Indiana University Women’s Soccer travels to Ball State for first time
The Indiana Hoosiers Women’s Soccer Team will make its first regular season trip to Muncie, Indiana this evening when they take on the Ball State Cardinals at 5:30pm at the Briner Sports Complex with the game streaming on ESPN+. This will be the fifth all time meeting between the two programs with previous four matches taking place in Bloomington with series at 1 win 1 loss and 2 Ties. The Cardinals won 1-0 on Spetember 5 ,2004 while the Hoosiers won on September 16, 2007 2-1. The last two meetings have been draws with the teams going to double overtime on Spetember 13, 2015 1-1 and scoreless draw in August 25, 2022.
These two teams played in an exhibition match both last fall before the 2023 and spring exhibition game this season and Indiana Head Coach Erwin van Bennekom knows that this will be a good test making their first regular season road trip. “Watched them earlier good team” van Bennekom said after the Tennessee game with Ball State playing a late afternoon game against Purdue Fort Wayne ” Played them in the spring and they were good, we got to be ready for them especially on the road and a really rough team play'” van Bennekom said. Indiana has three players from the Hoosier State including Sophomore Kennedy Neighbors from Evansville who is ready for the first road trip of the season. “We’re super excited” Neighbors said after the Tennessee Game. “We’re going to come out with the same intensity and grit we did tonight”. Neighbors said
Indiana opened the season with 1-0 win over Tennessee Last Thursday Night at Bill Armstrong Stadium. Sophomore Midfielder Kennedy Neighbors Scored her first career goal at the 49:02 Mark and Freshman Layla Sidrah who started and played her first career game got the assist. 2023 Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year Jamie Gerstenberg recorded her school record 26th clean sheet of her career and her 24th career win between the pipes which ties her for fourth place on the schools all -time wins list for goalkeepers. The Hoosiers outshot Tennessee 10-7 and both teams had four shots on goal.
Ball State is 1-0 after a 4-0 home win over Purdue Fort Wayne Last Thursday. Delaney Caldwell scored 2 goals with Kaelyn Valleau and LG Moncrief adding the other two. Aleyna Quinn, Addie Chester, Maya Mills and Kira Verburg had the assists as Ball State outshot Purdue Fort Wayne 28-8 and 12-4 Shots on Goal. Senior Goalkeeper Abby Jenkins started and played the first half and faced 3 shots and made 2 saves while Junior Goalkeeper Grace Konopatzki faced 5 shots and made 2 saves in the second half as they combined for a clean sheet. The Cardinals were 8-8-3 a season ago and have seven players from the State of Indiana on the roster. Head Coach and Former Indiana Hoosier Josh Rife is in his 6th season at Ball State with a 43-30-19 record and 27-8-6 at the Briner Sports Complex. Rife started his playing career at TCU before transferring to Indiana for his final two seasons to play for legendary Head Coach Jerry Yeagley. Rife won a Big Ten Championship in 2001 and the Hoosiers went to back-to-back Final Fours in 2000 and 2001.
Indianapolis Indians Thomas Harrington named International League Pitcher of the Week
Minor League Baseball and the Indianapolis Indians Monday announced that the Pittsburgh Pirates No. 5 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, right-handed pitcher Thomas Harrington, has been named the International League Pitcher of the Week after allowing just two baserunners over 7.0 shutout innings on Aug. 17. Harrington, 23, tossed 5.0 perfect innings and pitched around singles in the sixth and seventh innings. He faced just one batter over the minimum, erasing one of the two hits he surrendered on a picked off caught stealing, and finished with no walks and two strikeouts. Southpaws Ryan Borucki (1.0ip) and Geronimo Franzua (1.0ip) helped clinch the team’s fifth shutout this season.
The Sanford, N.C. native was named the Eastern League Player of the Month for July, going 2-0 with a 0.70 ERA (2er/25.2ip), 32 strikeouts, 0.82 WHIP and .170 batting average against (15-for-88) in four starts for Double-A Altoona. He was promoted to Indianapolis on Aug. 4. Harrington was selected by Pittsburgh in the first round (36th overall) of the 2022 First-Year Player Draft out of Campbell (Buies Creek, N.C.) University. He joins right-hander Bubba Chandler (Aug. 5-11) as the first Indians duo to earn consecutive weekly honors since outfielder Joshua Palacios (April 24-30) and southpaw Caleb Smith (May 1-7) in 2023.
Cailtin Clark Continues to break WNBA rookie records as the Indiana Fever win second straight after the Olympic Break
A fourth-quarter surge from the Indiana Fever (13-15) secured a 92-75 victory against the Seattle Storm on Sunday afternoon at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Fever guards Caitlin Clark, Lexie Hull and Kelsey Mitchell all ended the game eclipsing the 20-point mark led by Mitchell’s game-high 27 points. Clark recorded her fifth 20-point game in her last six games with 23 points, which included three made 3-point field goals to become the franchise rookie leader in made 3-point field goals with 78 this season. Clark also dished out nine assists in the win, which made her the all-time rookie leader in assists with 232, breaking Ticha Penicheiro’s previous record of 224. Clark also added five rebounds, two blocks and one steal. Hull came off the bench and recorded a career-high 22 points with a career-high six made 3-point field goals, including a 4-of-4 clip in the final quarter.
Mitchell led Indiana in scoring with a game-high 27 points on 10-of-19 shooting and 5-of-8 shooting from 3-point range. Mitchell also recorded three assists, three steals, two rebounds and one block. Sunday’s game was Mitchell’s second-consecutive 20-point game and fourth 20-point game in the last five games. Fever center Aliyah Boston pulled down a season-high 15 rebounds in the win and was two assists and one point shy of a triple-double. Former Indiana University star Grace Berger played 1 minute and pulled down a rebound and it’s the first time she has seen the floor since June 21st against Atlanta when she played a minute. It was Berger’s 9th appearance in a game this season and the Fever have played 28 Games overall. As a team, Indiana eclipsed at least 90 points in four of its last five games.
After a defensive battle in the first quarter, Seattle went on a 14-6 run to begin the second quarter, but a made 3-point field goal from Hull and layup down the stretch from Clark sparked Indiana’s 14-6 run of its own and the Fever outscored the Storm 22-17 and led 35-34 at the half. The Fever and Storm both scored 24 points each in the third quarter, but a 17-6 Fever run in the final quarter cemented the win. Indiana outscored Seattle, 33-17, in the fourth quarter and 12 of Hull’s 22 points came from the last quarter alone. The Fever outscored the Storm in bench points, 30-7, paint points, 32-30, fast break points, 13-9, and outrebounded Seattle, 43-32. For Seattle (17-10), Storm guards Jewell Loyd who played at Notre Dame and South Bend Washington HS and Notre Dame star Skylar Diggins-Smith led in scoring with 26 and 15 points, respectively. The two guards combined for nine assists and eight rebounds in the loss. Storm forward Nneka Ogwumike followed with 14 points, nine rebounds, four steals and three assists. Center Ezi Magbegor finished with nine points, seven rebounds and a game-high five blocks. The Fever return to the court on Saturday at 8pm at the Minnesota Lynx. Saturday’s game will be broadcast on Bally Sports Indiana and NBA TV.
Taylor University Men’s Soccer opens season with a trio of goals in a victory over Concordia
Taylor opened the season on the road and delivered a commanding victory fueled by goals from Justin Devlin, Matt Yoder, and Jeremy Rivera in Drew Glover’s first match as the interim head coach. The match began evenly as both teams looked to take control and fired multiple shots wide of goal. TU eventually gained control and had a trio of shots saved at the half-hour mark to keep it tied at zero. The Trojans took advantage of their bright play, earning a penalty in the 35th minute when the Cardinals had to foul on a cross into the box. Devlin stepped up to take the kick and approached slowly, waiting for the keeper to move, and when he did, Devlin fired the ball into the net for the opening goal. Taylor (1-0) doubled its advantage right before halftime as Elias Munoz delivered a terrific cross, which Yoder fired home seconds before the end of the half.
The momentum carried to the start of the second half and forced a trio of saves from the Cardinals keeper, who totaled 13 in the match. Concordia found a lifeline in the 75th minute when they converted a penalty of their own to halve the lead and give hope of a comeback for the home side. The Trojans controlled action for the final 15 minutes and put the game out of reach in the 87th minute. Rivera sent in a corner kick, and after a save and the ball bouncing around, Rivera came in and fired past the keeper to finalize the score at 3-1, with his first goal as a Trojan. Freshman Connor Shaw started the match between the sticks and earned his first victory, not allowing a goal from open play while making a single save. TU fired 24 shots, with 16 on goal, and had eight corner kicks, all of which outpaced Concordia as the home squad had 13 shots, with two on goal and three corners attempted. Taylor will be back in action on Wednesday, August 21, against Defiance (0-0) in its home opener. Kick-off is set for 7:00pm at Turner Stadium, and admission is free.
Indiana University Student Athletes participate in the third Editon of Big Life Series: Selma to Montgomery
Four Indiana University Athletics student-athletes along with senior associate AD Lorian Price participated in the third edition of the “Big Life Series: Selma to Montgomery” on July 12-14, 2024. The event featured a full slate of programs highlighting the civil rights movement in Alabama. IU’s student-athletes who attended were Hope Paredes (women’s soccer), Jakai Newton (men’s basketball), Elisabeth Dunac (women’s tennis) and Nico Colchico (men’s track and field). The event began with a community service project as more 125 student-athletes from all 18 Big Ten schools, including coaches and school and conference administrators, stuffed back-to-school backpacks for a local school. That was followed by speeches from Mayor James Perkins Jr., Lynda Blackmon Lowery and Warren Billy Young at First Baptist Church of Selma, known for its association with the Civil Rights Movement.
Attendees then took part in a walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, site of the 1965 Bloody Sunday March and enjoyed a traditional southern lunch. The second half of Saturday’s schedule included visits to the Civil Rights Memorial Center and the Alabama Archives and History Museum. Community activist Doris Dozier Crenshaw spoke at the Archives and proved once again extremely popular with the audience. After dinner, the evening closed with a visit to The Legacy Museum, which offered a thought-provoking immersive experience of black history in the United States.
Taylor University Women’s Soccer opener Against Georgetown declared no contest due to severe weather Taylor’s women’s soccer team began their season on Saturday and were able to play just over a half of soccer before severe weather forced a cancellation. All stats from the contest will not count for this season. #RV Taylor had a brilliant first half, scoring five goals while not allowing a shot from the Tigers. Leah McQuade, Libby Thomas, Sydney Reddy, and Morgan Fletemeyer all found the back of the net, with Reddy doing so twice before the cancellation. The Trojans (0-0) head back to Upland for their home opener against #RV Carroll (0-0) on Saturday, August 24, with kick-off scheduled for 7pm.
For more local news . . . Check out our archived episodes of What’s Happenin’ and Talkin’ Sports with Nick Jenkinson