Change of position hopes to boost soccer offense

Coach Joe Kelley was looking for a way to improve his offense to help the Hoosiers climb out of the Big Ten cellar. He didn't have to look far once he found junior sweeper Whitney Butler.\nButler, a transfer from Connecticut, started her first game at forward Friday night against Butler University. Butler's impact was immediately felt when she scored her first career goal as a Hoosier in the second half of Friday's win.\nButler, who has been known as a team leader in the defense, brings that drive to the IU offense. \n"She's actually doing a much better job organizing, leading at the front," Kelley said. "I think it's great. She did a good job at the back, but she's even doing more so at the front, which is what we need. We need to play better up there." \nWith Butler moving to the front, the backfield has had to make adjustments to compensate for the move.\n"I think it's just been a change in the defense," senior goalkeeper Chrissy Heubi said. "We've been able to refocus our attributes in the back and Whitney's done a great job up top with her attributes. We've just been refocusing our inner strengths. It's just a change on how we play in the back. I think our team has been able to adjust to our changes really well, especially in the back."\nThe change is expected to be a permanent one, but you won't hear Butler complaining.\n"Obviously, there's a big difference," Butler said. "I guess as far as a change, I like it up there. Being able to work with the ball a little bit more, I like it."\nAlthough the difference between the two positions was big, Butler said the transition wasn't. \n"Everybody made it really easy," Butler said. "Everybody was really positive and was like, 'just go,' so it made it pretty easy."\nSenior back Jena Kluska said freshman back Erin Hesselbach has stepped up in Butler's absence. Kluska also said the moving of Butler to forward has not had an extreme effect on the team's play.\n"It's nothing negative, it's nothing positive," Kluska said. "It's just a change and it's effective. We're working with it. We've just adapted to it."\nThe switch not only boosts the offense, but also gives the defense an improvement, Kelley said.\n"It think the way the backs are playing, we're much more steady in the air," Kelley said. "Almost all the Big Ten teams, as you can tell by watching (Michigan State) today, you have teams launching it into the box. We need backs who are very good in the air. (Junior midfielder) Stacey (Peterson) -- she's very good in the air. (Freshman back) Carly (Everett's) dominating in the air, as Hess and (sophomore back) Dana (Philp) are. I am very happy with the backs."\nKelley said she does see some room for improvements for Butler to have the impact he is anticipating.\n"Whitney and (freshman forward) Shelly (Gruszka) need to work more together obviously -- I think up front," Kelley said.\nKelley said he noticed Butler's play in practice after the Ohio State game last Sunday and decided on the switch then. \n"The last couple days of practice she (Butler) has been around the front of the goal a lot, and she has been hitting the balls like the one that she scored on tonight," Kelley said after the Butler game. "I liked the way she was finishing in practice. I thought she did a great job up front."\nKluska said she saw how Butler takes her position in the front as she did in the back.\n"Butler leads all over the field and we've had people step in where we need them to," Kluska said. "So it's just a matter of the team adapting to it, and I think we've been able to do that"