Hoosiers seek year's first victory

After two losses in Ann Arbor, Mich., last weekend, the field hockey team is still searching for that elusive first win of the season. \nAlthough the Hoosiers were defeated 4-1 by Massachusetts and 10-1 by Michigan, the team said it believes it learned a lot from the games and hopes to get a victory soon. The Hoosiers' next chance is today at 4 p.m. in Mellencamp Pavilion against in-state rival Ball State.\n"Both Michigan and UMass are excellent teams, they did a lot of good things that we could pick up on," senior back Akila Jones said. "They had really quick feet and knew where they were going to pass before they passed. There are a lot of things that we know we have to do and it's nice to see it and pick up on it, so we can learn from what they do."\nThe Hoosiers' goal against Michigan came off the stick of freshman forward Ryan Woolsey. It was the first of Woolsey's career and the first in IU history in Big Ten competition. Woolsey said she believes playing against UMass and Michigan could only help the team improve.\n"Seeing them play gives us inspiration to work and get better," Woolsey said. "We want to emulate their play."\nFreshman midfielder Kimberly Nash netted IU's lone goal in the UMass game. She also said she believes the Hoosiers could build on their performance and improve their play against the Cardinals.\n"The games were a lot faster paced; we were able to progress and use a lot of our skills," Nash said. "We played well as a team. We need to work on taking quicker free hits (against Ball State)."\nHead coach Amy Robertson said the goals scored by Nash and Woolsey will give the Hoosiers confidence to score against future opponents.\n"We proved that we know how to score," Robertson said. "Hopefully, this will give us the confidence to do it against anybody."\nRobertson expects the tough competition and fast paced play from the weekend to help the Hoosiers in the long run.\n"I thought the way we played (Sunday) definitely showed us where we stood and what we need to work on," Robertson said. "From (the Michigan game), we learned that no matter what the opposition's level, we need to step up more aggressively and deny our opponents the ball defensively."\nRobertson said she hopes to see the Hoosiers playing a faster-paced game in upcoming matches.\n"Our execution needs to error more on the side of harder rather than softer," Robertson said. "The tempo of our play needs to pick up."\nWoolsey said the Hoosiers need to speed up their play against the Cardinals.\n"We need to be faster moving our feet and be sure to communicate," she said.\nBut Robertson knows the Ball State match-up won't be an easy game. She compares Ball State to Stanford who defeated the Hoosiers 1-0 in extra strokes earlier this season.\n"Ball State is a better team this year than they were last year. I think the game will be similar to Stanford," Robertson said. "We all need to be playing with the same goal in mind. We need to take our free hits quicker and get in position to play better defense within our own circle."\nNash said the Hoosiers will accomplish their goal and get a victory against Ball State.\n"We are going to win, there's no doubt," she said.