“This week we’re trying to work on our speed of play,,” IU Coach Amy Berbary said. “I thought last week we had so many unforced errors.”
After a 1-1 draw against Ball State on Sunday at home, IU looks for its first win since Sept. 4. IU (3-3-2) has ended its nonconference schedule that featured five consecutive road games. The team now begins its Big Ten campaign against Illinois and Northwestern.
“We’re starting the second season,” Berbary said. “The first one was nonconference. We ended that on Sunday, and now we go into an eleven-game season in the Big Ten.”
IU plays Illinois at 7 p.m. Friday at Bill Armstrong Stadium. Illinois (6-1) is coming off a 1-0 home win Friday against Northern Kentucky. Berbary is especially impressed with Jannelle Flaws, the Illini’s standout redshirt senior forward, in particular.
“They have a couple of really dynamic players,” Berbary said. “Obviously Jannelle Flaws, I rate her as one of the best players in the conference and as a goal scoring forward. We are going to make sure to account for her.”
IU then faces Northwestern at 12 p.m. Sunday. Northwestern (6-1-1) plays Purdue Friday before heading down to Bloomington. The Wildcats are currently riding a two-game win streak.
“They’re really organized,” Berbary said. “They’ve gotten some really good results this year so far, they’re athletic, and they will be dangerous.”
After scoring only one goal in their last three games, the Hoosiers are looking for more offense over the weekend.
“I’m looking for full effort,” Berbary said. “We’re looking to be a little bit more consistent and a little bit more dangerous in the final third.”
The Hoosiers are looking forward to playing at home this weekend.
“It’s great to play in front of our fans,” Berbary said. “So hopefully we get a lot of people out there to support us.”
