Time to hit the dance floor

Nobody wants to be the one who is not able to go to the big dance. This can be any dance, whether it is 7th grade, the prom or a semi-formal. Being branded as the one person without a chance to participate can be hurtful. \nWhen it comes to the NCAA's "Big Dance," post-season play, there is no four-year player on the IU women's soccer team that has been able to dance there. This may be the first time in women's soccer history that happened. There are some determined people making sure this isn't the first senior class to graduate without a post-season appearance.\nThe IU women's soccer team has had five trips to the Big Ten tournament and two trips to the NCAA national tournament in its history. Every graduate has been to, at minimum, one of these games. This year's seniors -- forward Kate Kastl, forward Kristen Sprunger, midfielder Kara Bryan, forward Jenny Mann, midfielder Lisa Tecklenburg and midfielder Dana Philp -- are working toward assuring that they are not the notorious first class at IU to have this distinction.\n"By far, the most important goal I have, and the team has, is to make the post-season," Bryan said. "We as seniors want to experience that feeling since we haven't been there before."\nWhile all the seniors want to play in the post-season for the accomplishment it would bring, others want to play just to continue their tenure at IU for as long as possible.\n"When you play this game you don't always remember all the wins and losses, but you remember the experiences you have had with your teammates," Sprunger said. "I've played so many games here, and it's the girls I play with that I cherish the most and will want to hold onto."\nSprunger still has the goal most of her teammates have, and that is to get into the post-season. \n"This has been one of our goals all along," Sprunger said. "This is the last chance for us. We have heard the stories about how great the post-season is, and we want to experience it."\nKastl remembers coming to IU as a recruit, and watching the Hoosiers play in a post-season game. IU was a top 20 team then.\n"We had high expectations coming here, and it would be a let down if we are the ones who didn't make it," Kastl said.\nWhen asked if she would look back in 20 years and be disappointed if she never participated in the post-season, Mann said she wouldn't change a thing. The friendship she has, and what she learned while here, are the things she will cherish the most, she said. She said she expects all the girls from this graduating class to be a part of her life, whether they can get to the Big Ten or NCAA tournament.\nEven though she wouldn't be disappointed in the future, Mann would like to "end this season with a bang."\n"If we don't get to the post-season, it's not a failure," Kastl said. "We are giving it all we have, and have been for four years, so we didn't fail at all."\nThe last time IU participated in the Big Ten tournament and NCAA tournament was in 1998. The Hoosiers finished that year ranked 17th nationally, and have yet to crack the Top 25 at the end of the season since. With their impressive 6-3-2 (2-1-2) record, the Hoosiers have a chance of making the post-season. \n"This is a new era of IU soccer, and we want to get it off to a good start with a post-season berth," Bryan said. "So far we are playing well enough to be there."\nTecklenburg said the whole team needs to be excited about making the post-season, not just the seniors. \n"This is something for everyone on the team to accomplish," Tecklenburg said.\nWhether the Hoosiers make the Big Ten playoffs or not depends on if they finish in the top six of the conference. If they do not win the conference tournament, the Hoosiers will have to rely on an at-large bid, which is always a shaky proposition. \n"I just want to prolong this last season as much as I can," Sprunger said.