Team clinches berth in Big Ten tourney with draw

The IU women's soccer team wrapped up another tough weekend of Big Ten play Sunday after the Hoosiers suffered a 1-0 loss to Northwestern and drew with Illinois 1-1.\nIU lost its second consecutive conference game Friday afternoon when Northwestern scored in overtime to give the Wildcats a golden goal victory.\nNorthwestern's Ashleigh Garmon scored off of a corner kick that sailed right into the IU penalty box with just three minutes left to play in the first overtime period.\nIU and Northwestern each recorded 12 shots in the contest, while the Hoosiers owned the edge in corner kicks by a 5-3 margin. IU junior goalkeeper Lauren Fabbro stopped four shots on the night but took the hard-luck loss.\n"We really outplayed them today," IU coach Mick Lyon said. "The stats may not show that, but we played a better soccer game and we just got unlucky today."\nSunday afternoon, against Illinois, senior co-captain Kim Grodek scored her seventh goal of the season in the 89th minute. That goal sent the two teams into overtime with each ending the extended play with a goal apiece.\nGrodek's goal resulted from sophomore Megan Pipkens' signature flip throw-in. The throw ricocheted off of junior Kristen Zmijewski, who then fed the pass to Grodek for the late goal.\n"At that point we had nothing to lose so we just set up a play where we had everyone around the box," Lyon said. "Grodek, who I thought had an exceptional game, was there for the goal. She was so close with a couple shots today, as well as in the past few games, so it was good seeing her score."\nIU outshot Illinois 25-19 on the day, including a 15-9 edge in shots on goal, and Fabbro kept the high-scoring Fighting Illini at bay after that, finishing with seven saves on the day.\nIllinois got on the board at the 30:24 mark of the first period. Sarah Brown recorded the goal off of a throw in by Tara Hurless.\nWith the tie, IU clinched a spot in the Big Ten tournament, which will be played Nov. 3-7, in Columbus, Ohio. \n-- Contact staff writer John Fischer at jbfische@indiana.edu.