Women's soccer looks to gain 2nd conference victory in contest against Penn State

After defeating Iowa 3-2 on the road Sunday, the IU women’s soccer team does not have the luxury of enjoying its win for long as the Hoosiers travel to play Penn State on Thursday.

Though the overtime win against Iowa has only helped IU (5-10-1, 1-6-0) move up one place from the bottom of the Big Ten standings, IU coach Mick Lyon said it means more than just the game-winner scored by junior forward Carly Samp.

“On a six-game losing streak, being 2-0 down early in the game and away from home — a lot of teams will just give up,” Lyon said. “Our girls didn’t. Their spirit of fighting instead of crumbling was great.”

Samp ended the game in the 94th minute by chipping in a center pass delivered by senior teammate Leigh Ann Cummings at the far post and was immediately surrounded by the other Hoosiers who came to celebrate the long-awaited victory.

Samp, who currently leads the team with eight goals this season, has been playing different positions on Lyon’s offensive lineup this season. She said this is not new to her.

“I have been playing wide midfielder since I was young,” Samp said. “I am really comfortable playing it because it gives me a lot of space to attack.”

Lyon has attempted many different lineups this season. He put Samp at the midfielder position when he needed more transitions in the middle while leaving sophomore forward Orianica Velasquez up front as a single arrow. He also did not hesitate to put Samp and junior midfielder Devon Beach at the forward positions whenever he saw a need to play a 3-4-3 strategy.

Lyon said while the theme of the Iowa game was more offense, in playing Penn State, the Hoosiers will have to be more defensive.

“I will use a different strategy from the Iowa game,” Lyon said after Tuesday’s practice. “We will play closer to our half and bring our forwards back a little bit. Penn State is a very talented team.”

Penn State is currently third in the Big Ten. Last week, Penn State’s Emma Thomson and Hayley Brock were named the Big Ten women’s soccer Players of the Week.