Hoosiers split weekend games

IU field hockey split its weekend, falling to No. 8 Michigan State 6-2 on Friday and defeating Central Michigan 3-1 on Saturday.

The Hoosiers moved to 8-5 on the season with a 1-2 conference record.

Senior midfielder Jeamie Deacon netted the first two goals for the Spartans in the first 18 minutes.

At the 26th minute, junior forward Jantine Steinmetz scored on a fast break.

The Spartans continued to pour it on with a score just three minutes later by freshman forward Manouk Vernij.

“Even though we were down by four goals, we knew we had to keep fighting,” junior forward Katie Griswold said.

The Hoosiers rebounded with a score from senior forward Haley Funk off a penalty stroke at the 45th minute.

Just three minutes later, IU scored again, thanks to Griswold and an assist from senior midfielder Meg O’Connell.

“I thought we stayed strong,” Funk said. “The goals didn’t show it, but the play did.”
In the end, though, the Spartans were too much for the Hoosiers, as they put two more shots in-goal.

“I don’t think the score is indicative of how we played today,” IU coach Amy Robertson said.

In Saturday’s game, IU got off to an early lead with a goal from Funk at the ninth minute off an assist from freshman forward Morgan Fleetwood.

The Hoosiers scored again before halftime with a goal from Griswold off of an assist by senior back Lucy Ireland and did not let up after halftime, allowing the Chippewas only one goal to their three total.
 
“Our defense was very organized, and I think that we set up our mids and forwards for goal scoring opportunities,” junior goalkeeper Alex Mann said.

The Hoosiers’ next game is against Northwestern at 1 p.m. Saturday in Bloomington.

“We will look to find ways we can take advantage of the things we did well and work on the things we didn’t do well in these past two games for next week’s practice,” Robertson said.