IU womens soccer ready to welcome Minnesota, Iowa this weekend

This weekend’s matches against Minnesota and Iowa will mark the last two Big Ten home games for the IU women’s soccer team this season.\nThe Hoosiers are currently receiving the second-highest number of votes among unranked teams in the latest National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll, and are ranked 12th in the first Ratings Percentage Index rankings released for 2007. The RPI rankings help the selection committee determine which teams receive at-large bids to the NCAA tournament. \nLed by a potent offense, the Hoosiers are riding an 11-game unbeaten streak, over which they have a record of 9-0-2. In their 12 games (9-1-2) so far this season, the Hoosiers have netted 24 goals, three more than last season’s total.\nWith five of those goals coming off corner kicks, IU coach Mick Lyon is confident in his team’s ability to score from set pieces.\n“We have good players who can serve the ball,” Lyon said. “Having players who can really put the ball where you want it is a huge part of set plays. Anyone can hit the ball as hard as Beckham, but can they put it with the right spin and with the right pace to get it in the back corner every time? I think that’s what we are doing \nreally well.”\nThe Hoosiers have several players who can serve the ball into the 18-yard box on a corner kick.\nFor serves that require a left-footed kicker, freshman midfielder Chloe McKay is usually in charge of taking the kick.\n“We have a couple of different plays,” McKay said. “There is either a back-post run that we are looking for, or we are looking to put it on the two (players) that are standing on the near-post, so they can flick it on to the back-post. We always have at least two to three options wherever we are playing.”\nAfter the ball is served in, it is usually sophomore midfielder/forward Christie Kotynski’s job to gather and shoot the ball. \n“Basically, I’m just following the ball wherever it goes,” Kotynski said. “I have to be on the end of every set piece.”\nKotynski has four of the Hoosiers’ five goals off of corner kicks.\n“We are very dangerous on set pieces, I think anywhere on the field, but especially on corners having the height that we do,” McKay said. “Christie has been doing great with finishing, and so has Lindsay (McCarthy), especially off of headers.”\nMcCarthy, a senior forward, became the third Hoosier in the last three weeks to get at least a share of Big Ten Player of the Week honors. \nMcCarthy scored both of IU’s goals last weekend, as the Hoosiers tied Michigan and beat Michigan State, both on the road.\nMinnesota and Iowa finished in a tie for 10th in the Big Ten last year, but both have winning records in conference play so far this year at 2-1.\nIU plays Minnesota at 7 p.m. Friday night at Bill Armstrong Stadium. It then faces Iowa at 2 p.m. Sunday afternoon.