Hoosiers to face Pacific, UC-Berkeley

The IU field hockey team opens a promising season this weekend with a trip to Berkeley, Calif., to face the University of the Pacific on Saturday and the University of California-Berkeley on Sunday. \nLast season, the Hoosiers, led by senior All-Americans Lydia Schrott and Morgan Miller, fell just short of an NCAA tournament bid. This year, with Schrott and Miller having graduated, IU will look to a new group of seniors to lead it into the postseason. \nThe Hoosiers have six seniors returning and three in particular – forward Kate O’Connell, midfielder Meredith Brown and goalkeeper Haley Exner – have taken an early leadership role with the team during the preseason. \n“I think Meredith, Haley and Kate will all be leaders with this team,” IU coach Amy Robertson said. “It’s nice because they all play on different lines on the field and can share their leadership and experience with each line.”\nThese three women are coming off a strong junior season and are ready to become more vocal with teammates. \n“Haley and I live together and talk a lot about how to make the team better,” O’Connell said. “We each are working hard with our lines. We’re really working on holding everyone accountable and not being scared to speak up.”\nExner, who was an All-Big Ten performer last year, said she is comfortable with her new leadership role. \n“I’ve really tried to work on being there for the players and being someone they can look up to,” she said. “So far I’ve enjoyed it.”\nThis year’s team has a strong freshman class, including forwards Katie Griswold and Lena Grote, midfielder Kelsey Kiper and backs Brenna Moeljadi and Mutsa Mutembwa. As the freshmen adjust to playing at the college level, the seniors have taken it upon themselves to bring them up to speed and help them mesh with their teammates.\n“I’ve been so impressed with how we’ve gelled as a team,” Exner said. “The freshmen have come in and fit in really nicely. I think we’re a true team right now.”\nRobertson is also impressed with what the freshmen have \nto offer. \n“The freshmen came in really fit,” Robertson said. “They are an exciting group and are very exciting to watch.”\nAfter a long summer of conditioning and practices, the Hoosiers are ready to take the field. \n“I’ve been really impressed with how we’ve looked in practice,” O’Connell said. “The intensity has been high, and I’m really excited for games to start.”\nThe games will also be the first for Pacific and U.C.-Berkeley, so IU will not have any kind of scouting report on either team.\n“We aren’t going to know a lot about them and they aren’t going to know a lot about us,” Robertson said. “We are just focusing on ourselves and accomplishing our goals.”\nThe seniors hope this weekend is the first step on the way to a special year.\n“I’m really excited to open in California,” Exner said. “My freshman year we lost to Cal (Berkeley). But now we’re back, and we have high hopes for this season. We are only going to get better as the season goes along.”