Column: IU seeks momentum in Ann Arbor

The No. 22 IU field hockey team (9-6, 2-3) has its eyes on a fifth 10-win season in the past seven years when it travels to Ann Arbor, Mich., this Friday.

The Hoosiers should expect a tough match, however. A win versus the No. 8 Michigan Wolverines (12-4, 4-1) could give the Hoosiers a much-needed spark as they prepare for the Big Ten Conference tournament next week.

The Wolverines are in first place in the conference and will be the favorite going into Friday’s contest. The Hoosiers are 3-5 away from Bloomington while Michigan holds a solid 7-1 on its home turf. The lone loss came at the hands of the No. 2 North Carolina Tar Heels (17-1) earlier this season.

The Hoosiers must abolish their road jitters and focus on the task at hand if they want to be considered a “contender” rather than a “pretender” in the Big Ten.

The upperclassmen must step up and lead the team if they hope to pull the upset north of the border this weekend. Junior forward Morgan Fleetwood has had a stellar season, and she must step up again this weekend for IU.

Fleetwood has netted four goals in the last five games and 11 on the season overall.
The Hoosiers cannot afford to be outplayed on offense, or Michigan will capitalize as other Hoosier opponents have thus far. In true road games, IU has been outscored 16-10, resulting in a 1-5 record.

The defense must be on top of its game as the Wolverines have outscored their opponents 49-21.

Graduate student goalkeeper Viki Green must keep everything in front of her in Friday’s match. The Hoosiers are 3-4 when she plays in front of the net and her save percentage is a mediocre .553.

In the other net for Michigan is goalkeeper Christi Barwick who has a save percentage of .735.

By these numbers alone, the season finale will be anything but easy for IU, which has been the case in conference play all year.

IU must find consistency if it plans to have any postseason success. The Hoosiers have faltered in the first round of the conference tournament three of the past four seasons and would like to repeat their success of the 2009 season when they appeared in the title game.

Defeating Michigan this weekend could bolster the Hoosiers’ confidence and could even their conference record at 3-3, which would allow them to keep pace with the upper half of the conference.

A loss could make it more difficult to focus on the tournament next week in State College, Penn. The Big Ten Quarterfinals begin Nov. 3 and wrap up with the Championship game the following Sunday.

For now, the Hoosiers’ focus rests solely on Michigan. At least, it should.