The Hoosiers played two games this weekend, losing the first to Michigan State on Friday but bouncing back with a victory over James Madison University on Sunday.
The Hoosiers faced a tragic last-minute defeat when Indiana field hockey traveled to East Lansing, Michigan to face off against Michigan State. The score was deadlocked at zero when Michigan State junior midfielder Ellie Rutherford put the Spartans ahead with 2:52 left in the game.
The defeat falls in line with three other Indiana losses, including overtime losses against Liberty University, Ohio University and a one-goal loss against Duke University that had an equalizing goal negated for a dragging violation.
The game was a defensive battle, with just seven shots on goal between the two sides throughout the entire game and only four total shots in the first half.
The Hoosiers had three shots on goal and eight corners compared to the Spartans’ two corners but were not able to capitalize on opportunities to even the score.
Michigan State goalkeeper Cecily Charles and Indiana goalkeeper Shannon McNally shined, with each of them having three key saves to keep their teams in the game. The loss dropped the Hoosiers to 0-2 in conference play after a 0-5 loss to Northwestern University on Sept. 15.
After Friday's shutout, the Hoosiers bounced back at home Sunday with a three-goal effort to defeat James Madison University. The sides took turns exchanging blows on offense to level the game at 2-2 going into the final seconds.
However, Indiana was able to flip the script on its late-game defeats with late-game heroics of their own, as senior Meghan Dillon was able to score off a corner with 50 seconds left to seal the win.
The victory moves the Hoosiers to 4-5 on the season, with major litmus tests in the near future. Next weekend’s games will be a decisive factor in how the Hoosiers season unfolds, with home conference matchups against Michigan on Sept. 29 and Ohio State on Oct. 1.
A pair of wins next weekend would be instrumental in the Hoosiers’ rise to the top of the conference standings, as it would vault them back to .500 in conference play.
