Ohio-born players look to beat Buckeyes

Results in Big Ten play this season have denied the IU women’s soccer team an opportunity to advance to a postseason match.

But the team can still play spoiler against Ohio State.

The Buckeyes, currently tied with Purdue and Michigan for the seventh seed in the conference, will have their senior day Sunday in Columbus, Ohio. An IU victory could mark the end of the careers of nine Buckeye seniors.

“It’ll be one of the factors,” IU Coach Mick Lyon said. “We’ll be the last match of the Big Ten regular season. Ohio State should go into the game knowing what they need to do to get into the tournament.”

IU, in contrast, will be able to play relaxed Sunday, said senior defender Kirsta Kellin.
“Speaking for the seniors, we want to go out and have fun,” she said. “We’re going to play a lot better because of it. We don’t have anything to lose.”

IU has 10 players from Ohio. Lyon said motivation should not be lacking.

“For us to be spoilers will definitely be additional energy for the girls to compete,” he said. “We’ve got a ton of Ohio girls. There’s a reason why they didn’t go to Ohio State. That’s not their favorite place to be.”

Sophomore midfielder Lisa Nouanesengsy, second on the team in scoring with six goals, said the team will not prepare for this match any differently.

“I could see why this one is going to be a bigger game,” she said. “But we’re going to go at it the same way we do every game.”

Nouanesengsy, a native of Huber Heights, Ohio, added that it “would be nice if we could knock them off. They made it to the Final Four last year.”

Lyon said he knows the Buckeyes’ coaching staff well, and OSU’s Lori Walker and her staff will probably have last year’s loss on their poster board.

Though the Buckeyes reached the Final last year, their loss in Bloomington cost them an outright Big Ten regular season championship.

Lyon said he hopes to see his team end the careers of six seniors with a win. Defeating the Buckeyes would also snap IU’s five-match losing streak.

“I hope we’re in a position where all of the seniors will be on the pitch at the end,” Lyon said. “That’s the greatest scenario because we’re winning the game, and we’re winning it comfortably. That way they leave their careers on the pitch finishing the game.”