Hoosiers falls to No. 5 Michigan 1-0

After holding No. 5 Michigan scoreless through regulation Friday in Ann Arbor, Mich., the IU field hockey team dropped a disappointing 1-0 game in overtime. \nSeventy minutes of play produced no goals for either team, but Michigan’s Paige Laytos scored a breakaway goal nine minutes into the overtime period.\nThe Hoosiers battled a tough Michigan attack and some controversial calls, and in the end it was too much to overcome. \n“It was a heartbreaking, devastating loss for the girls,” IU coach Amy Robertson said. “We really put ourselves out on the line and showed good confidence and determination. We had some controversial calls that went against us, but that is part of the game. Sometimes they go your way and sometimes they don’t.”\nIU had two goals that were called back due to penalties, including one with 12 minutes to go in the game. \nThe Hoosiers came out slow and struggled to establish any offensive threat, and Michigan outshot IU 6-1 in the first half. IU picked up its play in the second half, but the Wolverines still held a 15-6 advantage in shots for the game and a 12-5 edge in penalty corners. \n“They really came out fast and set the tempo from the beginning, which we didn’t want to happen,” senior midfielder Meredith Brown said. “We were reacting to their game. Eventually we got better in the second half, and we had the ball near their end a lot. We didn’t get a ton of shots, but we were placing the ball well.”\nThe Michigan offense consistently put pressure on the IU defense, but senior goalkeeper Haley Exner and the rest of the defensive players were up to the challenge. The Hoosiers excelled on their penalty corner defense, and Exner recorded eight saves on the game.\n“I thought our defensive corners were phenomenal,” Robertson said. “They had been one of our weaknesses, but we turned it into a strength in this game. We were on every ball and we had great flow and executed well.”\nIn the overtime period, IU continued to build on its strong second half, but Michigan was able to capitalize on its only opportunity of the period. \n“I think we were still fresh in overtime, and we controlled the game pace,” sophomore midfielder Meg O’Connell said. “We held possession for most of the period. Overall it was a good overtime for us, but they just got one chance and were able to score on it.”\nDespite the loss, Robertson said she was pleased with the effort and improvement of the Hoosiers. \n“I’m really proud of the way the girls handled the situation,” she said. “To see our team perform like this really gives us optimism and confidence for the next couple of weeks. In my eight seasons of coaching, I think this team has shown more improvement throughout the season than any other team. It’s a really good thing to see with four big games coming up and then the Big Ten tournament.”