In Butler match, IU to face ex-Hoosier

Coming off a loss that snapped its nine-game winning streak, IU will look to revisit its winning ways at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday against Butler (3-4) at Bill Armstrong Stadium.

“On Sunday, we just gave the ball away way too much,” IU coach Mick Lyon said of IU’s Sept. 13 loss to St. John’s.

IU’s game against Butler features an interesting matchup.

Butler senior midfielder Molly Kruger returns to IU, where she played her freshman year and was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team in 2005.

She also played alongside Hoosier senior defender Jessica Boots at Carmel High School from 2002 to 2005.

The two won three straight Indiana high school state championships in soccer.
Kruger was a three-time All-American, an Indiana Player of the Year and a two-time Indiana Gatorade Player of the Year for Carmel.

Kruger and the Bulldogs played IU in 2008, and her two goals propelled the Bulldogs to a 2-1 victory against the Hoosiers.

Lyon said IU has to control the game’s pace when facing such talent on the pitch.
“Our focus for the next couple of games is that we have to have the ball for longer periods of time,” he said. “That’s where we’re most dangerous.”

Butler, who finished 11-11 in 2008, is practically returning the same team that beat the Hoosiers last year, with only one starter missing.

But they played significantly worse when playing away, with a record of 3-7 on the road.

IU will look to stop Kruger and her fast-paced offensive approach on Wednesday with an improved defense.

Sophomore midfielder Devon Beach said the No. 25 ranking IU had before its loss was exciting, but thinks the team still needs to prove itself.

According to the latest poll, released on Tuesday, the Hoosiers are now the No. 22 team in the nation, even after their loss to an unranked team.

“Well, I think it’s a huge game for us,” Lyon said. “We’ll be as good as our rebound. So we need to come out and play well.”