Hoosiers lose battle against rival Spartans

For the first time this season, the No. 13 Hoosiers lost consecutive games.\nComing off a similar 1-0 loss to the No. 18 Michigan Wolverines at home, the IU women's field hockey team traveled to the Great Lake state this weekend and was defeated 1-0 again by its Big Ten rival, the Michigan State Spartans.\nThe Spartans (6-11, 1-4 Big Ten), who came into the game without a Big Ten win, were able to beat the Hoosiers thanks to the Spartans' Ashley Pernicano, who scored on a tip-in in the 24th minute of play.\n"As a goalie, you blame yourself for 1-0 losses, and it's hard to swallow," junior IU goalie Haley Exner said, "but it was a very legitimate goal."\nHeading into Saturday's loss, the Hoosiers (13-4, 3-2 Big Ten) had been focusing in practice on improving their offensive attack, particularly involving the center of the field. But the Spartans were able to limit the Hoosiers to just five shots the entire game.\n"I just feel like we didn't get going; we didn't really play like how we should play," Exner said. "We are a better team than what we showed."\nAfter the tough loss to the Spartans, the Hoosiers made the six-hour bus drive from East Lansing, Mich., back to Bloomington.\n"It was very quiet and reflective, not a lot was said," Exner said. "There were a lot of low heads, but now we're fine. Toward the end it was better, but the first couple of hours weren't very happy."\nExner described the game as a "reality check" but said she thinks the team will ultimately benefit from the untimely loss.\n"We're going to come out like a raging bull. There are a lot of emotions built up after this game," she said.\nThe Hoosiers will attempt to rebound from their two-game losing streak when they play their Big Ten season finale Saturday versus the No. 6 Penn State Nittany Lions in University Park, Pa.