IU club sport athletes prepare for Midwest playoffs

On a cold, windy night April 11 at Evan Williams Field on 10th Street, the Hoosiers used crisp, direct passing and tough man-to-man defense to bring down Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology 24-0. Their dominating performance was reminiscent of two weekends ago on a road trip in Illinois as they defeated Northwestern 16-0, Knox College (Illinois) 14-2 and shut out a group of Chicago University graduate students. They currently have 11 wins and one loss, which came to division rival Illinois in March, losing 7-4. Last weekend, the team qualified for the Midwest playoffs. \nDespite its outstanding performance on the field last Monday night, the team strongly feels that politics, lack of funding and gender inequality are the top reasons why it is not as well known and as recognized as it should be. \n"I don't think that (the Division of Recreational Sports) gives the recognition that they need," said junior co-captain Robyn Freedman-Schnapp. "The field is new, and for the first season playing on it, I think that we have had only two home games. That is ridiculous. I think that (RecSports) needs to create a new complex. I think in the future, these girls should go varsity. The lack of use of Title IX is holding us back," \nWith their coach leaving in the middle of the season to go back to Maryland to graduate school, it was up to senior Nichole Goddard to help bring the team together and lead the team forward to success. As the only senior on this year's squad, Goddard understood that the April 12 game against Rose-Hulman was going to be an emotional night. \n"You should probably give me a few weeks not practicing and I will probably break down," Goddard said. "I have a great group of girls under me and I am totally confident that they will have continued success. Our junior, sophomore and freshman girls are so talented that I won't be surprised to come back in a few years and see them go varsity."\nThe team's improvement during the last few years has been remarkable and does not go unrecognized in the eyes of the University. The popularity of lacrosse as a whole has increased greatly, said Intramural and Club Sports Program Director Stacey Hall-Yanessa.\n"We have had more women come in here having played lacrosse than ever before," she said. "Five to 10 years ago that was not possible. It is nice for people to come in having knowledge of the sport. This club offers girls the opportunity to play sports after high school. They never had a chance to do that before."\nThe team has many strengths, but as the players prepare for the Midwest Playoffs two weeks from now, they must rely on their offense as well as the closeness among the team to succeed.\n"We just work really well together on the field," said sophomore Ashley Grant. "We talk and communicate constantly to set up scores. Communication is really the key for our success."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Drew Smith at asmithii@indiana.edu.