Hoosiers kick off Big Ten season tonight

Some college athletes and coaches claim that a new season begins when the conference season starts. Whether this is true or not, the IU women's soccer team begins the 2004 Big Ten season this weekend.\nIU (4-1) will play host to the University of Minnesota at 7 p.m. tonight and the University of Iowa at 1 p.m. Sunday at Bill Armstrong Stadium, and the stakes are high for the Hoosiers.\n"We have to have two wins out of this weekend because the following weekend is going to be on the road and it's going to be pretty tough," IU coach Mick Lyon said. "We need to go into the following weekend 2 and 0 -- that's all there is to it."\nThe Hoosiers know what it is going to take to win this weekend, and the team's speed of play is what is going to help secure IU the victory, junior Robin Barker said.\n"We have to keep our tempo up because we play so much better when we play out of the back fast," Barker said. "It just sets the pace for the game, and we play better when we play at our own pace and not let other teams slow us down."\nThe Hoosiers are coming off a successful trip to Florida last weekend, beating Florida International University 5-1 and upsetting then-No. 18 Auburn University, 1-0.\nSeasoned veteran players on the squad like junior Kristen Zmijewski remember conference seasons from the past and have used their knowledge of the past to help them prepare for what is on the road ahead.\n"We just know it's going to be a very physical two games this weekend compared to the other games," Zmijewski said. "Big Ten is known for very physical, up-tempo games, so that's just what we have to focus on."\nThe road ahead looks to pose a challenge for the young Hoosier team.\nThe Big Ten conference for women's soccer has five teams currently ranked in the top 25, with IU and Michigan State receiving votes recently and possibly cracking the polls with a few more wins.\nThe Golden Gophers are currently 3-2 this season. Junior Kaitlin Neary has been the main offensive weapon this year for Minnesota with two goals and five points and goalkeeper Molly Schneider has a goals against average of 1.00 with a .839 save percentage. \nThe Hawkeyes are 0-3-1 so far. Junior Kitty Montgomery and freshman Lindsey Phillips have one goal a piece for Iowa's only two goals this season and junior goalkeeper Britta Vogele has an 1.18 goals against average with a .865 save percentage. \n-- Contact staff writer John Fischer at jbfische@indiana.edu.