Going into the week the Lady Indians were well rested and ready to face three new opponents.

They started off the week at Lawrence Free State on April 1. There, the game ended in a tie; 1-1.

“It was really tiring and we kind of had to work together to try our hardest, do our best and not give up because we were so tired,” sophomore Faith Beyer said. “I think it makes us work harder and kind of score earlier to know that we don’t want to end in a tie and it is possible [to win].”

They began to prepare for their next game versus another rival; Washburn Rural. They started off the game strong keeping the score at nil for 78 minutes and thirty seconds. It was at this point the most controversial call of the game happened. Sophomore Whitney Wilson got called for a handball in the box. This meant that the other team would get a penalty kick.

“I think it was like a corner kick and it was just all jumbled up and the ref just called a hand ball,” senior Makael Whipple said. “There really wasn’t a hand ball because who he called it on was on the post so it was not even close when he called it, and it was really unfortunate.”

With the penalty kick made, there wasn’t much left for the Indians to do.

“It was a pretty bad call. I don’t think a reff should decide a game like that,” sophomore Marleigh Hutchinson said. “I think Washburn should win on their own right and on their own playing and not based off of a reff with a minute and a half left in the game.”

They played their second Saturday game of the year when they faced off against Bishop Carroll. The Golden Eagles got off to an early lead in the first half ending it 3-0.

“[He said] if we want it [we have to] play,” Whipple said. “Our goal is always to get to state so it starts now.”

While their playing seemed ineffective to them, senior goalie Graycn Evans logged three saves in the second half of the game keeping Bishop Carroll’s score at three. The Indians had only one shot on goal during the beginning of the second half.

Although they fought hard in the second half, the Lady Indian were missing some essential team members. The team endured many injuries in the past few games with two starters being out:  juniors Kira Schartz hurt her knee and Jordan Stegeman severely sprained her ankle. There were two more players who sustained ankle injuries but chose to play through them: Whipple and Wilson. While they were on the field the two found themselves unable to play at 100%.

“I can’t really play the ball as hard as I used to so I’m just kind of a little more cautious but I still could fight through it,” Whipple said.

Because of the many injuries, the Indians needed some of their underclassmen to step up. However, it caused some minor setbacks in their ability to communicate during the game.

“I would say just getting on the same page [and]… just applying it in the game when we talk about it is probably our biggest problem right now,” Whipple said.  “We all have a really good connection so I think just doing everything in the game right and just [doing] the simple things.”

The Indians hope to improve upon these things when they host Emporia this afternoon.