IU looking for upset at tourney

In what could be its last game of the season the field hockey team heads to Columbus, Ohio this weekend for the Big Ten tournament. The Hoosiers will take on the Michigan State today at 10 a.m. If the 7th seeded Hoosiers don't pull off an upset, their season is over.\nIU is coming off of a 1-1 weekend where they fell to Northwestern, then turned around the next day to defeat Colgate, 1-0. \nCoach Amy Robertson knows how dangerous MSU is, especially on offense.\n"(MSU) has a lot of skill all over the field, they can move the ball with a lot of speed, they hit the ball really well, they spread out of the attack," Robertson said. "(MSU) is just a great team in the attacking circle. They are very tenacious."\nThe Hoosiers experienced all of these attributes in their first meeting with the Spartans this season. Michigan State leveled IU 5-0 on their way to an 18-2 record with their only losses coming to No. 1 Old Dominion and No. 2 Michigan.\nThe Spartans are currently ranked fifth nationally and are seeded second in the Big Ten Tourney with a 5-1 conference record. \nThe Hoosiers know they face a daunting task but Robertson stresses the need to adhere to the game-plan. \n"We have to try and break up their rhythm and play a little chess with them," Robertson said. "It's postseason, it's another chance and we'll be looking to make something happen any way we can." \nThe Hoosiers will also need to generate more offensive opportunities this time around against MSU to compete. In their last match-up on Oct. 12, the Spartans out-shot IU 31-2 and won the battle of penalty corners, 19-0. \nSophomore midfielder Kayla Bashore said she doesn't think the team needs to do anything differently.\n"I don't think we need to prepare any differently, it is just a matter of if and when this preparation will be used," Bashore said. "We need to just go out there and prove to everyone that we deserve to win."\nThe Hoosier defense will also have its hands full with Michigan State's offensive attack. They are ranked fifth nationally in scoring offense with 3.77 points per game, and sophomore midfielder Annebet Beerman is 12th in the nation with 36 points. \n"We need to use our transfer more effectively because so far this year we haven't really trusted it," sophomore midfielder Ryan Woosley said. "We have really been concentrating on that in practice." \nWin or lose, however, Robertson is satisfied with her team's overall performance on the season.\n"I am very happy with our overall performance this year," Robertson said. "I am pleased with some of the success that has come our way because we have definitely earned it." \nThe Big Ten Tournament Runs today through Sunday and the winner of the IU-MSU match-up will face the victor of the Penn State-Northwestern contest Saturday.