End of the road

Unlucky loss number seven kept the IU women’s soccer team from advancing to the round of eight in the NCAA Tournament. The Hoosiers’ season ended with a 13-7-3 record on a rainy Sunday in Bloomington as they fell to the Duke Blue Devils 2-0. \nDuke’s (10-5-7) first score came in the 41st minute, right before the end of the first half, which IU coach Mick Lyon said is one of the worst times in a game to allow a goal.\n“Four minutes before halftime is never a good time to concede a goal,” Lyon said. “You always look to say that the five minutes before the end of the period and at the start of the period is the prime time to not give up a goal.”\nBlue Devil sophomore midfielder C.J. Ludemann got a free kick just outside the box after an IU penalty. She took the kick five yards from the 18-yard box and placed the ball right in front of Hoosier goalkeeper Lauren Hollandsworth.\nHollandsworth attempted to punch the ball out of the box only to see it immediately headed back in by Duke sophomore forward KayAnne Gummersall. The goal was Gummersall’s first of the season.\nHaving to make a comeback in a match was nothing new for the Hoosier team that made seven of them during the season.\n“We had a really good attitude this year,” sophomore forward Kristin Arnold said. “There were a lot of games that we came out down and games in overtime, but we always knew that we could win every game that we played.”\nWhile attempting to tie the contest to start the second half, IU had two stellar opportunities within a minute of each other. \nIn the 52nd minute, IU played a through-ball to streaking senior forward Lindsay McCarthy, but the pass was just out of reach as Duke senior goalkeeper Allison Lipsher punched out the ball before McCarthy could gather it.\nShortly after Lipsher’s save, the ball ended up at the feet of Arnold, the Hoosiers’ leading scorer.\nArnold’s shot barely missed the post to the right.\nTen minutes later in the 63rd minute, Duke’s Ludemann earned her second assist of the contest as she found teammate Elisabeth Redmond open on the right side of the box for the final score.\nRedmond blasted a shot that both Hoosier sophomore defender Kelly Lawrence and Hollandsworth touched, but it still had enough strength to punch the back of the net.\nThe Blue Devils will move on to face Notre Dame in the fourth round of the NCAA tournament. It will be the program’s third trip to the round of eight.\n“It’s the third, but first since 1994,” Duke coach Robbie Church said. “For us to be on the road for the third straight and to be able to fight through this weather and a very good IU team is great.”\nAfter the loss, Hoosier team members remained in high spirits as they remembered that they had accomplished what no other IU women’s soccer team had ever done: They got to the third round of the NCAA Tournament.\nThe Hoosiers’ regular season was highlighted by an upset win at home against then-No. 13 USC. The win was part of a 13-game unbeaten streak which included an undefeated record at home – 9-0-1 – before Sunday’s loss.\nAnd with 22 members of this year’s team returning next year, including top-scorer Arnold and All-Big Ten freshman team honoree Hollandsworth, the Hoosiers are looking for an even stronger run next year.\nBut some, such as senior midfielder Katy Stewart, were just happy to be on the team that started it all.\n“This team has come very far in four years, and I am really proud to be on the group that is making the history here,” she said. “I think (the seniors) have a lot of talent below us. Being a senior on this team has been really exciting for me because I have had a lot of support, and I know these girls are going to do well in the next three or four years. It’s just great to be a senior on the team that is starting the run.”