Second-half offensive explosion propels IU

What a difference a year makes.\nThe IU field hockey team opened their season Saturday in dominating fashion defeating the Miami Redhawks 4-1 in Oxford, Ohio. The Hoosiers, who struggled to a 1-16 record in 2001, got over the .500 mark for the first time in the program's three year history. After losing the past two years to Miami, head coach Amy Robertson's club exacted revenge on the Redhawks with an offensive blitzkreig in the second half that tied a Hoosier record for most goals scored in a game.\nPlaying tentatively, the Hoosiers struggled out of the gate and Miami took advantage when freshman Jessica Saling put the Redhawks on top with 4:35 remaining in the first half. At the intermission, Hoosiers were down 1-0.\nAlthough the Hoosiers trailed going into the second half, they quickly evened the tally with sophomore Kim Nash feeding senior Erica Nilsson for IU's first goal just 1:59 into the half. Robertson thinks that first goal helped calm a tentative team and boost its confidence, and the Hoosiers never looked back.\n"After we scored the first goal I wasn't worried about letting up," Robertson said in a press release. "I had a good feeling that we would be attacking the rest of the game. Our goal allowed us to relax, and it also gave us confidence. You could really see the demeanor of the team change."\nThis newfound Hoosier confidence quickly produced when sophomore Kayla Bashore went topshelf to break the deadlock. Redhawks coach Lil Fesperman immediately called a time out to try and regroup her team, but the Hoosiers and Nash would have none of that. Two minutes following the timeout, Nash received a pass from sophomore Ryan Woolsey and buried it into the back of the net to give the Hoosiers a two goal lead, 3-1.\nMoments later, IU assured itself of its first victory with an insurance score as Nilsson tallied her second goal of the game on a pass from Nash.\nA big reason for the Hoosiers' success on Saturday was the defensive effort of senior goaltender Molly Pulkrabek. Pulkrabek, who earned her first win of her career Saturday, was peppered with 14 shots on goal, but held strong all afternoon while only giving up one goal.\nIU couldn't have written a better script to start their season after very demanding preseason drills.\n"We had a great preseason," Erica Nilsson said in a statement. "We all have so much more confidence. I think that we proved to ourselves and our coaching staff that we can win." \nRobertson said in a press release the win bodes well going into their second contest of the year on Tuesday. \n"I think that we can take a positive from this win," she said. "The team effort in the second half was great. We were able to show that we can play as a team."\nIU opens its home schedule against the University of Maine at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 3 at Mellencamp Pavilion.