Ace Hunt
GoSycamores.com
SETTING THE STAGE
The Indiana State women's soccer team continues the 2013 campaign by venturing on the road for the first time this season when they travel to Western Kentucky on Sunday, September 1. Kickoff versus the Lady Toppers is set for 2:00 p.m. (ET) at the WKU Soccer Complex in Bowling Green, Ky. The game will be broadcast online via WKUSports.tv.
Indiana State is 1-1-0 on the young season as Kate Johnson scored the golden goal to give the Sycamores a 2-1 win against Georgia Southern on Friday, August 23 in the season opener in the first minute of the second overtime period. Kayla Welch scored off a free kick to equalize the match late in the first half.
The Sycamores have never faced Western Kentucky in the history of the program and are facing a member of the Sun Belt Conference for the first time since a 4-3 overtime victory against Troy in overtime on August 27, 2004.
The Sycamores are coming off an 8-10-3 campaign in 2012, which saw them capture the Missouri Valley Conference's No. 5 seed and advance to the league's championship match by virtue of a road victory over No. 4 Northern Iowa as well a neutral field victory over No. 1 Evansville in the semifinals. Indiana State made their second-ever trip to the MVC title match on Nov. 4, 2012 when the Sycamores faced No. 2 Illinois State, falling by the score of 5-1. ISU also appeared in the championship match in 2008, falling to top-seeded Evansville that season, 2-0.
Indiana State finished the 2012 campaign by winning or tying four of their last five matches, going 2-1-2 over that span. During ISU's late-season run, the Sycamores earned a scoreless draw against Drake, defeated Missouri State in overtime in Springfield to earn a spot in the conference tournament, topped fourth-seeded Northern Iowa in the opening game of the tournament in Cedar Falls on penalty kicks, 4-3, and eliminated the tournament's top seed Evansville in the semifinals.
The Sycamores return a pair of All-MVC award winners in 2013 as senior midfielder Shelby Troyer and sophomore midfielder Sydney Lovelace were honored by the league coaches. Lovelace was selected to the All-MVC Second Team, with Lovelace also earning MVC All-Freshman Team honors. Troyer rounded out the awards for the Sycamores, earning Honorable Mention All-MVC for the second straight season.
A Little History -- Western Kentucky
Indiana State is facing off against Western Kentucky for the first time in the history of the program.
Scouting The Lady Toppers
Western Kentucky is 0-1 on the young season heading into the weekend. The Lady Toppers play Conference USA foe Rice on Friday night before the match against Indiana State on Sunday. WKU lost their season opener against Utah by the score of 2-0 last Friday at home. WKU hasn't dropped its first two matches to open a season since 2006 and hasn't allowed goals in back-to-back games to open a season since 2008.
Kate Johnson Scores Game Winner Against Georgia Southern
Kate Johnson scored her first goal of the 2013 season in the opener on August 23 as the Sycamores earned a 2-1 victory in double overtime over Georgia Southern. Johnson's goal came in the 106th minute of action as a golden goal which lifted Indiana State to victory. Her goal came off the assist from Bria Caldwell from 28 yards out as ISU earned his first-ever victory over the Eagles or a member of the Southern Conference. For the match, Johnson had two shots, both on goal as well as the golden goal for the win. Johnson added one shot in Sunday's match against Butler.
Free Kicks Give Sycamores “Welch” On The Scoreboard
Indiana State freshman defender Kayla Welch continued to impress early on in the season as she scored the equalizing goal in the 37th minute of the first half against Georgia Southern. The Sycamores eventually topped the Eagles by the score of 2-1 in double overtime for the season-opening victory. Welch's goal came from 20 yards on a free kick. The game-tying goal proved to be Welch's only shot on goal versus the Eagles. Welch added one shot against Butler in Sunday's match.
First Victory Over Southern Conference
With its 2-1 victory over Georgia Southern, the Sycamores earned their first-ever victory over the Eagles. It was also the program's first victory over a member of the Southern Conference, having previously dropped a pair of road matches in the program's inaugural season of 2000 to Chattanooga and Western Carolina.
Leading All Newcomers
Freshman Sydney Lovelace led all freshmen in the MVC last season with 59 shots, an average of 2.81 shots per game. Overall, the Franklin, Ohio, and Franklin High School product, ranked third in shots and fourth in shots per game across the league. She was the Indiana State representative on the All-MVC Preseason Team in 2013.
Sycamores Picked To Finish Fourth In The MVC
Indiana State was picked to finish fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference in 2013 after finishing as the league's No. 5 seed and advancing to the MVC Championship Match in 2012. The fourth place prediction is the highest for the Sycamores since a similar result in 2011.
Doubling Up
The Sycamores continued their recent trend of success when scoring multiple goals as they won for their seventh time in its last eight matches when reaching the net more than once, dating back to the 2012 season as the Sycamores posted a 2-1 victory over Georgia Southern on August 25. Since the program's debut in 2000, the Sycamores are now 67-11-4 when scoring at least two goals in a match.
Scoring First
Indiana State was 7-1 last season when scoring the first goal in a match, compared to a 1-9 mark when their opponent's net the game's opening goal. The Sycamores earned wins over SIU Edwardsville (2-0), Eastern Illinois (1-0), IUPUI (2-1), Green Bay (3-0), Creighton (3-1), Missouri State (1-0) and Evansville (2-1) last season when scoring first with their lone loss coming at Illinois State. ISU's single win last season when scoring second came against Murray State on Sept. 2, as the Sycamores scored twice in the second half to pick up a 2-1 victory.
Good Production
Taylor Reed and Shelby Troyer tied for the team-lead in scoring last season, each totaling nine points. The midfielders combined for seven goals and four assists last season, despite taking just 12 total shots on goal. Reed and Troyer both scored two game-winning goals in 2012, leading the Sycamores to wins over SIU Edwardsville, Murray State, Creighton and Missouri State.
First Victory Over Creighton
The Sycamores picked up their first victory over Creighton in program history on Oct. 5, 2012 defeating the Bluejays by a 3-1 score at Memorial Stadium. Sophomore Aubrie Musselman (eighth minute) and juniors Shelby Troyer (37th minute) and Taylor Reed (84th minute) all netted goals for ISU.
From All Directions
Taylor Reed and Sydney Lovelace led the team with four goals last season, while Shelby Troyer, Aubrie Musselman and Elle Stelle each scored three times. The last time that ISU had at least four Sycamores with three goals or more in a season was back in 2009 when Katlin Owens (six), Erin Bianchi (four), senior Casey Allbright (three), Seyma Erenli (three) and Alison Gasparovich (three) all tallied at least three goals.
The 91st Minute
With its 2-1 double overtime victory over Georgia Southern on August 23, Indiana State has now played 40 overtime matches in their program history, holding a 14-12-14 record when the match goes past 90 minutes. In the five years under head coach Erika True, the Sycamores have played 20 overtime matches, posting an 8-5-7 record in extra time. Indiana State was 1-0-3 in overtime last season and are off to a 1-0 record in extra time in 2013.
First Conference Road Win Since 2009
Indiana State's road victory at Missouri State on Thursday, Oct. 25, was the first road win in league play for the Sycamores since 2009, when ISU topped Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, 2-1. ISU had lost eight straight matches on the road in MVC action from 2009 to 2012, before junior Taylor Reed sent Indiana State to an overtime victory in Springfield. Indiana State is 9-31-0 all-time on the road in conference play since the program's first season in 2000.
Up Next ...
Indiana State returns home to face off against Green Bay on Friday, September 6 inside Memorial Stadium. Kick-off is set for 7:00 p.m. (ET) and will be televised live for free on GoSycamores.com.
