IU looks to find winning touch again in tournament

The IU women's soccer team was unstoppable Oct. 1. That day, the Hoosiers defeated Michigan 2-1 to win game 10 of a 13-game unbeaten streak.\n"I just think that overall as a team, we played really well that game, defensively and offensively," said freshman forward Kristin Arnold, who had a goal and an assist in the game. "We defended really well as a team, We were able to win the 50-50 balls in the midfield. I think that because of that, we had a lot more opportunities." \nThe Hoosiers (9-6-4, 5-4-1 Big Ten) look to recapture the magic from that early October game at 7:30 tonight when they once again face Michigan (8-6-5, 4-3-3 Big Ten) in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament at State College, Pa.\n"I've been reviewing the tape for the last couple of days," IU coach Mick Lyon said. "While we travel on Wednesday, we'll have the players reviewing the DVD on their computers."\nA lot has changed for both teams since their first meeting. At the time, the Wolverines were playing .500 ball and had dropped four of their last five matches. But the Wolverines bounced back following the IU game and started a six-game unbeaten streak of their own before falling to Michigan State in the regular season finale. Michigan earned the fifth seed in this weekend's tournament. \nIU went on to extend its unbeaten streak three more games before dropping its last four and falling from a possible top seed to a fourth seed.\n"It's been sort of a disappointment," said junior midfielder Beverly Markwort. "We're ready to get out of that slump we've sort of been into and put all our energy into the coming games. Hopefully, we'll have three games coming up."\nThe winner of the first-round game will advance to Friday's semifinals where they will play the winner of the No. 1 Penn State vs. No. 8 Northwestern. Another win would put the Hoosiers in Sunday's Big Ten Championship. The Hoosiers are looking for some wins to help their chances of getting an NCAA Tournament bid.\n"We're packing enough clothes to be there four days," Lyon said. "To me, I think we need to win a couple games to get a lock on it. If we can fight our way past Michigan and get to face the Penn State-Northwestern winner, I like our chances."\nOne thing is already certain for the Hoosiers: They will have to get past Michigan without junior defender Jenna Babcock. In the 64th minute of the Hoosiers game against Purdue, Babcock was sent off with a red card for kicking a Boilermaker player who was on the ground. Babcock will not be able to play in the first-round game because of the penalty.\nLyon said Babcock's spot will be filled by junior Katy Stewart.\n"I think she'll do an admirable job," Lyon said. "She played at the back all last spring. And (senior) Lauren Dieter is also training to play in that spot as well."\nIf the Hoosiers get by Michigan, Babcock could play against Penn State or Northwestern. And the Hoosiers said they hope to give her that chance.\n"If we can come away and do well at Penn State this weekend, there's certainly a lot left of our season to play," Arnold said. "We just have to come in with some confidence, knowing that even though we did well at the beginning of our season, that's not going to define the end of our season"