Indiana University Women’s Soccer travels to Tennessee and hosts Northern Illinois
The Indiana women’s soccer team heads to Knoxville for a match against No. 25 Tennessee this evening at Regal Stadium before returning home to host Northern Illinois on Sunday. Kick off at Regal Soccer Stadium is slated for 6 p.m. ET on SEC Network+ with Will Boling (PxP) and Tori Beeler-Watson (Analyst) on the call. Sunday’s home match against Northern Illinois will be broadcasted on B1G+ at 7pm. Sunday is Pups at the Pitch as you Bring your furry friend to Bill Armstrong Stadium as fans will receive one Indiana script doggie bag dispenser per pup.
Indiana (3-0-1) came out firing as they took 15 shots in the first half before scoring early in the 18th minute to beat Evansville 1-0 in the Pocket City. The Hoosiers capitalized on a corner kick from senior midfielder Anna Bennett she crossed one into the 18-yard box. Junior defender Lauren Costello’s header was swatted by the keeper. Marisa Grzesiak’s netted the goal on a second chance header from Costello sending it into the far-right corner of the net. The Hoosiers held Evansville to only two shots in the first half. The Aces saw one opportunity on goal in the 54th minute, but junior goalkeeper Jamie Gerstenberg would make the grab. IU continued to bring the pressure firing off seven more shots in the second half with the backline holding strong in the remaining minutes. Lauren Costello, a junior transfer from LaSalle, and freshman Piper Coffield has made an immediate impact for the Hoosiers. • The Pennsylvania natives have combined for two goals, five assists and nine points. Costello scored her first career goal and tallied two assists in the first week of the season as IU flew past Illinois State with a 3-1 win to open the season. They have started in 4-of-4 matches for Indiana and have aided in three clean sheets while holding the backline strong in a nil-nil draw against a tough ACC opponent in Virginia Tech.
Freshman defender Piper Coffield earned her first career start, playing a full 90 minutes on the pitch and added her first career assist against Illinois State. She has started in 4-4 games with 360 minutes on the pitch. Freshmen Elle Britt, Kennedy Neighbors, Mary Kate Sullivan and Paige Droner also made their first collegiate debuts against Illinois State. Britt and Neighbors earned their first career starts against Virginia Tech on Aug. 20. Senior midfielder Anna Bennett and graduate forward Paige Webber are on the attack combining for three goals, four assists and 10 points and 22 shots. Bennett scored the first goal of the season in the 20th minute against Illinois State on an assist from Webber while Webber netted the Hoosiers’ second goal on an assist from junior defender Lauren Costello in the 54th minute. Junior goalkeeper Jamie Gerstenberg has tallied three shutouts this season bringing her career total to 18. Six more shutouts would surpass former teammate Bethany Kopel (2017-22) who holds the career record with 23 clean sheets. The Birkenwerder, Germany, native surpassed Sarah Stone (2012-15) for most career victories as she moves into the top-10 with 13 wins.
No. 25 Tennessee (3-1-0) is coming off a 2-1 loss against Southern Methodist. Graduate midfielder Sizzy Lawton recorded her first career goal for the equalizer before the Mustangs found the net again in the 84th minute. Sophomore forward Kameron Simmonds leads the attack with four goals, totaling eight points in 208 minutes played. Head coach Joe Kirt enters his 17th season with the Lady Vols and his second with the reins of the program. In 2022, he led the Vols to their third straight SEC East Division Championship. Tennessee finished second in the league with 22 points and 10 shutouts. Redshirt sophomore Ally Zazzara has earned two victories with four saves for a .667 save percentage. Zazzara has totaled 180 minutes between the posts along with 1.00 goals against average. It’s been over a decade since the two squads took the pitch against each other. The Hoosiers lead the series against the Vols, 1-0. The two squads last saw each other on Aug. 29, 2008, when IU defeated No. 14 ranked UT, 2-0, in the Aggie Soccer Invitational in College Station, Texas.
Northern Illinois (2-1-1) will face the Hoosiers after a week off. The Huskies played Oakland to a nil-nil draw on Sunday, Aug. 27 after the defense held the Grizzlies to only one shot in the match. Freshman midfielder Isabel Struble leads the team with two goals and five shots for a .800 shot on goal percentage. Junior defender Lea Gruennagel follows with one goal, two assists and four shots. • Redshirt senior goalkeeper Sadie McGille has started in all four games in goal totaling six saves. She holds a .857 save percentage along with three shutouts. Through four games, NIU has given up one goal in 19 shot attempts. Head coach Michael O’Neill enters his second season at the helm of the Huskie’s program. In his first season, he led NIU to six wins, the most since 2017 and finished with a 6-8-4 record. Indiana will face Northern Illinois in their first ever match up.
Indiana University Men’s Tennis announces 2023 fall schedule
Indiana Men’s Tennis head coach Jeremy Wurtzman has announced the team’s 2023 fall schedule. The Hoosiers will travel to four different invitationals starting in September and finishing in November. Indiana will open the fall slate in the ITA All American Championship on Sep. 30 in Tulsa, Okla. and then compete in the Bobby Bayliss Invitational the following weekend on Oct. 6-8 in South Bend, Ind. The Hoosiers will also compete in the ITA Ohio Valley Regional on Oct. 12-16 in Chattanooga, Tenn. The fall schedule will conclude with the Big Ten Singles and Doubles Championships on Nov. 2-5 in Madison, Wis.
Indiana Men’s Tennis 2023 Fall Schedule Saturday, Sep. 30-October 8 | ITA All-American Championship | All Day Oct. 6-8 | Bobby Bayliss Invitational | TBD Oct 12-16 | ITA Ohio Valley Regional | All Day Nov. 2-5 | Big Ten Singles and Doubles Championship | All Day
Former Indiana University Men’s Basketball player Romeo Langford signs with the Utah Jazz
Former Indiana men’s basketball player Romeo Langford is signing an Exhibit 10 deal with the Utah Jazz, first reported by The Athletics’ Tony Jones and Shams Charania. Langford played for coach Archie Miller and the Indiana Hoosiers during the 2018-19 season. The five-star guard from New Albany, Ind. committed to IU as the highest-ranked recruit in program history, beating out several former five-star Hoosiers in Noah Vonleh, Thomas Bryant, Cody Zeller and D.J. White for that distinction. Overall, Langford was ranked as the fifth-best prospect in the entire class of 2018, according to 247 Sports. The only four recruits 247 had ranked ahead of him were R.J. Barrett, Nassir Little, Cam Reddish and Bol Bol.
Despite the massive hype that surrounded Langford when he arrived in Bloomington, his lone year at Indiana was a disappointment. Langford led the 2018-19 team in scoring at 16.5 points per game, but his efficiency dragged, as he shot an abysmal 27.2% from three. Of course, it’s hard to blame Langford for his lackluster shooting that season, as he played the final 26 games with a torn ligament in his right thumb. The basketball ability of Langford can be questioned. His toughness and commitment to his teams, however, is assured. Additionally, as was often the case under Miller, the entire IU team fell short of expectations, stumbling to a 19-16 record and an 8-12 mark in Big Ten play.
Langford declared for the NBA Draft following his freshman season at Indiana and was selected by the Boston Celtics the 14th overall pick in 2019. The Celtics acquired the pick they used on Langford from the infamous Markelle Fultz-Jayson Tatum trade they had made with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2017. The Indiana guard played for Boston from 2019-22 before he was traded to the San Antonio Spurs midway through his third season in the NBA. The Celtics were a serious contender from the moment Langford entered the league, making it hard for him to ever crack the team’s rotation. Langford only played in 94 games total for the Celtics, and he often only saw spare minutes off the bench when called upon. In terms of raw statistics, Langford’s 2022-23 season with the San Antonio Spurs was his best NBA campaign to date, as he averaged 19.6 minutes and 6.9 points in 43 games played. The Spurs, however, renounced the free agent rights to Langford in July.
Though Langford is once again on an NBA team in Utah, his place with the Jazz is far from secure. Exhibit 10 contracts, while contracts all the same, are more of a mechanism by which NBA teams can get a look at players on the fringes of the roster. They are far from a stable guarantee of the player’s future. Langford might prove all of his doubters wrong and in time secure a Two-Way contract with the Utah Jazz, and perhaps even a full roster spot on a long enough timeline. But for now, he’s facing an uphill battle entering his fifth season in the NBA.
Indiana Pacers player Tyrese Haliburton helps Team USA win the group at the FIBA World Cup
Tyrese Haliburton and the United States men’s national team cruised past Jordan on Wednesday in the Philippines in a 110-62 rout that secured a perfect 3-0 record in the preliminary group round of the 2023 FIBA World Cup. Haliburton led the USA in minutes despite coming off the bench, playing 21:14. The Pacers’ All-Star point guard finished with six points on 2-of-3 3-point shooting, a team-high six assists, four rebounds, and one steal. Four players reached double figures for the Americans, led by Minnesota Timberwolves forward Anthony Edwards, who tallied 22 points and eight rebounds. Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis scored 13 points, Memphis Grizzlies big man and Indianapolis Native Jaren Jackson Jr. added 12, and Knicks guard Jalen Brunson tallied 10.
New York Knicks guard Josh Hart was the only one of the 12 American players to not score at least five points, finishing with two, but he also pulled down a team-best 12 rebounds. Former NBA forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson led Jordan with 20 points and seven rebounds. After going 3-0 in Group C, the United States will advance to the second round, where the USA and Greece (the runner-up in Group C) will be placed in a new group with Lithuania and Montenegro (the first and second-place teams in Group D). The USA will play Montenegro on Friday and Lithuania on Sunday, while Greece plays Lithuania on Friday and Montenegro on Sunday. All of the teams’ initial records carry over to this round and two teams with the best record after Sunday will advance to the quarterfinals, which begin on Tuesday. Germany, which features Pacer’s center Daniel Theis, also won its initial group to advance to the second round. Germany faces All-NBA guard Luka Doncic and Slovenia on Friday and former Pacer Goga Bitadze and Georgia on Sunday.
Buffalo Bisons beat the Indianapolis Indians Wednesday Afternoon
Despite outhitting the Buffalo Bisons for the second consecutive game, the Indianapolis Indians dropped Wednesday’s matinee at Sahlen Field, 6-2. After Indianapolis (59-67, 26-26) scored the opening run on a Chris Owings RBI groundout, Buffalo broke open the game with four-spot in the bottom half of the frame. The four-run inning proved to be enough to secure the victory. Max Kranick (L, 0-1) loaded the bases before being lifted from the game for Beau Sulser, who surrendered a two-run double by Nathan Lukes that plated the would-be winning run. Buffalo later tacked on two additional insurance runs, one in the fifth inning and another in the eighth.
Kyle Nicolas posted his sixth consecutive scoreless relief outing with a 1-2-3 sixth inning. Nicolas is 1-0 with a 1.88 ERA (3er/14.1ip), five hits allowed, 18 strikeouts, 0.70 WHIP and .106 batting average against in nine relief outings this month. Hunter Stratton snapped his 11.1 scoreless inning streak with an unearned run in the eighth inning. He fanned two batters and surrendered two hits, snapping a 7.1-inning hitless streak. Hitters are 3-for-40 against him in August. Buffalo (63-63, 29-22) relief pitcher Paxton Schultz (W, 3-4) earned the win with 2.1 scoreless innings of relief. Miguel Andújar and Chris Owings led all hitters with a pair of hits. Owings was responsible for both of Indy’s runs. The Indians and Bisons will continue their six-game set at Sahlen Field this evening at 7:05. RHP Quinn Priester (8-3, 4.00) will take the mound for Indianapolis against Buffalo’s RHP Andrew Bash (2-1, 2.88).
Indianapolis Colts hold on to Running Back Jonathan Taylor
Jonathan Taylor isn’t going anywhere. For now. Whatever trade offers the Indianapolis Colts entertained prior to Tuesday’s 4pm deadline that’s when rosters had to be trimmed to 53 weren’t sufficient for general manager Chris Ballard to move his star running back. According to a source with knowledge of the situation, inquiring teams not only didn’t meet the Colts’ request for first-round or comparable draft-pick compensation, but a second-round pick wasn’t offered in any package for Taylor. The lack of a reasonable trade offers resulted in Taylor remaining with the team that selected him in the second round of the 2020 draft.
However, Tuesday’s action or inaction hardly ended the impasse between the Colts and their offensive catalyst. Far from it. A suspension shouldn’t be ruled out. Initially, Taylor won’t be available for the Sept. 10 opener against Jacksonville or the ensuing three games. He was placed on the reserve-physically unable to perform list (PUP) while continuing his rehab from Jan. 25 surgery on his right ankle. That requires a player to miss at least four games, with pay. The earliest Taylor can return is Oct. 8 against the Tennessee Titans. That’s when things could escalate even further. The Colts believe Taylor is healthy and staging a “hold-in’’ to reflect his anger over not being offered a contract extension, according to a source. The medical staff held the same position when camp opened in late July. After missing the entirety of the team’s offseason workout program, Taylor didn’t pass his pre-camp physical and opened camp on active-PUP.
He’s in the final year of his rookie deal and due a $4.3 million base salary this season. At some point, the team might take the drastic step of insisting Taylor take a physical. Again, the Colts hold the stance he’s fully recovered from surgery although his conditioning isn’t where it needs to be. If he refuses and continues to assert the ankle is not fully healed, the Colts could suspend him without pay for conduct detrimental to the team. They took that action against running back Eric Dickerson in 1991.
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