Field hockey team increases winning streak to 11 games

IU coach Amy Robertson found just the right motivation for her team this weekend.\nShe told her players that if they beat the Iowa Hawkeyes on Friday, she would have to do a five-minute catwalk up and down Mellencamp Pavilion field. And if her team was able to upset the unbeaten No. 5 Ohio State Buckeyes on Sunday, she'd add an extra twist.\n"Like on America's Top Model," junior forward Kate O'Connell said. "In a dress and heels, then a cartwheel, too."\nAfter this weekend's victories against Iowa and Ohio State, it looks like Tyra Banks will have some competition. \nThe Hoosiers racked came up big in what Robertson described as the "toughest weekend of our schedule," defeating the Hawkeyes on Friday and the Buckeyes on Sunday.\nComing off their two wins this weekend, the No. 12 Hoosiers (11-1, Big Ten 3-0) extended their winning streak to 11 games, an IU field hockey record. The Hoosiers also remain perfect through Big Ten play so far.\nThe climax of the weekend came Sunday afternoon when the Hoosiers stormed the field as time expired to celebrate their 2-1 victory against the Buckeyes.\n"We won a lot last year, but nothing feels like this," senior back Morgan Miller said after Sunday's victory. "This is unbelievable. We really have a great team, not just individuals that play well."\nBut the Hoosiers did have many individuals who stepped up their play this weekend, including Miller, who scored her sixth goal of the season Sunday in the 40th minute. Miller's score, which came off a penalty corner, was fired into the top left quadrant of the box to put the Hoosiers up 2-0.\nA penalty corner, which results from a variety of infractions inside the goal circle, is similar to a soccer corner kick. One player from the offensive team sends the ball in to four of her teammates, who try to score.\n"When you get up 2-0, you get the momentum, and it's really tough for an opponent to come back," Robertson said.\nBut the Buckeyes weren't giving up. After the Buckeyes scored in the 66th minute to bring the score within one goal, the Hoosiers found themselves in one of the most pressure-packed situations possible.\nWith time expired, the Buckeyes had one last chance to score after drawing a penalty corner in the closing seconds. After Ohio State star player Yesenia Luces sent the ball in, the Buckeyes penetrated the circle, but their desperation shot missed gently to the left.\n"I couldn't even speak," junior goalie Haley Exner said of the final play of Sunday's game. "But I thought since we had saved all of those other corners before, there was no way in hell they were going to score. It was our circle."\nExner was referring to the 13 penalty corners the Buckeyes drew, none of which resulted in a goal. Exner had her most impressive performance of the season, tallying 11 saves while allowing only one goal.\n"I had a dream the night before that I was going to make all of these saves," she said. "I was ready to make some plays. I stayed on my toes, and I have a great defense behind me."\nThe Hoosiers also had a relatively lively crowd behind them Sunday. Unlike its usual polite atmosphere, Mellencamp Pavilion was loud with cheers, IU chants and constant support from fellow players.\nThough it was a regular Big Ten season game according to the schedule, Robertson said it "felt like an NCAA tournament game today."\n"I'm really awestruck with our team," she said. "We have so much grit. This is the toughest team I've ever coached. Ohio State is one of the most threatening teams in the country, and to come up with tackles, deny them shots and hold strong is great."\nNot to be lost in the weekend's accolades was the Hoosiers 2-1 victory against the Hawkeyes on Friday.\nLed by junior Kate O'Connell's two goals in the game, the Hoosiers defeated an aggressive Hawkeyes squad.\n"It was the most physical game we've had this year," junior midfielder Meredith Brown said. "But we didn't sit back; we gave it to them as much as they brought it to us."\nThe Hoosiers drew first blood in the 20th minute thanks to O'Connell's goal, which came off of a long assist from senior midfielder Rachel Telian.\n"I just looked up and saw Rachel and she had a great hit and I knew where it was going, so when she hit it, I stepped in front of my defender and tipped it right in," O'Connell said.\nAfter working earlier in the season on improving their passing and receiving, the Hoosiers' improvements were visible during Friday's contest.\n"We were definitely all playing well and passing right to each other's sticks and hustling," freshman back Brittney Hacken said.\nAfter a weekend with two victories at home, the Hoosiers will have to retool quickly to prepare for their next big battle. The Hoosiers will try to extend their winning steak 7 p.m. Friday when they go on the road to face the No. 13 Louisville Cardinals.