The IU women’s soccer team looks to give No. 23 Rutgers its first home loss of the season Thursday night.
“It’s the nature of the season,” IU Coach Amy Berbary said. “The conference races are pretty tight right now so we just need to make sure we focus and execute the chances that we get this weekend.”
IU (3-5-5) also plays No. 11 Penn State on Sunday. The Hoosiers are searching for their first Big Ten win of the season in which three starters have suffered season-ending injuries: sophomore defender Mykayla Brown, sophomore forward Nickie Zuckerman and standout freshman forward Abby Allen.
Despite these setbacks, Berbary said she has a solution to win this weekend.
“It’s going to take one person to step up and make a play inside the box,” Berbary said. “And that is something that we have lacked all year.”
Rutgers (9-2-1) is an unfamiliar Big Ten opponent for IU, as the two teams only squared off once last season. In that game, Rutgers pulled off a 1-0 victory. The Scarlet Knights’ defense registered eight consecutive shutouts to start the season.
“I think we need to forget about what happened this weekend and just focus on Rutgers,” sophomore midfielder Kayla Smith said. “If we forget about what we’ve been struggling with and be able to push through I think we’ll be able to get results.”
After winning eight straight games to start the season, the ranked Rutgers’s season took a turn for the worse with two straight Big Ten road losses to Illinois and Northwestern in late September.
Rutgers is coming off of a win last week against Michigan State and a tie against Michigan.
Penn State (8-2-2) poses an even tougher road challenge for IU. The Nittany Lions are 4-1-1 at home and 3-1-1 in Big Ten play this season. Both Penn State and Rutgers feature stingy defenses, so IU will need to capitalize on the chances they get.
“We have been getting opportunities in all of the Big Ten games,” IU senior midfielder Jessie Bujouves said. “We just haven’t finished them so again the focus should be finishing in the final third because we are creating them.”
The Hoosiers have played six overtimes this season and are 1-0-5 in those situations. IU’s defense has remained consistent and the offense has made strides, as Berbary said she believes they are not far from becoming consistent scorers.
“We are so, so close,” Berbary said. “But so, so close doesn’t get you to the Big Ten Tournament.”
