IU shuts out Golden Gophers

The Hoosiers faced weird weather and feisty opponents this weekend but dealt with it skillfully and got off to a great start to the Big Ten season. IU (4-2-1, 1-0-1) beat Minnesota 1-0 in a game that had a rainy first half and a sunny second.\nThe Hoosiers and Gophers played evenly until the 35th minute when senior forward Kate Kastl took advantage of an out of position defense and lobbed in a shot over freshman goalkeeper Karli Kopietz into a wide open net.\nKopietz had been named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week but could not handle the ferocious offensive attack of the Hoosiers. Coach Mick Lyon said the score could have easily been 5-0. For instance, Kastl found Kopietz out of position again with 15 minutes left in the contest and almost got another score but the ball went slightly wide right.\n"It was good to come away with the win. We're learning to adjust to other teams. We're capitalizing more on their weaknesses," Kastl said. \nThe Hoosier defense earned their third shutout of the season. Defenders senior Lisa Tecklenburg, freshman Ryan Hanley, senior Dana Philp and junior Erin Hesselbach as well as junior forward Shelly Gruszka had big tackles and defensive plays that kept Minnesota from evening the score. \nThe weekend was a success for the Hoosiers, who also got a tie out of Wisconsin on Friday. The game was marked by a wet field soaked from the day's storms. The rain had passed by game time and left a cloudy pink and purple sky, which made for a dramatic setting at Bill Armstrong Stadium.\nIU went down 1-0 in the sixth minute in what was a lackluster first half excluding the play of junior midfielder Emily Hotz whose tackling and physical presence in IU's defensive third kept the Badgers' attack at bay.\nIU came out strong in the second half with sophomore midfielder Kim Grodek nailing a left-footed shot that went high and hit the crossbar before falling in the left corner. IU took the momentum briefly after Grodek's score, but Wisconsin fired back to regain the lead in the 63rd minute. \nSenior forward Kristen Sprunger, whose high energy off the bench improved IU's attack every time she stepped on the field Friday, scored on a low shot into the left corner in the 65th minute to level the score at two apiece. Two evenly played overtimes followed but neither team could get the ball in the back of the net and the game ended in a 2-2 tie.\nThe Hoosiers are undefeated in the Big Ten after playing teams that were good but not the best the conference has to offer. Junior goalkeeper Shaunna Daugherty said the team's performance this weekend would help them later in the season when they play traditional powerhouses like No. 8 Penn State and No. 18 Michigan.\n"The Big Ten's just a completely different level and you have to psyche yourself up to play to that level," Daugherty said.\nLyon said his team has to continue to match the opposition's physicality while maintaining a calm and confident attitude.\n"The big thing out of this weekend is that we came in to play the Big Ten and players stepped up, rolled their sleeves up and said I'll fight and I'm proud of IU and I'll fight for IU," Lyon said.