After failing to record a victory in the Hoosier Challenge Cup last weekend, the IU women’s soccer team will aim for better results in its second non-conference tournament of the season.
The Hoosiers will hit the road this weekend to participate in the Virginia Tech Invitational in Blacksburg, Virginia. IU will play Virginia Tech on Friday night and James Madison on Sunday as part of the tournament.
The tournament marks the first time this season IU will play a match outside Indiana.
Five of IU’s six matches this season have been at Bill Armstrong Stadium, while their lone road game was played at Butler in Indianapolis.
“I think getting away from home sometimes helps us a bit,” IU Coach Amy Berbary said. “We can just really focus on nothing but soccer.”
IU’s first opponent, Virginia Tech, is listed at No. 18 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America rankings. The Hokies received an at-large berth to last season’s NCAA Tournament after posting a 15-3-3 mark in regular season play.
Virginia Tech reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament before losing to Ohio State, 1-0. Senior forward Murielle Tiernan and junior forward Alani Johnson each have scored four goals this season for the Hokies. With 43 goals scored in her collegiate career, Tiernan is Virginia Tech’s all-time leader in goals scored.
Keeping both Tiernan and Johnson off the scoreboard will be something the Hoosier defense will hope to do after surrendering five combined goals to LSU and Southern Methodist during the Hoosier Challenge Cup.
“I think we just have to continue to work,” Berbary said. “We need to continue to move forward. We need to be a little bit sharper and just pick up those final details.”
The last meeting between Virginia Tech and IU came Aug. 21, 2015, in what was both squads’ season openers. Tiernan scored two goals, and the Hokies won, 2-1, in Bloomington.
Virginia Tech is off to a fast, 5-1-0 start to begin this season and has a victory against LSU, to which IU lost last Friday.
“Virginia Tech is a very organized team, and they have some dynamic players up top,” Berbary said. “We need to figure out how to tactically break them down.”
IU will conclude non-conference play this season with their final match in the Virginia Tech Invitational on Sunday against James Madison, another team that made the NCAA Tournament a season ago.
Unlike Virginia Tech, JMU has started slowly this season and posted a 1-5-0 record after six games. Sophomore goalkeeper Olivia Miller has impressed for the Dukes this season.
Miller has played all 552 minutes in net and recorded 24 saves.
Miller’s save tally through six matches is still one behind that of IU freshman goalkeeper Sarah L’Hommedieu, though, as L’Hommedieu has made 25 saves in 470 minutes of game action.
L’Hommedieu has started four consecutive matches in net for the 2-3-1 Hoosiers, who will look to stop a two-game losing streak Friday.
