BIG STREAK

With the way September was going, the Hoosiers might not have wanted to see it come to an end. But so far, October isn't looking too bad for them either.\nThe IU women's soccer team defeated Michigan State 1-0 Friday night in East Lansing, Mich., to close out the first undefeated September in the program's history. IU followed that up with a 2-1 win Sunday in Ann Arbor, Mich., against Michigan to extend the team's unbeaten streak to 10 games. \nThe wins improved IU's overall record to 7-2-3, including a 4-0-0 record in Big Ten play.\n"After the (Michigan) game we were saying, 'Wow, this is so exciting. We're 4-0 in the Big Ten,'" senior forward Carrie DeFreece said. "It's building our confidence." \nIU's win against Michigan State came thanks to a goal in the 47th minute by DeFreece, who put a shot from the right side of the box into the left corner of the net to score her fourth goal of the season. The unassisted goal was the only scoring for either team as the Hoosiers earned their fifth shutout of the season.\nThe Hoosiers then traveled to Ann Arbor to take on the Wolverines. IU struck first in the 48th minute, when senior midfielder Ali Brown kicked a long pass to freshman forward Kristin Arnold, who put a high shot past Michigan goalkeeper Megan Tuura. The Wolverines tied it up in the 60th minute when Michigan's Katelin Spencer headed a corner kick into the net. But freshman forward Christie Kotynski came through with the game winner in the 75th minute when a shot by Arnold hit off the crossbar. The ball found its way to Kotynski, who headed it into the net for her third goal of the season.\nIU now has four wins in the Big Ten season, which is more than last season's Hoosiers, who finished with a 3-6-1 Big Ten record. \n"Somehow we would find a way to lose the game -- a bad mistake, a bad decision, an unlucky pass, all those kind of things," coach Mick Lyon said of the 2005 Hoosiers. "And then all of a sudden that happens for five or six games, and you lose confidence, and players don't play with bravado. They play intimidated."\nBut this year Lyon said he sees a change in the players' attitudes.\n"All of the sudden I got a busload of girls that are confident and excited," Lyon said. "They are confident in their own abilities, and it's really showing on the field."\nOne of the goals Lyon has had this year is to win all Big Ten home games. But he said the road conference wins are helpful as well.\n"If you can win all your home games and get a few points on the road, then you're going to be in fairly good shape," Lyon said. "Obviously being 4-0 and winning all the games at home and all the games on the road, I'll take that. That's a championship record.\nAll four wins during this year's Big Ten season have been by one goal, a difference from last season's IU squad, which dropped five of its six conference losses by only one goal.\n"Our forwards are doing a nice job of finishing their chances this year," junior defender Jenna Babcock said about the difference. "And the defense is a lot stronger I feel, so we're holding out a lot more goals than usual."\nIU looks to continue its unbeaten streak Wednesday when the Hoosiers travel to Evansville to take on the Purple Aces.