Indiana University Women’s Soccer wins Second and Final Exhibition Game against Bellarmine
The Indiana University Women’s Soccer Team won its second and final exhibition game Thursday Afternoon with a 3-0 win over the Bellarmine Knights on Jerry Yeagley Field at Bill Armstrong Stadium. This game was scheduled for 8pm Wednesday Night and was pushed back to 3pm Thursday Afternoon due to weather that moved through the Bloomington area changing the conditions from a night game to a late afternoon game, but the postponement did affect the expectations of the Hoosier coaching staff. “The only thing that changes when we go through things like this is the preparation” Sophomore Defender Natasha Kim said after the game. “We are expected to play the same way every single game” Kim said.
Indiana Head Coach Erwin van Bennekom had three objectives between this game and Sunday Night’s 1-0 win over Ball State. Get more goals, keep a clean sheet and stay healthy. The Hoosiers did that and outscored their opponents 4-0 in two preseason games. With the first regular season game next Thursday against Illinois State the Hoosiers know what lies ahead in the Regular Season. “We will rest and recover the next two days with an intrasquad on Sunday and then Monday we will keep building up our fitness to get up to par and get ready for Thursday” van Bennekom said.
Indiana Goalkeeper Jamie Gerstenberg got several touches on the ball early as the Hoosier Back line passed it back to set up the attack forward. Bellarmine was pressing to force the Hoosiers to have to connect passes back. Nine minutes into the match Bellarmine got the first shot on goal right at the Junior from Germany as she saved it equaling her save total from Sunday Night game against Ball State. The Knights got a free kick outside the box but sailed over the crossbar for their second shot of the game with 28 minutes left in the match which equaled the number shots that Ball State had Sunday Night for the entire game against the Hoosiers. Indiana scored with 27:14 left in the first half as Anna Bennett received a ball across the box from Pagie Webber and got it past Bellarmine Goalkeeper Cambria Kingham for the first goal of the game. The Hoosiers added a second goal with 19:36 before the break as Freshman Elle Brit scored on rebound that came off the Knights back line. The Hoosiers had 5 shots on goal, 2 saves, 4 corner kicks and committed 4 fouls. Bellarmine had 4 shots on goal, 1 save, 1 corner kick and 3 fouls.
In the Second half Dani Jacobson who played 17 minutes against Ball State replaced Gerstenberg between the pipes to start the second 45 minutes for the Hoosiers. The Knights made a change in goal at the break as Shelby Smith replaced Kingham. The Hoosiers went at Smith with 9 shots and Smith making 5 saves and added a third goal with 6:04 remaining in the match as Sofia Black got a grounder past Smith in the lower right corner. Jacobson faced 1 shot and made 1 save as Coach van Bennekom gave Jacobson more minutes by design. “The goal is to get Dani ready for when we need her incase Jamie is missing due to Injury, Suspension or National Team” van Bennekom said. “The Girls know that Jamie is the clear number 1 choice and the competition is good in practice but we will keep getting Dani ready for when we can get her minutes in the right spots so she is ready when we need her”.
Indiana finished with 14 Shots, 2 saves, 10 Corner Kicks and committed 10 fouls. Bellarmine finished with 5 shots, 6 saves, 2 corner kicks and committed 3 fouls. The Knights are coached by second year head coach Paul Babba as the Knights are looking to improve on a 1-7-9 record a season ago. The Knights are located in Louisville Kentucky and will travel to Indiana State on Sunday for their second and final exhibition game before they open the regular season on August 20, at home with Northern Kentucky.
Indiana University Football player Aaron Casey added to Butkus Award watch list
Indiana football redshirt senior Aaron Casey is among the preseason candidates for the Butkus Award, awarded to the most impactful linebacker in college football. An Indiana graduated with a degree in public financial management, Casey earned honorable mention All-Big Ten from the conference media panel and was a third-team All-Big Ten pick by Pro Football Focus in 2022 after a career-best 86 tackles. His 10.5 tackles for loss nearly doubled his 5.5 tackles for loss in the previous three years combined. He also forced his first two career fumbles. Casey has started 13 games in his career – including 11 during the 2022 season – and appeared in 45 contests. He wears the No. 44, which honors IU great George Taliaferro, and has 131 career tackles, 16.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. He has blocked one kick and forced two fumbles.
Instituted in 1985, The Butkus Award® is one of the elite individual honors, originally given each year to one player in college football: the most impactful linebacker in the game. In 2008, The Butkus Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, took stewardship of the award to fully realize the original purpose of honoring athletic achievement and service to the community. Since that time, the award has honored the nation’s best high school, college, and professional linebackers. An independent Butkus Award Selection Committee conducts the selection process each year. The committee is comprised of 51 experts, including professional, college, and high school scouts, and prominent sports journalists.
Indiana University Rowing announces staff additions and promotions
Indiana rowing head coach Steve Peterson announced on Thursday the addition of Katie Muench as an assistant coach as well as the promotion of Grace Lindberg to associate head coach and Graham Ludmer to assistant coach for novice crews alongside his duties as director of operations.
Muench joins the Indiana coaching staff after spending five seasons as an assistant coach at Clemson. Most recently, she worked with Clemson’s Third Varsity Eight and Fourth Varsity Eight crews, and the former earned a bronze medal at the 2022 ACC Rowing Championships. Muench also has coaching experience with Community Rowing in Brighton, Mass., and the Harvard-Radcliffe women’s rowing team. She served as a student assistant coach for her alma mater Wisconsin during the 2015-16 season. Muench was a four-year rower at Wisconsin, where she medaled in four straight Big Ten Championships from 2012-15. In 2014, she was a member of the First Varsity Four crew that finished 10th at the NCAA Championships and followed that up with a ninth-place performance in 2015 as a member of Wisconsin’s Second Varsity Eight. Muench graduated in 2015 with degrees in psychology and history then went on to earn her masters in sports industry and management from Georgetown. “I am excited to welcome Katie to our staff,” Peterson said. “Her experience at Clemson the past five years will be a welcome addition. Katie is a great person and coach, and I am excited to see how her crews perform.”
Lindberg enters her fourth year on the IU coaching staff. Last season, Lindberg led the Second Varsity Eight crew to a 16th-place finish nationally and fourth at the Big Ten Championships. “Grace has been an integral part of getting our team back to the NCAA Championships,” Peterson said. “Without her efforts, we would not have seen those improvements, and, because of that, it felt natural to elevate her to the position of associate head coach.”
Ludmer will begin his third year on staff, his first as a coach. “Graham has been great working as a boatman for us the past two years, and I am excited to add novice coaching to his responsibilities as well,” Peterson said. “Graham has over six years of coaching experience at the collegiate and club levels, and he even spent a year coaching in Australia. That experience is going to be invaluable in helping to teach the sport of rowing to the next group of great Hoosier rowers.”
Former Indiana University Football player Stevie Scott III signs with the Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals signed running back and former Indiana Hoosier Stevie Scott III with Running back Marlon Mack is out for the season, tearing his left Achilles four days after signing with the Cardinals and has been placed on injured reserve. Scott who signed with the team Wednesday most recently played in the USFL with the Michigan Panthers, where he had 78 carries for 295 yards and one touchdown. He originally entered the NFL as an undrafted rookie with New Orleans in 2021 and spent parts of the past two years with Denver. Scott played three seasons (2018-20) with the Hoosiers, where he twice earned All-Big Ten honors after appearing in 31 games, running for 2,543 yards and 30 touchdowns on 562 carries. He also had 55 receptions for 383 yards and two touchdowns.
Indianapolis Colts Rookie Quarterback Anthony Richardson to start Saturday’s Preseason Game at Buffalo
The Anthony Richardson era begins Saturday. While the No. 4 overall pick in the NFL Draft split first-team reps with Gardner Minshew throughout training camp, Colts coach Shane Steichen revealed Thursday that Richardson will start the team’s first preseason game. The Colts play the Buffalo Bills at 1 p.m.
As expected for a rookie quarterback, Richardson had his ups and downs in training camp. But experience is key for the first-round pick, and he’ll see his first professional game action against the Bills. Even though it’s a preseason game, it’s a major step forward for Richardson, who took first-team reps during Thursday’s practice at Grand Park in Westfield. Steichen had remained elusive about the Colts’ starting quarterback. This week, the team’s “unofficial depth chart” listed QB1 as Minshew OR Richardson, providing little clarity until Steichen’s announcement during his Thursday media availability.
Indy Eleven Men’s Soccer shuts out Birmingham Legion Wednesday Night
Indy Eleven exploded for four goals, fueled by a pair from Sebastian Guenzatti and Solomon Asante’s three assists, to shut out Birmingham Legion FC 4-0 at home on Wednesday evening. Asante recorded three assists in a match for the third time in his USL Championship career. This is the third consecutive season for the accomplishment and second time he has done so against Birmingham (9.10.22). His three assists give him a combined 103 goals and assists (51G/52A), placing him tied for fourth all-time in the USL Championship, while also making him the first player to split 50-50. His assist total places him second all-time. Asante also had three assists in the 3-1 U.S. Open Cup victory over Michigan Stars FC on April 5. Guenzatti scored goals in the 24th and 63rd minutes, both off headers, to bring his season total to six and USLC career total to 63. The total moves him to ninth all-time in the league.
Indy’s third goal came from Douglas Martinez in the 65th minute off yet another perfectly placed service from Asante. The final strike came from Roberto Molina who subbed on in the 89th minute and promptly scored 19 seconds later off a Sebastian Velasquez helper. The four-goal outing was the second of the season for the Boys in Blue, after shutting out Charleston on June 2, and the clean sheet was the seventh, and first for Tim Trilk who had three saves. The win improves Indy to 7-9-7 on the season, while Legion FC falls to 9-11-2.
The match, which was originally slated to start at 7:30pm was delayed due to weather and kicked off at 9:36pm. Next up, the Boys in Blue travel to The Miami FC Saturday for a 7:00pm kickoff on ESPN+. It is the first of three straight road matches. Indy returns to Caroll Stadium Aug. 26 against Loudoun United FC.
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