Women's soccer team is NCAA bound

IU women’s soccer coach Mick Lyon said his goal every season is to be playing on his birthday – Nov. 18 – because then his team would be playing in the NCAA Tournament. For the first time in his tenure at IU, one of his teams might meet that goal.\nThe Hoosiers found out last night they would be playing in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1998. \n“I can’t even describe how excited I am,” senior midfielder Beverly Markwort said. “It’s just something that I have worked at for the last three years, so it’s great before I graduate to finally get to experience this.”\nThe Hoosiers’ season record currently stands at 12-6-2, with a 5-5-1 conference record. But after losing their last five Big Ten games, some players were unsure as to whether they would make the tournament.\nBut sure enough, IU was named to the West Lafayette section of the bracket, where they drew Toledo.\n“It’s definitely a relief sitting through that and seeing our name kind of early,” senior midfielder Katy Stewart said. “They didn’t even put any suspense on us. They put us out there in the first few rounds. To know that we finally achieved something we have been waiting for since 1998 is great.”\nWhat likely swayed NCAA committee’s decision on the Hoosiers’ fate was the team’s Rating Percentage Index – which judges teams based on winning percentage, strength of schedule and opponents’ strength of schedule.\nIn the final RPI rankings released by the NCAA, IU ranked No. 18, third best in the Big Ten behind No. 1 Penn State and No. 13 Purdue, which won the Big Ten Tournament. \nAnother important part of the Hoosiers’ tournament resume was that all of IU’s losses this season came to opponents ranking in the Top 36 in the RPI, and all were on the road save the second loss to Ohio State, which came at a neutral site in the Big Ten Tournament.\nLyon said he thought all along that his team would make the tournament, but wasn’t sure where it would have to play. He said that he was happy to be playing in West Lafayette. \n“I think there couldn’t be a better place for us to go,” Lyon said. “We know the field and know what to expect.”\nIf IU beats Toledo on Friday, the team will face the winner of the match between Purdue and Oakland. That game would be Sunday – Lyon’s birthday.\nLyon also said he was anxious for a possible rematch with Purdue, who crushed IU 7-0 in the the last meeting, as IU was battling injuries.\n“We are going to work on getting past Toledo and getting past them first,” he said. “But that potential match-up with Purdue, that’s just motivation oozing out of every pore.”\nThe time for Friday’s game against the Rockets has yet to be announced. The meeting will be the first between the two programs.\n“It feels great to finally make it,” senior midfielder Lindsay McCarthy said. “It’s been our goal since we came in as freshmen, and it is great to be able to continue playing this season, because we don’t want it to end.”