Hoosiers face tough road trip

The IU women’s soccer team is in the middle of a pivotal moment in its season. Their mettle will be tested as they finish their regular season play on the road against three top Big Ten teams.\n“These are must wins,” senior midfielder Katy Stewart said. “We have the chance to go 3-0 and win the Big Ten title or go 0-3 and barely make the (Big Ten) tournament.”\nThis weekend, the Hoosiers will face Ohio State on Friday and then No. 13 Penn State on Sunday. After the weekend, IU will finish the regular season at No. 5 Purdue.\nThe Hoosiers are currently 12-2-2 with a record of 5-1-1 in the Big Ten. This test will show whether they are a top team in not only the Big Ten, but the nation, something they believe they can be.\n“Our coach has been reminding us that all of our games are must wins,” senior forward Lindsay McCarthy said. “We have the chance to win the Big Ten so I think everyone is excited about these games coming up. We are not scared at all. We are ready to get out there and give it our all.”\nLast weekend, the Hoosiers dropped a road game similar to those coming up, when IU was dealt its second loss of the season last Friday at Illinois. \n“We haven’t been on the road much, so I think since it was their Senior Night and there were a lot of fans there, that we might have got distracted,” McCarthy said. “But it was good for us to experience that, because we are going to face that with the next three games. It was a good awakening that I think is already preparing us for our next three games.”\nStewart said the loss was a result of the Hoosiers not being able to capitalize on opportunities, a problem she said the team will try to fix.\n“(Illinois) play(s) a lot different style than Big Ten teams we play, as well as any other non-conference teams we played,” Stewart said. “So they brought a very different style at us, and I don’t think we were able to adjust as quickly as we needed to. The thing about it was we had shots on goal, we had as many shots as they did.”\nIU coach Mick Lyon said he wants his team to be excited for the weekend’s matches but focused at the same time.\n“I want their mind set to be excited, but not to let that excitement overcome them,” Lyon said. “What we need to do is just perform well, and we will have chances to win all three of our last games. Our focus has been on Ohio State, and we need to have a mind set that we are going there to win a game, and then we will go and take care of Penn State at their place.” \nLyon also said that he wants his defense to play better than they did at Illinois.\n“On the defensive side, we need to step up and rise to the challenge. Either you become a mouse or a mountain lion,” Lyon said. \nThe game against Ohio State kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Friday. The match at Penn State will be at 1 p.m. Sunday and will be aired on the Big Ten Network.