Indiana University Women’s Soccer wins opening exhibition game against Ball State
Indiana University Women’s Soccer kicked off the 2023-24 IU Athletics season with a 1-0 exhibition win over Ball State Sunday Night on Jerry Yeagley Field at Bill Armstrong Stadium. Indiana will host Bellarmine in their second and final exhibition game Wednesday night at 8pm before the Hoosiers Kick off regular season on August 17, when they host Illinois State at 8pm. “Even though I am a senior I still get nervous before a game so it’s good that we get this one out of the way and build on this win” Anna Bennett said after the game. Bennett knows that getting a goal early is important but wants to see more out of this team on offense. “I would like to see us score earlier going into Wednesday’s game and get a few more goals”.
The Hoosiers controlled the game right from the start attacking forward and getting several chances at goal and 14 minutes into the game IU got on the board with a Paige Webber goal. The graduate student from Grand Blanc Michigan had started 16 games in 34 appearances in her time at IU. Webber scored just 1 goal in 2022 and 5 goals and 1 assist in the 2021 season after starting her career at Michigan State. The Hoosiers had 7 shots to zero for Ball State in the first half. Ball State made 2 saves and IU goalkeeper Jamie Gerstenberg was not tested. IU had 2 corner kicks to 1 for Ball State and both teams committed three fouls a piece.
In the second half Ball State tested Gerstenberg firing two shots on the goal in the first four minutes with Gerstenberg making her first save and the other Cardinal attempt going wide. The Junior from Germany is looking for another big year between the pipes for the Hoosiers. Gerstenberg has 10-7-11 record 29 games with the cream and crimson making 86 saves with 262 shots faced, posting 15 shutouts and giving up 15 goals. She has earned several Big Ten honors in her first two seasons in Bloomington and is expecting another huge season as the Indiana Goalkeeper.
Dani Jacobson replaced Gerstenberg between the pipes for the Hoosiers with 17 minutes left in the match. Jacobson is Sophomore transfer from North Texas did not face any shots on goal. Indiana outshot Ball State 12-2, Ball State made three saves to 1 for IU, The Hoosiers had 8 corner kicks to 2 for Ball State and the Hoosiers committed 10 fouls to just 5 for the Cardinals.
Head coach Erwin van Bennekom was pleased with the result but is always looking for more. “We got out of it what we wanted, we got a goal early, we stayed healthy and that is the biggest part after getting through this first game” van Bennekom said after the game. Indiana is looking to rebound from a 3-7-7 record in 2022 and 1-7-2 Big Ten Record. The Hoosiers are looking for a better offensive output as they scored 11 goals a season ago. I would have liked to see more goals, but we will take it especially with the number of clean sheets we had last season” van Bennekom said. The Dutchman is entering his fifth season in charge and The Hoosiers have struggled to crack the top tier of the Big Ten but with a lot of new pieces for the season there is a positive outlook ahead for this season.
Being the first exhibition game for both teams. A lot of different players saw the field to see what combinations work and preparing for the next set of exhibition games including the teams practicing penalty kicks after the game. Ball State is coached by former IU Men’s Soccer player Josh Rife who is entering his 3rd season as head coach and was named the 2022 Mid-American Coach of the year. The Cardinals 21-8-1 under Rife made a MAC Championship Game appearance in COVID Season of 2020-21. Rife started his playing career at TCU before transferring to IU in 2000 and made back-to-back Final Four Appearances in 2000-01 and a 2001 Big Ten Title playing for the Hall of Famer Jerry Yeagley.
Bedford Little League Baseball team eliminated from Great Lakes Tournament
The Bedford Little League Baseball team lost to the Lexington Eastern Little League team from Lexington Kentucky 7-6 Monday afternoon at the Little League Great Lakes Regional in Whitestown Indiana. Bedford finishes the double elimination tournament 1-2 after a 13-1 loss on Saturday to Elmhurst Illinois and a 2-1 win over Midland Michigan on Sunday. Bedford won the state championship for the first time ever last month and the team was unbeaten in district and state tournament play.
16 teams from the State of Indiana have gone to play in the Little League World Series in Williamsport Pennsylvania. Hagerstown Little League won the Great Lakes Regional in 2022 and finished 1-2 in Williamsport. Two teams from the state made it to the championship game. The Anderson Little League from Gary in 1971 and Edison Little League from Hammond in 1972. Both teams lost to teams from Taiwan. The Gary team lost 12-3 in 9 innings and the Hammond team lost 6-0. This year’s Little League World Series will take place August 16-27 with 20 teams from all over the world competing for title. This is the 76th year that Little League has had a World Series and dates back to 1947.
Former Indiana University Men’s Basketball player Miller Kopp signs deal to play in France
Former Indiana wing Miller Kopp has agreed to his first professional contract. Kopp, who played three seasons at Northwestern before transferring to Indiana for two seasons, has agreed to a deal with Limoges CSP in France. The 6-foot-7 Kopp averaged 8.1 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game last season for the Hoosiers. Over 157 career games at Indiana and Northwestern, he averaged 8.4 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game on 40.6 percent shooting from the field and 38 percent shooting from beyond the 3-point line.
Fourth annual Golfweek Hoosier Amateur Tournament hits the Indiana University Pfau Course
The Golfweek Hoosier Amateur is a 54-hole event, ranked in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, that kicks off this morning at the Indiana University Pfau Golf Course and is free to all spectators. The summer tournament gauntlet is spiraling toward completion and, for some, the start of the fall college season. The Golfweek Hoosier Amateur offers a Midwest tune-up for a college-heavy field with roughly a month until college competition gets underway. The Golfweek Hoosier Amateur debuted in the fall of 2020, when many players collegians among them – were searching for a place to play as the pandemic upended the normal spring, summer and fall competition calendars. The Pfau Course, a Steve Smyers-designed layout on the campus of Indiana University, opened in June of that year. Players raved about the difficulty – and the greens.
Erica Shepherd, now a rookie on the Epson Tour, won the women’s division at the inaugural tournament after going 2 over for 54 holes. The men’s title went to Tommy Kuhl, then an Illinois junior who recently made headlines when he fired a course-record 62 on aerated greens in a U.S. Open local qualifier, only to later DQ himself when he realized he had violated the Rules of Golf by repairing multiple aeration marks during the round. The next two titles went to Eleanor Hudepohl and Siarra Stout, respectively, on the women’s side with Taichi Kho and Nels Surtani claiming victory on the men’s side.
This year’s field includes more than 100 amateurs, with college players amounting for the biggest chunk of that. None of the event’s past champions return this year. The field does include a handful of local players, including a pair of incoming Indiana women’s players and six members of the Hoosier men’s team. Several more players from Power 5 conferences will tee it up, including those from Michigan, Purdue, Oregon, Georgia, Ohio State, Kansas and Michigan State. The field also includes three players from Ball State, including Carter Smith, a member of the Cardinal team that finished fourth at the National Golf Invitational in May. Ball State commit Happy Gilmore, who plays locally for Bloomington High School South, is also in the field.
As the Golfweek Hoosier Amateur has built into an annual late-summer event, the Pfau Course has risen in national prominence. It’s tied with French Lick Resort’s Ross course for second place on the Golfweek’s Best List of best public-access courses you can play in Indiana. In June of this year, the Pfau Course hosted the Indiana State Amateur, marking the first time in the event’s 123-year history that it was played in Bloomington. The Pfau Course has also hosted Golfweek Junior Tour and Golfweek Amateur Tour events, as well as the LPGA Amateur Tour Championship.
Indiana University Football player Jaylin Lucas added to Paul Hornung Award watch list
The most versatile player in major college football is honored with the Paul Hornung Award and Indiana football sophomore Jaylin Lucas is a part of the preseason watch list for the award. A first-team All-America selection as a true freshman, Lucas was the first Hoosier in program history and first freshman in Big Ten history to earn the conference’s Rodgers-Dwight Return Specialist of the Year. The running back/return specialist was the only player in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) with multiple kickoff returns for a touchdown in 2022.
He led the Big Ten in combined kick return yardage (591) and kickoff return yards per game (28.1 ypg) and was among the top 16 in the conference in all-purpose yards per game (85.8 ypg). His game-opening kickoff return for a touchdown at Rutgers was the first kickoff return score at IU since Tevin Coleman in 2012 (at Northwestern). His two kickoff returns each went 90-plus yards and he added a 71-yard touchdown run for three scores of 70-plus yards. He was the first Hoosier since Coleman in 2014 with three 70-yard scoring plays in a single season. The first-team All-Big Ten selection at kick returner, Lucas rushed for 141 of his 271 yards over his last three games (at Ohio State, at Michigan State, vs. Purdue). His best game from scrimmage came against the Boilermakers with 110 yards rushing on nine carries to go along with five receptions.
The Paul Hornung Award was created by the Louisville Sports Commission in January 2010 with the support of the Golden Boy himself, Paul Hornung, a native and lifelong resident of Louisville and member of the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame. Hornung is considered by many the most versatile player in the history of college and pro football. He won the 1956 Heisman Trophy at quarterback for Notre Dame and was the number one pick in the 1957 NFL draft. He played every position in the backfield during his career with the Irish, where he also punted, kicked, returned kicks, and played defensive back. While in the NFL, Hornung was a multi-threat offensive back and prolific kicker. He was a member of four NFL championship teams as an all-pro halfback for the Green Bay Packers and led the NFL in scoring 1959-60-61, set the single season scoring record in 1960 with 176 points, and was named League MVP following the 1961 season. In the spirit of partnership with Paul Hornung, the LSC oversees and administers all aspects of the Award including budget, selection process, marketing and PR, banquet, trophy, sponsorships, and hospitality. An Advisory Committee comprised of the LSC President and CEO, board leadership, and local business leaders provides guidance to ensure the integrity of the Award.
Indiana Fever fall on the road to the Atlanta Dream
Despite reducing a 14-point deficit to one possession in the fourth quarter, the Indiana Fever (7-21) were defeated by the Atlanta Dream, 82-73, on Sunday afternoon in Atlanta. All-Star starter Aliyah Boston’s fifth double-double of the season led Indiana in the matchup as she tied a career-high 25 points while pulling down a game-high 10 rebounds. The rookie center also tied a career-high for field goals made as she shot 12-of-22 from the court and recorded a new career best four steals. Veteran guard Kelsey Mitchell contributed 20 points in the matchup from six field goals on 11 attempts to go along with four rebounds. The All-Star recorded 12 of her 20 points in the fourth quarter alone. In addition, Erica Wheeler added 15 points, five rebounds and five assists. Former IU star Grace Berger scored 2 points in 8 minutes. She was 1-1 from the field, had an assist and committed a turnover.
Indiana outscored the Dream in the paint, 34-20, and outrebounded the third best rebounding team in the WNBA, 33-28. While Indiana opened the first quarter shooting 2-of-9 from the floor, Atlanta took advantage by leading the Fever on a 13-4 scoring run to take an eight-point lead. Indiana’s offense quickly pivoted as the Fever went on to shoot 6-of-11 through the remaining six minutes of the quarter. Atlanta’s 9-of-17 shooting in the first quarter was led by Allisha Gray, Nia Coffey and Rhyne Howard’s seven points apiece, while the Fever were led by Boston’s seven points on 3-of-6 shooting. Indiana shot an efficient 66.7 percent (4-of-6) from the court through the first eight minutes of the second frame but would only complete one field goal in the remaining two minutes of the half. The Fever’s scoring effort was led by Mitchell, who recorded seven points on 2-of-4 shooting from the court and 3-of-3 shooting from the charity stripe. Wheeler added six points in the quarter as well. Though reducing the deficit to four points on one occasion in the second frame, Indiana went into the locker room trailing Atlanta by nine points, 43-34.
Boston was the sole scorer for Indiana through the first seven minutes of the second half as she would end the third frame with eight points on 4-of-8 shooting from the court to go along with three steals. Atlanta recorded its largest lead of the game at 14 points on three occasions in the quarter, highlighted by Howard and Gray’s seven points each. The third quarter ended, 62-50. Indiana started the final frame with a 14-6 scoring run, led by back-to-back three-pointers from Mitchell, reducing Atlanta’s lead to three points, which was the smallest the lead had been since the 2:51 minute mark in the first quarter. Though Mitchell netted 12 points and Boston contributed eight points, both on 4-of-6 shooting from the court in the fourth quarter, the Dream ended the final four minutes of play shooting 5-of-7 from the floor to solidify the win.
Atlanta was led by Howard’s 24 points on 9-of-18 shooting. Howard also pulled down four rebounds, dished out three assists and recorded two blocks and two steals. Gray added 21 points to the win to go along with four assists and three rebounds. Cheyenne Parker contributed 16 points and a team-leading six rebounds. In addition, the Dream dished out 23 assists and recorded seven blocked shots. Atlanta’s only bench points were contributed by Danielle Robinson as she added nine points to the win for the Dream. Fever reserves Victoria Vivians, Kristy Wallace and Grace Berger combined to outscore the Dream reserves, 13-9. The Fever return to Gainbridge Fieldhouse to take on the Los Angeles Sparks this evening at 7pm and Tonight’s game will be broadcast on Bally Sports Indiana.
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