IU defeat Wright State in last spring match

Looking forward to next season, IU women’s soccer coach Mick Lyon said he cannot help but be excited. \nThe sentiment is understandable, as Lyon has molded his program around young talent – talent that just finished its spring season with a 5-1 victory over Wright State on Saturday.\nIU finished its six-game spring exhibition season with a 3-1-2 record. IU’s only defeat came at the feet of Notre Dame, which competed in the 2007 Women’s College Cup.\n“The spring season is a good step into next season,” sophomore forward Liz Holby said. “We have been working on team-building and have become very close, which is important for next year. We have a bunch of new girls coming into next year, and as long as we are together now, it’ll be easier bringing them in next season.”\nThe Hoosiers started the spring with an undefeated weekend, beating Indiana State 4-0 and drawing with Dayton 2-2. \nThe Hoosiers then beat Kentucky 1-0 before dropping to Notre Dame 2-0.\n“(The spring season) is very important,” Lyon said. “As with the fall season, you have a mixture of games. The last games have been incredibly tough with Notre Dame and the professional club team FC Indiana.”\nThe stiffest competition came against FC Indiana, which ranks fifth in the world club rankings.\nThe two teams played close the entire match, drawing at a goal apiece. Lyon said his team played its best soccer of the spring against the international club team.\n“As team, we were never really pulled apart (against FC Indiana),” Lyon said. “And as the game went on we grew in confidence, and that was great to see.”\nSophomore forward Kristin Arnold, who had an assist in the contest, said it was a good experience for her team because of the level of competition the Hoosiers faced.\n“Notre Dame, we didn’t come out with the result, but we gained a lot of experience with that game,” she said. “And we played really well against FC Indiana who is a great team with older players who have beaten a lot of college teams. So, I think not only have we built up a lot of skills, but confidence as well, and I think taking that into the fall will help us out a lot.”\nSaturday, IU finished its spring with a trouncing of Wright State.\nArnold picked up two more goals, bringing her total to four for the spring, which was the most of any player this season. The sophomore led the team in the fall as well. Holby also added a goal, and rising young talent freshman forward Aleah DeGeneres, who redshirted in the fall, notched the remaining two.\nWith only one senior next year, Lyon’s roster is very young but loaded with talent as the majority of the team’s top performers this spring were freshmen and sophomores in the fall.\nAltogether, the freshman and sophomore classes accounted for every goal this spring and 27 of 36 in the fall.\nIn the fall, the Hoosiers made it to the third round of the NCAA Tournament, defeating rival Purdue on penalty kicks in the second round. It was the furthest any IU women’s soccer team had ever gone in the tournament.