Hoosiers face off against DePaul, Northwestern this weekend

The IU women's soccer team will take a break from its Big Ten schedule tonight by hosting DePaul before returning to conference play Saturday to battle Northwestern. These two games will start the second half of the Hoosiers' schedule, and will have ramifications for an NCAA tournament bid.\nDePaul will be playing the Hoosiers for the first time, and are the last non-conference opponent IU will face until Oct. 27. IU comes into the weekend with a 5-3-1 (2-1-1) record while the Blue Demons enter the weekend with a 6-3-0 record (2-2-0). The Hoosiers know that although they are not playing a Big Ten foe, it is still an extremely important game.\n"The better we can do in this game, the better we will look at selection time," senior forward Jenny Mann said. "We're happy where we're at, but we need to win this game."\nFreshman midfielder Kristen Zmijewski, who hails from the Chicago suburbs and considered attending Depaul, is excited about tonight's contest. \n"It's going to be exciting to play them, since I was looking to play at DePaul" Zmijewski said. "It would really be nice to kick their butt." \nCoach Mick Lyon knows that these opponents will be different, but is stressing the importance of a strong weekend. \n"We look at every game as another step in the program," Lyon said. "We are going to look at the whole weekend, but obviously Sunday is more important, being a conference game."\nLyon said the break in the conference schedule will not disrupt the team's play.\n"It's good to keep playing games and playing with a rhythm" Lyon said.\nJunior forward Shelly Gruszka is ready for a battle with Northwestern, with revenge on her mind. Last year, the Wildcats tied the Hoosiers 1-1, and beat IU out on the fifth tiebreaker for entrance into the Big Ten tournament. \n"That game against them last year haunted us" Gruszka said. "We are going to come out to play them on fire."\nMann said that Northwestern has a style similar to Ohio State, who the Hoosiers defeated 3-1 last Sunday. \n"They are a lot like OSU; they are big, physical and fast. They like to knock it and go" Mann said.\nThe team has been preparing for both games this weekend with a similar game plan in practice this week.\n"We have been looking at both games as being important" Gruszka said. "It would be huge to get a third win in the Big Ten though this weekend."\nLyon said this weekend will be important when the Big Ten tournament begins.\n"We want to get three points in the conference, and remain undefeated at home" Lyon said. "We need to rack up as many wins and points as we can for tournament time"