IU kept the momentum from last week’s win over UC Davis going, by winning contests this weekend behind strong offensive performances.
The Hoosiers defeated Missouri State 5-0 on the road Friday and beat New Hampshire 5-3 at home at the IU Field Hockey Complex on Sept. 11.
Senior defender Kate Barber and junior midfielder Taylor Pearson scored two goals each in both games.
IU dominated its game against Missouri State in Saint Louis, Missouri, ripping 14 shots on goal and allowing just one.
While the Hoosiers managed just one first half goal against the Bears, scored by Barber off a well-executed penalty corner by junior Maddie Latino and senior Mollie Getzfread, they needed just six minutes in the second half to extend that lead to three.
Pearson and senior Morgan Dye scored their first goals of the season and set the tone for a dominating second half that saw IU find the net four times. Pearson got past the goalie with a shot to the bottom left corner of the goal, and Dye, assisted by Pearson, scored off a penalty corner.
“It is a corner play that we have worked on a lot in practice,” Dye said in a release from IU Athletics. “Taylor crossed the ball to me on that set, so I held back and waited for an opening. It was a really well-executed corner on her part.”
Pearson nutmegged the goalie 24 minutes later for her second goal of the game, and Barber quickly followed with her second goal to seal the victory.
The Hoosiers converted two of their 18 penalty corners into goals and limited the Bears to only one penalty corner.
“It was a solid team performance,” Pearson said in a release from IU Athletics. “We had a lot of momentum building from last weekend’s win, and today we just laid it all on the field. We had a lot of sparks off of the bench, it was a true team effort and we got the win.”
IU’s victory over New Hampshire Sunday was more cumbersome.
The Wildcats came out of the gate strong and scored the first goal of the game 19 minutes in as Hoosier sophomore goalie Noëlle Rother could not stop a close range shot. IU responded with greater intensity after conceding the goal and scored before the break to go into halftime tied.
Barber took a powerful shot on goal off a penalty corner by Latino and Getzfread that could not be stopped by the Wildcat goalie, even after getting a pad on it.
IU carried the momentum from that goal into the second half, and behind two goals from Pearson and one each from Barber and Getzfread opened up a 5-1 lead 23 minutes into the second half.
“I think we all knew as a team that we just really needed to pick it up,” Pearson said. “We knew we were in this game and we just needed to keep possession so we really work hard as a team.”
Barber’s goal total now stands at nine, surpassing her total from last year in just six games. IU Coach Amanda Janney was particularly excited about Getzfread’s goal, as it was the senior’s first career goal.
“She is one of those players who just does not always get recognized in score books,” Janney said. “So for her to get a goal today in her senior year is huge for us, she has been working so hard off the field and she is such a talented leader.”
The Wildcats scored two goals in the final 10 minutes against junior substitute goalie Katie Johnson to cut IU’s lead in half, but the Hoosiers had built a big enough lead to handle the late surge.
IU goes on the road next Saturday for their first Big Ten Conference game against No. 7 Maryland, and then face No. 10 Delaware the following day.
“This was a huge weekend for us,” Pearson said. “Coming off of two wins, we are just looking to move that momentum into next week in the start of Big Ten play.”
