Freshman forward finds her place at IU

If women's soccer coach Joe Kelley is on a recruiting trip, there's a good chance he wound up in his hometown of St. Louis. Just look at the history.\nIU's all-time leading goal scorer, Wendy Dillinger, now an assistant coach, played soccer in a St. Louis suburb. Second on the list is 1999 graduate Tracy Grose, an assistant coach who grew up in the same town as Dillinger.\nNo. 3 on the goals scored list, Kris Fosdick, played in the St. Louis area as well.\nIf she has anything to say about it, No. 4 on that list might be freshman forward Shelly Gruszka. And yes, she's from St. Louis.\n"This was last my visit," said Gruszka of IU, "and I just loved it here. I knew I'd learn a lot from Joe (Kelley), and the girls were great.\n"We're bringing that St. Louis style of soccer to Indiana."\nUnlike most Hoosiers this season, Gruszka has been healthy and played in every game, missing the start only in the season opener against Xavier. Through nine games, Gruszka has one goal and two assists.\nThe two-time Missouri State Player of the Year, Gruszka turned down Harvard, Dartmouth, Northwestern, and Boston College to play for Kelley at IU. Gruszka was named player of the year in her sophomore and junior years at St. Joseph's Academy. \n"They had never given it twice," Gruszka said. "So they were never going to give it three times.\n"My senior year went fine though."\nIt went fine, but with the accolades came a lot of pressure as Gruszka was marked every game by the opponent's best defender.\nOne of those would-be defenders is now her teammate and fellow Missouri freshman Erin Hesslebach. Freshmen midfielder Emily Hotz also made the drive east on Interstate 70 to join the Hoosiers.\n"Emily has been on my team since fifth grade, and then we were on rival high schools," Gruszka said. "I knew Erin through playing, but not really personally."\nSo, Gruszka recruited by a St. Louis native, came to IU with St. Louis soccer stars, and is now lining up beside one, fellow forward Kate Kastl, a sophomore. Kastl, now sidelined with a combination of ankle and hip problems, played against her in high school.\n"We work really well together," said Kastl earlier in the season. "We can anticipate what we want to do and react to the other person."\nGruszka said Kastl, who won't play Thursday and probably won't play Sunday, has been a teacher as well so far this season.\nFor Gruszka, who had been a natural scorer all her life, scoring has been a little difficult this season. Gruszka scored her first goal Sunday in IU's 3-2 win over Ohio State. The goal was followed with a sigh of relief, she said.\n"Finally," said Gruszka, with a big smile. "I was getting a little frustrated, but I knew it would come. It just took some time. \n"Hopefully, that will give me some confidence and I can keep building on that."\nKelley thinks Gruszka will be a big-time scorer for the Hoosiers soon.\n"We need to put her in better positions to score," Kelley said. "Sunday is going to help with that in telling her that she can and will be a goal scorer."\nAs players make the transition from high school to college soccer, they are often overwhelmed by the speed and physicality of it Kelley said. But with Gruszka, he sees a player who has been physical with opponents since day one.\n"She's not afraid to take people on, which is an attribute of a good forward," Kelley said. "She's not afraid to lose the ball." \nIn her goal Sunday, Gruszka drove right at an Ohio State defender, slashing past her with sharp, decisive cuts toward the goal.\nSo with a St. Louis staff and St. Louis players everywhere she turns, Gruszka seems a lot closer to her hometown than the four and a half hours of driving that it requires.\nBut make no mistake -- she knows this isn't high school soccer anymore. \n"All the girls here are fast and big. It's totally different from high school," Gruszka said. "It didn't shock me though. I played a lot of competitive soccer and kind of knew what to expect.\n"Now I just have to be one step faster"