Hoosiers struggle to start year

Missed opportunities resulted in the Hoosiers dropping two of three matches Saturday in the Michigan Kick-Off. The trend continued Sunday when the Hoosiers lost to top-ranked Stanford, 14-1.

IU fell to Loyola Marymount 10-5 in its season opener. The No. 6 Lions gained their largest lead in the third quarter with an 8-1 advantage. A couple of Hoosier freshmen helped chip away at LMU’s lead. With a little more than six minutes to go, attacker Shae Fournier assisted Amanda Redfern’s first goal as a collegian.

IU played California State Northridge more competitively in the Hoosiers’ second match but still lost 6-5. Senior attacker Kelsey Campbell’s 100th career goal with a little under six minutes to play in the third quarter gave the Hoosiers a 5-4 lead. However, the Matadors scored two unanswered goals to earn the win.

“We had our share of chances, and we just have to learn to capitalize,” said IU coach Barry King. “We’ll learn from it and come out ready to go against Colorado State.”

The Hoosiers did avoid a sweep Saturday as they defeated Colorado State 9-8. IU claimed its first victory of the season in dramatic fashion, as senior attacker Nicole Redder scored a power play goal for the Hoosiers with 47 seconds left in the contest.
Junior goalkeeper Cassie Wyckoff earned her 10th save in the waning seconds to ensure the Hoosiers’ victory.

“We shot the ball at a poor rate throughout the day,” King said. “It’s always nice to get the win, but we have to step up our shooting. There’s no doubt about that.”

On Sunday, IU lost to the No. 1-ranked Stanford Cardinal., 14-1.

“Stanford is a very talented squad, and they played well,” King said. “I liked our effort out there today. We’ll take some things away from this and improve as we move forward.”

— Micah McVicker