Road wears down Hoosiers in weekend of competitive play

The road has not been kind to the IU women's soccer team. The Hoosiers have lost five of six games away from Bill Armstrong Stadium this season and things didn't get any better during the weekend. \nIU (4-5-1, 0-2 Big Ten) began the Big Ten season with a 2-0 loss at No. 2 Penn State (10-0, 2-0 Big Ten) and a 2-1 overtime defeat at the hands of Minnesota (4-4-2, 1-1 Big Ten).\nBut the Hoosiers are not letting a tough game against the nation's No. 2 team and an overtime loss get them down.\n"We played really well this weekend," said junior forward Megan Pipkens. "Against Penn State we were ready to go from the beginning and caught them on their heels. Today we played even better and had many opportunities to score. We just didn't get the wins."\nFriday, in State College, Pa., IU contained Penn State early before succumbing to defeat. The team then traveled to the Twin Cities where the weary Hoosiers ran out of gas in their overtime thriller Sunday. IU coach Mick Lyon said the high amount of traveling got the best of the team. \n"We were exhausted," Lyon said. "We just caught a string of bad luck this weekend. The goals scored against us should have never gone in."\nDespite the losses, Lyon said the team continued to show promise and is hopeful for the remainder of the season. \n"There were some good performances from a lot of players," he said. "Losing two games is not the end of the world. We are starting to settle into a regular rotation of players. Our defense and goalkeeping have been outstanding. We just have to take advantage of our opportunities and turn them into goals."\nEchoing her coach's sentiments, Pipkens believes that the Hoosiers will still be competitive in the Big Ten.\n"The Big Ten is so up and down," she said. "You have to come out ready for everything, but I think we can do it. I'm comfortable with how we are playing. The effort is there and some day it is going to click. I can feel that we are right there."\nOne bright spot for the Hoosiers was freshman midfielder Molly Kruger. The team leader in shots finally scored the first goal of her collegiate career when she found the back of the net in the 32nd minute against Minnesota. \n"It was a really good feeling," Kruger said. "It was a relief to know that I could score. I've had a lot of shots this season and none have gone in. I just got a really good serve and I put it in the back of the net."\nThe Hoosiers will be back in Bloomington next weekend as Big Ten play continues against Michigan and Michigan State at Armstrong Stadium.