UNBEATEN

Go eight games without a loss, and people start to notice.\nRiding the second-longest unbeaten streak in program history, the IU women's soccer team is starting to gain national attention. The Hoosiers (5-2-3, 2-0-0 Big Ten) have gone 5-0-3 in their last eight games, including two wins in their first Big Ten games against Ohio State and Minnesota. Because of their streak, the Hoosiers recieved votes for the first time this season in this week's NSCAA/Adidas national rankings. \n"Everyone takes notice of a team that's not losing," junior goalkeeper Stacey Van Boxmeer said. "And since we're doing well, people are starting to recognize us as a team that can compete."\nIn addition to getting team recognition, one Hoosier earned individual recognition. Senior midfielder Ali Brown was named to the TopDrawerSoccer.com and SoccerBuzz.com national teams of the week after scoring two goals and getting an assist in last weekend's games against Minnesota and Ohio State.\n"People are talking about Indiana soccer for two reasons," IU head coach Mick Lyon said. "They want to know why the guys aren't winning more games, and they're saying, 'Wow, the girls are winning some.' We're going to continue winning, and (IU men's) coach (Mike) Freitag's going to continue winning too. It's going to be nice when people look in the polls and see Indiana both in the men's national polls and the women's national polls."\nIU takes its eight-game unbeaten streak -- the longest since a 14-game winning streak that spanned the 1993 and 1994 seasons -- into the Great Lakes state this weekend for matches Friday night against Michigan State and Sunday against Michigan.\nThe games will be a homecoming of sorts for a couple of Michigan natives on the Hoosiers' roster. Senior forward Megan Pipkens played her high school ball just 15 minutes south of East Lansing, Mich., in Holt.\n"I haven't been there since freshman year," Pipkens said. "There's going to be a lot of support there from my high school and relatives. It doesn't get any better than playing in front of people you love."\nIn addition to Pipkens, freshman Becky Prokopiak, an Ann Arbor, Mich., native, will also be making a return trip to the Great Lakes State.\n"With (Pipkens) it will be a case of taking those emotions (of playing close to home) and channeling them into successful things, not just frantic play," Lyon said. "And we'll talk with her to get the very best out of her through those emotions. And Becky Prokopiak, she's on the bus, she's working her tail off...And I know she's going to be excited to be on the field at any point, whether she's sitting on the bench, on the field, or training, but she'll be in red in Ann Arbor. I know she'll be excited about that."\nBoth the Spartans (4-4-1) and the Wolverines (4-4-2) bring a 0-1-0 record into the weekend with both teams falling to No. 9 Penn State last weekend. Michigan State fell to the Nittany Lions 3-2 in overtime while Michigan dropped the match 4-1 for its third-straight loss. The Hoosiers are hoping to give both teams early losses this season.\n"We plan on putting them at the bottom of the Big Ten," Lyon said. "It will give me no more joy than seeing the two Michigan teams towards the bottom of the Big Ten. That's a goal of ours: to be competitive. Nothing against them, but that's the kind of march and dominance that we want to put out there"