Offense still looking for the spark

Every one of the women's soccer games this year has been decided by one goal.\nThe Hoosiers know that a strong offense can make the difference as IU is 1-3 on the season. Junior midfielder Kim Grodek said there are other things the offense can do besides scoring a goal that helps the team.\n"We've been working a lot on offense, trying to move the ball up to the forwards, and playing to their feet," Grodek said. "We're also working on getting our chances outside, like we did with (freshman Megan) Pipkens, who scored the goal against Army."\nPipkens agreed and said the defense plays a big role in helping the offense.\n"We basically just try to create opportunities for the offense," Pipkens said.\nDespite returning two of their three points leaders from last season, the Hoosiers have struggled a bit on offense this year. Through four games, the team has accumulated only one goal. The goal, scored by Pipkens, eventually turned out to be the game winner. Pipkens said she had wanted to score a goal that entire day.\n"Well, I told myself I had to put it away because if I didn't, then I wouldn't be happy," Pipkens said. "My parents were there watching the game, and I just had the mindset all day that I wanted to score. I asked coach if I could I play up a little more because I usually play defense."\nCoach Mick Lyon remains confident that the team will burst out of its scoring slump.\n"We've changed the shape of the offense a little bit, and we reversed some of the positions," Lyon said. "The front two and the middle two have changed from side by side to front and back which has given us a little different shape, which we're hoping will create more scoring opportunities for us."\nThe Hoosiers' offense revolves around a high and low forward. The high forward is a player with a lot of speed who looks to get in gaps between defenders and push the team forward. The low forward is a player who holds the ball and tries to hook up with the midfielders in an attempt to release the high forward into the attacking zone. Lyon said this type of offense gives the team the ability for two different scoring opportunities.\n"It's either finding the high forward for some individual one-on-one opportunities, or we attack from the flanks," Lyon said. "We're a good offensive team. We're a team that gets good looks, but we're just not finding the final result right now."\n-- Contact staff writer Cory Steger at csteger@indiana.edu