IU will seek to keep its positive momentum going in its the third weekend of competition.
The Hoosiers put up a fight against No. 7 Wake Forest, losing by just one goal, and comfortably defeated UC Davis last weekend.
This weekend IU will travel to Missouri State Friday and play New Hampshire at noon Sunday in Bloomington. The last time the Hoosiers faced both these teams, they came out on top. IU defeated Missouri State last year and New Hampshire the year before.
The Hoosiers begin conference play the following weekend, so IU Coach Amanda Janney sees these two matchups as opportunities to fix mistakes and decide where players should be.
“We have to focus on what is working well and moving forward,” Janney said. “We are always doing new strategies, figure out the right combination of players in certain positions.”
The Hoosiers have shown improvement in their game since their first weekend of competition, when they conceded eight goals.
Janney credited senior defender Kate Barber as the key player behind the progress shown by the Hoosiers. Barber has five goals in four appearances.
“The senior leadership, her competitiveness and will to win,” Janney said. “I think she finds a way, and we are so pleased that she is able to get recognition with goals because she does so much between the 25s.”
Barber is from St. Louis and said she is excited about going back home and playing in front of her fans and family.
Her and the rest of the defense will need to be strong in the face of an attacking Missouri State squad.
“Coming off of this last weekend, our defense really held it down in the downfield,” Baber said. “I think just having strong defensive plays, strong tackles, protecting our feet on the circle and being able to connect with our midfielders and work it up to our forwards will be key.”
Barber said she’s also benefited from IU’s style of play this year, as she’s been given more liberty to play forward and score.
Penalty corners have become essential for the Hoosiers in their attempts to score, and Barber admitted it’s not the quantity of penalty corners they get but the quality of their execution.
Barber and IU will come back home to play a Patriot Day game against New Hampshire. The Hoosiers have won all four previous meetings with the Wildcats.
“I think this weekend is very important to get two wins out of it,” Barber said. “That would be three wins in a row if we can, and that would be really key going into Big Ten play.”
