Golden Boot on the line this weekend

The IU women's soccer team has its sights set on The Golden Boot and aims to bring it back to Bloomington as the team heads into its last weekend of regular season competition.\nIU will challenge in-state rival Purdue at 3 p.m. Friday hoping to reclaim the Golden Boot, which is the soccer equivalent of football's Old Oaken Bucket game between the two state colleges. The Hoosiers will then take on DePaul at 1 p.m. Sunday. \n"Considering Purdue has beaten me five times since I've been here, this game means so much to me," said senior co-captain Kim Grodek. "One of my goals this season was just to beat Purdue. I just want to get that Golden Boot one time." \nRecovery and getting the players adequate rest have been some of the biggest issues and concerns for IU coach Mick Lyon as the Hoosiers prepare for the upcoming games. As the season draws closer to an end, the mental game becomes more important, Lyons said.\n"We're fit, we understand how to play and the girls know what they need to do," he said, "So it's not bad for some of these girls who have played a significant amount of time in the games to get a couple days rest because what we're trying to do more is train their mind."\nLyon admitted there is a slight sense of urgency around the team recently, but his main focus has been trying to make his players forget about the "we're coming to an end" mentality and to keep up the team's high level of play. \n"You just have to maintain the focus that it's just another game, it's just another weekend and the next weekend is just another weekend," Lyon said. "You just have to have the attitude that we're going to have our weekends continue."\nPurdue (7-8-0 overall, 3-6-0 Big Ten) comes into Friday's game in a desperate situation. With a win, Purdue will clinch a spot in the Big Ten tournament, but a loss will leave the Boilermakers watching the score of the Michigan State-Michigan game. If the Spartans lose, Purdue automatically gets a bid into the tournament.\nPurdue has tallied only 15 goals this season, which ranks third fewest in the conference, and have allowed 17. The Boilermakers will have plenty of players getting into the attack. Six players have taken over 20 shots, but freshman Parrissa Eyorokon leads the Boilermakers in scoring with three goals.\nPurdue's goalkeeper, sophomore Lauren Mason, has played in all 15 games, with 11 starts, and holds a 1.52 goals against average and a .772 saves percentage.\nDePaul (8-7-1, 4-4-1) is the highest scoring team in Conference USA with 38 goals on the year. Sophomore forward Lea Hill leads the goal scoring for the Blue Demons with nine goals and three assists, and right behind her is junior midfielder Julianna Sitch, who has eight goals and seven assists. \nIn the net for DePaul is one of the most experienced goalkeepers in the country: senior Lindsay Deason. Deason has been a starter since her freshman year and has started all 16 games this season. Deason sports a 1.51 goals against average and a .781 saves percentage. \n"We're good enough to defend any of the teams we play, but what we're not able to do is disrupt the other team to create opportunities for us -- more quality opportunities," Lyon said.\n-- Contact staff writer John Fischer at jbfische@indiana.edu