano's homecoming.\n"We want to put his bonfire out, that's for sure," the IU coach said. "I know Andre. He's a good friend of mine, and he's excited to be bringing his team to Bloomington, his alma mater. He will definitely have his team pumped up. There won't be any doubt about it."\nThe Hoosiers finish up their weekend Sunday at 1:30 p.m. when they face the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. There is not as strong of a connection between the two programs as the NAU game, but Lyon has had experience coaching against the Panthers. From 1993 to 2001 Lyon was the coach at the University of Evansville, which plays in the Missouri Valley Conference along with UWM. Lyon holds a 2-3-0 record against the Panthers.\nThe Panthers are the third team that made the 2005 NCAA tournament that IU will face this year.\n"It's great," Lyon said about playing tough teams in the non-conference schedule. "You got to test the team against good teams. There's no point in playing every bad mid-major team in the country. You don't get anything from that."\nThe Hoosiers are hoping that playing quality teams early on will help them for when they enter the Big Ten season, one of the premiere conferences in the nation.\n"The better the teams are before the Big Ten, the more practice and the more competition we get in, so it's not such a difference when we get to the Big Ten," said junior defender Jenna Babcock.\nIU is coming off its best performance of the season, a 4-0 win against Texas Tech University. Not only did the Hoosiers catch an offensive spark in that game, but their defense was able to contain the Red Raiders and Van Boxmeer earned her first shutout of the season.\n"The back four are playing great together," said Van Boxmeer, who made four saves in the game. "No matter who's stepping in, no matter what combination, they're playing with confidence. They're playing with the ability to play forward and get the ball in the air. They're making my job a lot easier"
(09/04/06 4:21am)
As members of the IU women's soccer team huddled together after their game Saturday, fireworks from nearby Memorial Stadium shot up in the air above them.\nMost of the 209 people at Bill Armstrong Stadium that night would have thought the fireworks were to celebrate a win for the IU football team. IU women's soccer coach Mick Lyon was not one of them.\n"Those fireworks are for you," Lyon told his team.\nAnd they might as well have been. In just 90 minutes of play, the Hoosiers tripled their goal count on the season with a 4-0 win against Texas Tech University.\n"It makes you very happy," Lyon said of the team's performance, "because those are the things we're working very hard at in training and that's what we've been talking about for the last week."\nThe win against the Red Raiders, coupled with a 1-1 tie against Baylor University Friday night in Indianapolis, gave the Hoosiers a 1-0-1 record in the Big Ten-Big 12 Challenge over the weekend and improved their overall record to 1-2-1.\n"We really didn't change anything with personnel or the team shape," Lyon said about adjustments between the Baylor and Texas Tech games. "The only thing we addressed, the same thing we addressed in Wisconsin, (was) converting chances into goals. That's all we've been focused on all week."\nThe payoff for the Hoosiers started nearly 13 minutes into the first half when a cross by senior forward Carrie DeFreece bounced off a Texas Tech defender right into the feet of junior midfielder Lindsay McCarthy, who shot the ball into an open net.\n"Even when you have all the pressure and a couple of chances, you got to get that first one because it makes everyone relaxed," Lyon said. "So super for (McCarthy), and actually she's had a fantastic weekend."\nFrom that point on, the Hoosiers seemingly scored at will. Toward the end of the 23rd minute of the game -- following a Texas Tech foul -- senior defender Lauren Lamping lined up to take a penalty shot 30 yards from the goal. Lamping lifted the shot over Red Raiders goaltender Tina Rincon into the top left corner of the net, giving the Hoosiers a 2-0 lead.\n"A lot of it was luck," Lamping said. "I saw the far post was open so I kind of aimed for that, and it went in."\nThe Hoosiers onslaught continued in the 35th minute of the game when junior forward Kristin Radcliffe scored her second goal of the season off an assist by senior forward Megan Pipkens to give IU a 3-0 lead going into halftime. Halftime did not slow the Hoosiers down as junior midfielder and Bloomington native Katy Stewart headed a corner kick by Lamping off the top crossbar and into the net for the final goal of the game.\n"This was our first win," McCarthy said. "So it was good for the season to keep our head up, to go in next weekend and know that we won 4-0 and had different people scoring and different people assisting."\nFrom there the Hoosiers rode on the back of junior goalkeeper Stacey Van Boxmeer, who had four saves in the game to secure her first shutout of the season.\n"That was the focus at halftime," Lyon said. "I told them Stacey Van Boxmeer deserves a shutout because she's played three great games of soccer. ... She's made multiple saves and they still put it in, so I told them, 'She deserves a shutout, and you need to work extra hard for her,' and they did."\nThe Hoosiers return to play at 7:30 p.m. Friday when they host Northern Arizona University at the Hoosier Classic in Bloomington.
(09/01/06 4:02am)
Thirty-eight shots. One goal.\nThat was the story last weekend for the IU women's soccer team, which dropped two matches in the Wisconsin Tournament against the University of California and Creighton University. In preparation for this weekend's games against two Big 12 opponents, the Hoosiers are trying to focus more on the positive aspect of those 38 attempted shots.\n"This week it's been kind of optimistic," senior midfielder Ali Brown said about practice, "because we've had some really good play in the tournament this past weekend, and we know what we're capable of. So we're kind of just ready to go out and prove that we can score goals."\nThe Hoosiers (0-2) will get that chance twice this weekend with a game Friday against Baylor at Lawrence Park in Indianapolis and again Saturday night against Texas Tech at Bill Armstrong Stadium. Both games will be at 7 p.m. and are part of the Big Ten-Big 12 Challenge.\n"It's still pretty early in the season," said junior midfielder Beverly Markwort. "So we're not really frustrated. We know what we're capable of. I think practice has been pretty intense because we're right there. We're about to score a lot of goals."\nIU coach Mick Lyon said his players' attitudes this week were top-notch. He said he feels that to score more goals, the team needs to be more focused in the game and not accept shots that go over the crossbar.\n"We've cut out things like saying, 'Hey, nice effort.' It's not," Lyon said. "The only good effort is one that hits the frame, that's got a chance of going in."\nBrown said that much of the key of turning the shots into goals lies in the players' confidence.\n"I know, myself included, I get the ball, and I just kind of forgot what I've been doing the past 10 years of my life," Brown said. "We don't think twice when we score goals in practice -- same way in the game. We got to just take the initiative and put it on frame and just put it away."\nLyon said he felt the Hoosiers had plenty of opportunities to score more goals during the weekend. He cited shots by Brown, senior midfielder Carrie DeFreece, junior forward Lindsay McCarthy and senior forward Megan Pipkens, as well as a shot by freshman forward Kristin Arnold that went off the crossbar. \n"It's tough," Lyon said. "The game can be unlucky. But we had those chances, so we're going to take those kinds of opportunities and turn them into goals."\nIn addition to working on converting more opportunities into goals, the coach also said the Hoosiers are working on making adjustments to a defense that saw two different styles of offensive play last weekend.\n"We're just really working to solidify our unit at the back," Lyon said about the IU defense, which currently has six players in its rotation. "I think if we get that solid, with the goalkeeper (junior Stacey) Van Boxmeer behind that's spectacular right now, then we're going to be solid. If you got a solid defense, you got a chance of winning games"
(08/28/06 3:33am)
The Hoosiers outshot their opponents 38-19 over the weekend. The problem was that only one of those shots found the back of the net. \nThis led to two losses against teams coming off NCAA Tournament appearances last season. The IU women's soccer team lost 1-0 against No. 10 University of California on Friday and fell to Creighton University 2-1 Sunday. The games were part of the Wisconsin Tournament held in Madison, Wis.\n"Soccer can be a cruel sport," IU coach Mick Lyon said. "You can dominate ... but if you don't put it in the back of the net, you don't get the win."\nThe Hoosiers began the season Friday night against the 10th-ranked Golden Bears. California scored the game's lone goal in the 40th minute -- which came after a flurry of shots launched at IU junior goalkeeper Stacey Van Boxmeer. She deflected the first shot for one of her three saves of the game, but after the Golden Bears took two more shots that were blocked by Hoosier defenders, California forward Valerie Barnes put the third rebound into the IU net.\nThe opening game saw the Hoosiers start three freshmen, defenders Jessica Boots and Taylor Fallon, as well as midfielder Christie Kotynski. Fallon led IU with three of the Hoosiers' 11 shots. Two other freshmen, forward Liz Holby and midfielder/forward Kristin Arnold also appeared in the game for the Hoosiers.\nIn Sunday's match against defending Missouri Valley Conference champion Creighton, the Hoosiers got 27 shots off, with Arnold leading the way with five shots. The team's goal came from junior forward Kristin Radcliffe in the 72nd minute, when she headed a cross from senior defender Lauren Lamping following a corner kick. Radcliffe's goal cut the Creighton lead to 2-1 following Bluejay goals in the 22nd and 53rd minute.\n"Even in the loss to Cal, we had them under pressure the second half," Lyon said. "... And obviously the stats show we took the game to Creighton."\nLyon said he was pleased with the way his team played against two great teams, despite the losses.\n"I'm disappointed not to get a point on the weekend," the coach said. "But I'm very happy with how we handled ourselves playing against a top 10 team and another team that's been in the NCAA Tournament the last three out of four years."\nThe Hoosiers continue their season this weekend against two teams from the Big 12 in the Big Ten-Big 12 Challenge. Friday night IU travels to Lawrence Park in Indianapolis to take on Baylor before returning to Bloomington Saturday night to take on Texas Tech for its first game of the season at Bill Armstrong Stadium.
(08/25/06 4:16am)
The IU women's soccer team hopes to carry the momentum from its 4-0 exhibition win against Indiana State University into its first regular season games this weekend in Madison, Wis., against two teams who made the NCAA Tournament last season.\nThe Hoosiers open their 2006 campaign Friday against the University of California in the Wisconsin Tournament. The Golden Bears, ranked 10th in the preseason poll, advanced to the third round of the NCAAs last season. The Hoosiers will follow up that game with another one Sunday afternoon against Creighton University, which lost in the first round of last season's NCAA Tournament.\n"We'll just take it as a stepping stone," IU coach Mick Lyon said about this weekend's games. "Nonconference games are about preparing yourself for the conference season. I'd like to win 10 conference games, and if we get a few losses leading up to that, I'm happy with that."\nLast season the Hoosiers finished 7-10-2 (3-7-1 Big Ten) and lost 3-0 to Michigan State in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament in Ann Arbor, Mich.\nLyon said in the offseason the team felt "disappointment at not producing better results last year. I think for the players it was a case of readjustment and reassigning themselves to a commitment to be a better Big Ten athlete, a better IU soccer player and a winner."\nThe 2006 version of the Hoosiers is a mix of experienced players and new faces. The women's soccer team has seven returning starters and nine incoming freshmen, many of whom might see some significant time on the field this season.\n"We're young and we're still learning, so it's going to take some time," said senior forward Megan Pipkens. "But this has been by far the best preseason we've ever had in my four years here. The freshmen have brought a lot of talent to the team with speed and strength. We got three girls that are almost six feet, so we got some headers."\nSenior midfielder Carrie DeFreece, one of the team's captains, said the freshmen have done a good job mixing in with the chemistry of the team.\n"We needed some specific players to fill some specific roles, and I think our freshmen have come in and done that," DeFreece said. "I think Christie Kotynski in the middle has helped our game in the air, and then in the back we've had some more speed and confidence, so that's good for us."\nLyon says much of the Hoosiers' success this season will depend on the upperclassmen getting the team to produce results, which he said he feels they have been close to accomplishing the last couple years.\n"There's definitely talent in that senior group," the coach said. "(Midfielder) Ali Brown is an extremely fit, talented player. But we don't always see that in games, so that's the challenge to her. Megan Pipkens is the fastest, strongest girl I've ever seen but has to turn those strengths into goals for her as a forward. Those are the kind of things we've been pushing for as individuals. If they can be focused and turn outstanding personal traits into team goals and wins, we're going to be great"
(03/20/06 5:34am)
As the last match of Joe Dubuque's collegiate wresting career came to a close, the IU senior flexed his arms as he walked around the mat and then raised two fingers in the air, presumedly to signify his back-to-back national championships.\nDubuque defeated Troy Nickerson of Cornell 8-3 at the NCAA Championships in Oklahoma City on Saturday to capture the 125-pound title once again. Dubuque is the second Hoosier wrestler in the program's history to win two national titles, but the first to do it in consecutive seasons. Charlie McDaniel captured titles for IU in 1935 and 1938.\n"I was a little conservative last year, just trying to get my first title and trying not to make any mistakes," Dubuque said. "This final I was just going out there to really try to open it up, and try to have some fun out there."\nIn addition to Dubuque's national title, sophomore Brandon Becker also earned his second All-American award. Becker, who finished fifth at last year's NCAAs, defeated Wisconsin's Craig Henning 9-6 after falling to No. 1 seed Trent Paulson of Iowa State in the consolation to finish in seventh place at 157 pounds.\nWith Dubuque and Becker leading the way, the five Hoosier grapplers in the tournament went a combined 13-8 on their way to 35 team points, good for an 18th place tie with Michigan State.\nIn the semifinals, Dubuque faced Oklahoma State's Sam Hazewinkel in a rematch of last season's finals -- a 2-1 Dubuque win. The first period was scoreless as both wrestlers were able to counter attacks from the other. Hazewinkel won the toss and chose to start the second period on bottom in an attempt to score an escape point. But he was unable to do so as Dubuque kept him down the entire period to earn the full two minutes of riding time. In the third period, Dubuque took only 33 seconds to escape from Hazewinkel to go on top 1-0. \nHe had the bonus point for riding time locked up and was trying to avoid a takedown which would have forced the match into overtime. Dubuque was backing up toward the end of the period and was called for stalling -- his second of the match -- giving Hazewinkel one point. But with the riding time, Dubuque was still able to walk away with a 2-1 victory.\n"We came out of a scoreless first period," Dubuque said. "Coach really emphasized keeping him down in the second period. That really worked well, just trying to keep him down and just trying ride him really hard, and I wound up keeping him down the whole time."\nThe finals pitted Dubuque, the fifth-year senior, against Nickerson, a true freshman. Dubuque's win against Nickerson was a bit more dominant than his one over Hazewinkel. \n"I really wasn't nervous at all going into my final match," Dubuque said. "I've been there, I was there last year and I wrestled a true freshman who's never wrestled on this sort of scene before. And he's probably going to be nervous and a little bit tense."\nDubuque was able to score the first points of the match, taking down Nickerson, and then staying ahead for the rest of the match. A late takedown and a bonus point for riding time sealed the deal and once again Dubuque ended the season on top.\n"He's been in such a loaded weight class his whole life, and he's always been the underdog, always been overlooked, and yet he comes away with title after title," IU coach Duane Goldman said in a statement about the graduating Dubuque. "With the quality of wrestlers, it's probably the toughest weight class at the national championship and (the toughest to) walk away with two national titles. He has to be categorized as one of the best of all time"
(03/06/06 5:58am)
With 43.5 points, the IU wrestling team finished in 10th place in the Big Ten Championships this weekend at Assembly Hall. \nFive Hoosiers, senior Joe Dubuque, freshman Andrae Hernandez, and sophomores Brandon Becker, Max Dean and Dave Herman earned spots at the NCAA Championships March 16-18 in Oklahoma City.\nThe Hoosiers started out slowly in the tournament and compiled a 7-17 record with every wrestler eliminated from the championship bracket by the end of the second session Saturday.\n"We had guys that were unseeded that lost to higher seeds," IU coach Duane Goldman said about the first day of the tournament. "It wasn't anything that went wrong... it's tough to win those."\nOne of the biggest losses for the Hoosiers in the first day was for senior Brady Richardson, the Hoosiers' captain. Richardson, the No. 12-ranked wrestler in the 197-pound weight class, was a two-time NCAA qualifier hoping to make it to the tournament for a third time. In his first match, Richardson fell to Nathan Moore of Purdue 7-1, before being pinned by Dan Erekson of Iowa in the wrestleback bracket -- the consolation competition -- failing to secure a seventh-place finish that would have qualified him for NCAAs. Goldman said that Richardson had been slowed by injuries in the last week.\n"We hoped to get him through the tournament, but it just wasn't meant to be," Goldman said. "That's unfortunate for him because he's a great wrestler, a great representative for the school, but for him not to be able to train and work out, it's difficult."\nEven Dubuque, the No. 1 \nwrestler in the nation, had his 28-match winning streak snapped on the first day, falling Saturday to Illinois' Kyle Ott 5-4 in overtime. The winning point for Ott came in the tiebreaker period when Dubuque was penalized one point for a false start.\nBut Dubuque responded well to the loss, as did the five IU wrestlers still alive after the first day of the tournament. \nIn the wrestleback bracket, Dubuque faced Collin Cudd of Wisconsin, whom Dubuque had beaten in the opening round of the tournament 10-4. Dubuque came away on the winning end of the rematch as well this time with a 12-1 major decision. \nHe faced Northwestern's John Velez in the third-place match. The two wrestlers exchanged an escape point, but Dubuque was able to keep Valez down longer and score a bonus point with 1:04 riding time to win 2-1.\nBecker also came away with a third-place finish after losing his first match to Joe Johnston of Iowa 4-2 in the quarterfinals. Becker rolled through the wrestleback bracket, posting a 17-2 technical fall and 7-1 and 5-4 decisions before defeating Steve Luke of Michigan 6-0 in the third-place match.\nMuch like Becker, Dean qualified for NCAAs after loosing his first-round match. Dean fell to top-seeded and top-ranked wrestler Ryan Churella of Michigan in an 11-3 major decision for Churella. \n"I went out there with the attitude that I'm going to give it all I got, leave it all on the mat and hope for the best," Dean said. "He's just a really talented wrestler he's a senior; he's pretty tough."\nAfter posting a couple of wins in the wrestleback, Dean fell again with a 3-2 loss to Mike Poeta of Illinois in his first match Sunday. But he bounced back and beat Purdue's Dan Bedoy in the fifth-place match.\n"Win or lose, you have to put the last match behind you and just focus on your next match," Dean said. "(Sunday) I knew I was going to have two matches no matter what. But in my mind I always had one match."\nHerman and Hernandez both entered Sunday needing to win their seventh-place matches to secure automatic bids to Oklahoma City. Herman came through with a 3-1 sudden victory over Matt Lossen of Illinois when he scored a takedown 20 seconds into the overtime period. Hernandez's win was a little more decisive, as he beat Ohio State's Reece Humphrey 8-1.\n"It means a lot," Hernandez said about making nationals his freshman year. "The Big Ten's a tough tournament and going to nationals as a freshman, it's real big."\nAfter a disappointing first day of the tournament, the Hoosiers went 7-1 Sunday in an effort Goldman said he was pleased with.\n"We had our guys that were our strong point getters still in the tournament," Goldman said. "So it wasn't intermixed with some guys that were non-seeds. We came in with our five guys that have really been five of our strong contributors all year and they had a good day, they only lost one match. They wrestled well and showed what they were capable of"
(03/03/06 5:14am)
When the referee lifted IU senior wrestler Joe Dubuque's hand after a 2-0 victory against Kyle Ott of Illinois last March, it wasn't just any victory. The win gave Dubuque a national title in the 125-pound division -- IU's first individual wrestling national championship since 1990. \nDubuque, who co-captains the team, said it had always been one of his goals to reach the top of college wrestling.\n"It was great to accomplish one of my dreams," he said.\nDubuque and the IU wrestling team will compete this weekend at the Big Ten Championships at Assembly Hall. He will defend his national title at the NCAA Tournament March 16-18 in Oklahoma City.\nIt was his competitive side that drove Dubuque to his first national championship. That same competitiveness has helped him to a 19-0 record on the season and looking to have his hand raised once again after the NCAA title round. \n"I want to be the best in everything I do and I want to work hard," Dubuque said. "That's what drives me."\nDubuque has been competitive since the day he stepped foot in Bloomington. Coming to IU from Glen Ridge High School in Bloomfield, N.J., he already had two New Jersey state titles and a high school national title under his belt. This success caught the attention of IU coach Duane Goldman.\n"We obviously wanted him pretty badly. We went after him hard and offered him a good scholarship," Goldman said. "Anytime we're able to land a top kid, it's a great day. But that's just one step in the process. It's a long way from a national title."\nDubuque redshirted his first year at IU, learning the ropes of college wrestling. When the next season rolled around, he was a starter for the Hoosiers in the 125-pound division. He rolled through the season with a 23-5 record and ranked as high as No. 12 in the nation. However, a concussion sustained in the final meet of the regular season against Minnesota kept Dubuque out of the Big Ten tournament. Sitting out of Big Tens that year only helped fuel his competitive nature, he said.\n"It was real hard," Dubuque said. "I worked hard all year long and just to have a string of injuries toward the end of the year and one keeping me out, it was real tough watching my teammates wrestle out there without me. But I think it was a good thing that happened to me; it helped me to work harder."\nThe next season Dubuque was ready to get back into action and won 34 matches, finishing eighth in the NCAA tournament and earning his first All-American honor. He started his junior season with a 21-2 record and earned a No. 3 seed for the Big Ten tournament. He fell in the semi-finals to Michigan State's Nick Simmons 3-2, but after that meet something clicked for Dubuque. He went on to win two more times that day to earn himself a third place finish at the conference tournament. He then started on a tear toward a national championship.\n"I take losses in a positive way," Dubuque said. "I learn from losses. I dwell on them for about 10 minutes, and then that's it."\nHis competitive nature has not allowed him to lose once since the match against Simmons. Entering this weekend's Big Ten tournament at Assembly Hall, Dubuque's streak is at 26. He credits all the wins to his mental preparation before meets.\n"It's basically the game plan -- me and (assistant coach Mike) Mena going over what I'm going to do for each guy, really preparing for each guy individually," Dubuque said. "I felt real prepared and real confident in every single one of my matches."\nBut it is the competitiveness that he says drives him the most. The drive is so strong that he doesn't like interacting with opposing wrestlers in his own weight class even off the mat.\n"I'm just all the time business," he said. "It's nothing personal. It's not that I don't like them. They could be great guys. They could be the best guys in the world, but you're my opponent, and I just got to keep it that way."\nHe says that his competitiveness comes from his hatred of losing.\n"A lot of wrestlers will tell you they hate losing more than they like winning," Dubuque said. "It's that nature I don't want to lose."\nSince most other wrestlers share this hatred of losing, Dubuque said there is one thing that sets him apart from the rest.\n"My work ethic," he said. "Nobody works harder than me. Every time I get tired I got to push myself to go more. I know everyone's getting tired, but whether I keep going or stop is what's going to set me apart from everybody."\nGoldman said Dubuque's work ethic has been a great example for the younger Hoosier wrestlers.\n"He's vocal when he needs to be, but the main thing is he trains hard and he wins," the coach said. "Some guys are able to train hard, and some guys sometimes get away with winning a little bit without really putting in the work, but he puts in the work, and he's gained the ultimate victory in wrestling at the collegiate level because of it."\nSenior Brady Richardson, Dubuque's co-captain and roommate agrees that a lot of younger wrestlers can learn from his teammate's drive to win.\n"It's important because he sets an example," Richardson said. "He's the best example you can set because he's the national champ."\nEven so, Dubuque still doesn't feel like he's convinced everybody. He says he still feels there are some \ncritics out there.\n"Other wrestling fans that think it's a fluke and other kids should have won it," said Dubuque, describing his detractors. "That pushes me, that people doubt my ability. Nobody here, nobody in Bloomington, but other wrestling critics kind of overlook me."\nEven with the winning streak, an undefeated record this season and a No. 1 national ranking, Dubuque still feels overlooked.\n"Other guys in the weight class have been getting more attention than I have nationally," he said. "They're on TV, and they're getting the big stories. It doesn't bother me, it motivates me. I'm like 'Wow, these guys are getting all the attention, and nobody's really looking at me.' It pushes me."\nWith the help of his training regimen and his drive to win, Dubuque hopes that when he steps off the mat March 18 for his last time as a college wrestler, he will still hold the title of "National Champion"
(03/03/06 4:46am)
Some of the best college wrestlers in the country will arrive in Bloomington this weekend. The No. 17 Hoosiers host the Big Ten Wrestling Championships at Assembly Hall on Saturday and Sunday in a tournament that will feature five wrestlers who are ranked No. 1 in their respective weight class.\n"As far as the travel and the crowd and things like that, it's always nice to be home," IU coach Duane Goldman said.\nEach team in the Big Ten will be represented by one wrestler in each of the 10 weight classes and of the 110 wrestlers, 72 will advance to the NCAA championships. The Big Ten will send more wrestlers to the NCAA tournament March 16-18 in Oklahoma City than any other conference. The top seven finishers in each weight class will advance, and the coaches will vote for two of the eighth-place finishers to join them as well.\nEven with the tough competition they will face, the Hoosiers are optimistic about their chances to place well.\n"I'm expecting a good performance from everybody," senior Brady Richardson said. "This is what we train for. It's the peak for this weekend and two weeks from now (at NCAAs). Individually, I expect everyone to do their absolute best."\nRichardson added that the team has high potential that should help them earn a high team finish even in such a great conference.\n"No way we can do worse than last year, which was top five," Richardson said. "But I'm hoping for top three. That's what I want."\nThe pre-seeds for the tournament were released last week, and the brackets will be finalized at a Big Ten coaches meeting Friday. The Big Ten has six wrestlers with pre-seeds in the top eight. Senior Joe Dubuque leads the Hoosiers with a No. 1 seed at the 125-pound weight class.\nA Big Ten title has so far eluded Dubuque, who has won two All-American awards and a national championship.\n"That's one of my goals," Dubuque said about winning a Big Ten championship. "I think I've worked hard enough and I deserve to win it. In the long run, if it doesn't happen, I still have to regroup and get ready for nationals. But obviously it's a stepping stone to accomplishing one of my goals."\nThe 125-pound weight class is one of the toughest in the tournament. It features Dubuque, University of Illinois' Kyle Ott and Michigan State University's Nick Simmons, all top-four finishers in last year's nationals.\nOther Hoosiers who were given top eight pre-seeds were Richardson, who is No. 4 at 197 pounds, freshman Andrae Hernandez, who is No. 6 at 133 pounds, sophomore Brandon Becker, the No. 5 seed at 157 pounds, and sophomores Max Dean and Dave Herman, who have No. 8 pre-seeds at the 165-pound and heavyweight divisions, respectively.\nGoldman said that the Hoosiers' pre-seeds were pretty much what he expected, but they still need to have a good weekend so they can send even more wrestlers to the NCAA championships.\n"I hope to have a good showing," he said. "According to the seeds we're going to need to wrestle really well to get some more guys to nationals. We're going to need to wrestle above ourselves if we hope to have a decent showing at nationals"
(02/17/06 4:57am)
After an 11-0 start, the second best in Duane Goldman's 14 seasons as the Hoosiers head coach, the IU wrestling team hit a string of four top 10 opponents in a row. On all four of those occasions, the Hoosiers came away on the losing end, with their latest fall being last Friday's 27-8 loss to No. 8 Penn State.\n"We've been having good practices," Goldman said about the team's response to its latest loss. "We've been doing a lot of talking as well as wrestling, trying to work on all angles."\nThe Hoosiers finally get a break from facing top 20 opponents, although it's not much of one. On Friday, the No. 17 Hoosiers travel to Evanston, Ill., to face Northwestern. The Wildcats were ranked No. 13 in polls released Wednesday. This will be the second time this season the Hoosiers travel to Evanston, with the first being December's Midlands Tournament. In the tournament, which took place Dec. 29 and 30, the Hoosiers finished in eighth place. \nThe Hoosiers were led in that tournament by senior Brady Richardson, who took home a third-place finish. In the third-place match, Richardson defeated defending Big Ten Champion Matt Delguyd 3-2. He will face Delguyd again during the match against Northwestern. Since the Midlands match wasn't a Big Ten dual meet, Richardson said there will be more at stake this time around.\n"This will take precedence over that match," he said.\nAfter the Northwestern match, the Hoosiers will travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., to take on No. 3 Michigan on Sunday afternoon. The Michigan dual meet will be the last competition for the Hoosiers before the Big Ten Tournament March 4 and 5 at Assembly Hall.\nWhile the Hoosiers said they would like to take home team wins in the dual meets, the focus has started to shift to the individual matchups and seeds for the Big Ten Tournament.\n"We kind of have an idea pretty close to where each individual's probably going to be seeded," Goldman said. "So certain matchups this week have a lot of bearing on that. Of course, it would be nice to win some of these dual meets, but as far as the impact of the Big Ten Tournament, it's more for those seeds."\nEach team will send a wrestler in each weight class to the tournament, but only eight of the 11 wrestlers in each class get a seed. \n"It's going to be really tough regardless," Richardson said. "If you're not seeded you're going to have come through an even harder route."\nRichardson, who is competing in the 197-pound class this season, was the No. 5 seed in the 174-pound class last season before falling 6-2 to eventual champion Pete Friedl in the semi-finals.\nFreshman Andrae Hernandez currently has only one loss in Big Ten competition, and based on what he saw last year when he red-shirted, he said he hopes to win both of his matchups this weekend to get a good seed and a good paring for Big Tens.\n"If I go 2-0 these last two matches, I think I'll be seeded pretty high just with one loss in the Big Ten," Hernandez said. "Whereas if I lose one match or two matches, that would bring my seeding down pretty low and I would have someone tough in the first round"
(02/13/06 5:46am)
The first seven times the IU wrestling team faced Penn State, it came out on the losing end. Number eight didn't turn out to be the lucky number for the No. 15-ranked Hoosiers, who dropped their fourth straight match Friday with a 27-8 loss to the No. 8-ranked Nittany Lions.\nOn a night when the Hoosiers (11-4, 2-4 Big Ten) honored seniors Joe Dubuque, Nick Spatola and Brady Richardson, as well as graduating juniors Matt Cooper and Isaac Knable for senior night, IU grapplers dropped eight of their 10 matchups. The Hoosiers struggled in close matches all night.\n"At some point it's not a question of giving a good effort," IU coach Duane Goldman said about close matches, "it's just a question of getting it done."\nDuring the Hoosiers' current losing streak, IU has been falling in close matches in every single dual meet.\n"Losing the overtimes, losing the one pointers, losing by riding time, at some point that needs to stop," Goldman said. "The guys need to take it personally and make a change."\nEven through the losing streak, Dubuque has been able to keep his undefeated season going. On Friday, the defending national champion won his 25th straight match, scoring an 18-3 technical fall win against Tim Hass to cut the Nittany Lions lead to 13-5. But it wasn't enough to spark a Hoosier comeback. While the IU captain said he would like to see his teammates be successful, there is only so much he can do to help them.\n"Guys just got to basically say to themselves whether they want to win or not," Dubuque said. "Right now you can't force guys to win."\nAfter Dubuque's match, No. 18 Hoosier freshman Andrae Hernandez faced off against No. 9 Jake Strayer. Going into the third period, Strayer had a 1-0 lead, and Hernandez started the period trying to score an escape point to even up the score. Strayer was able to keep Hernandez down for most of the period, and by the time Hernandez did finally score the escape point, Strayer had enough riding time -- points based on how much time a wrestler stays on top of his opponent -- to earn a bonus point, and took a 2-1 win.\n"Going over tapes this week, we really didn't expect him to be that tough on top," Hernandez said about Strayer. "But I think I could have worked a little harder on bottom and tried some more moves."\nWhen IU sophomore Brandon Becker took the mat to face No. 13 Nathan Galloway a couple matches later, the results were almost identical as Hernandez's match, except this time it was Becker who kept Galloway down long enough in the final period to take a 2-1 victory on riding time. Becker said while he was glad he was able to defeat Galloway, he would have liked to pin him to earn bonus points for the Hoosiers.\n"I really wanted to keep him down the entire period and try to turn him and get extra points, but he's a good wrestler and he fought hard," said the No. 8-ranked Becker.\nAs they prepare for the final weekend of the regular season with two road matches against No. 13 Northwestern and No. 3 Michigan, the Hoosiers hope they will be able to prepare enough so they will be able to win the close matches they have been struggling in as of late.\n"Obviously they have enough to be right there," Goldman said. "So it's not like they need more training or they need more conditioning or they need more this or that. They're right there. It's just a question of individually as an \nathlete getting it done"
