IU field hockey head to Big Ten tourney

IU field hockey will play the No. 6 seed Northwestern Wildcats in its first round of the Big Ten tournament today in East Lansing, Mich.

The No. 18 Hoosiers (12-5, 4-2) got a No. 3 seed after beating Michigan 2-4 Saturday. Ohio State’s 2-1 victory against Northwestern on Saturday also helped place IU in its current spot, as it moved into the No. 2 slot.

The Hoosiers said they have progressed since beating the Wildcats earlier this season in a 2-1 win on Oct. 17 in Bloomington.

“I think we’ve improved a lot as a team from our last game against them,” sophomore back Brenna Moeljadi said.

Senior midfielder Meg O’Connell agreed that IU has had an opportunity to improve in the past month and a-half.

“Since that game, we’ve had a lot of games under our belt and have had some good practices,” O’Connell said. “We’ve continued to learn and build on how we played against them before.”

Although it has improved, IU will have to account for sophomore midfielder Chelsea Armstrong, who has 22 goals on the season. Her offensive effort makes up a third of the goals for the Wildcats.

Armstrong is the league leader in goals, assists and shots.

The Hoosiers are on a five-game win streak going into the Big Ten tournament.

“I think because we’ve won the past couple of weekends the team is happy and motivated to do well in the tournament,” IU coach Amy Robertson said.

The past week’s practices have been about working together as a team to win, Moeljadi said.

“I think gamesmanship has been a big thing we’ve been working on at practices,” he said.

Northwestern could give them a tough time in the first round, but if they advance they will play Ohio State or Penn State on Friday.

“I hope they live in the moment and enjoy every second of the tournament,” Robertson said.

O’Connell said the opposition will be tough on Thursday.

“This tournament will be a battle. There’s always good competition,” O’Connell said. “Everyone brings their A-game and the outcome should be in our favor.”