Indiana University Athletics
Field Hockey Prepares for No. 5 Michigan State
10/10/2002 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
October 10, 2002
Bloomington, IN - The field hockey team travels to East Lansing, Mich., Saturday, Oct. 12 to face Big Ten opponent No. 5 Michigan State. Going into the contest the Hoosiers have an overall record of 3-8-0, and 1-1-0 in the conference. Michigan stands at 11-2 and 1-1-0 in Big Ten action.
Coming off of the victory against No. 20 Ohio State, and capturing their first Big Ten win, the Hoosiers feel more confident in themselves heading into Saturday's game.
"I think that that after the OSU game, the team is not going to be intimidated by anyone," head coach Amy Robertson said. "They understand that if we play as well as we can as a team, that that's success for us. The way a team is going to have to beat us, is to play well as a team as well."
Fortunately, the Hoosiers were able to see the Spartans in action the weekend of September 13-15 in Syracuse, N.Y., at the Big Ten/Big East Challenge.
"Michigan State spreads the field out really well," said coach Robertson. "They almost even look like an international team. They have excellent stick skills and they can hit the ball with pinpoint accuracy over a long distance. They have some players that really strike the ball well and they also know each other well. They have had an extra year to know each other and that makes them more dangerous."
In preparation for the weekend, the team has primarily focused on what they can do to stop the Spartan attack, which has recorded 248 shots, 130 penalty corners and 52 goals.
"We are going to try and take them out of their rhythm, disrupt their normal game and try to limit their opportunity to draw corners," coach Robertson said. "We know how good Michigan State is. They are a very good ball club. We have been making strides with our attack and have gone back to the fundamentals defensively. We need to be poised on defense. Not to jump in and over commit on the ball. We need to let our second defense come up with the ball."
Senior defensemen Akila Jones has been a leader in the backfield for the Hoosiers. Individually and as a team Jones has set high standards for the Big Ten match up this weekend.
"My personal goal is to stay lower on defense," Jones said. "Being 5'11 and playing field hockey it is imperative that I stay down low and protect my feet. That is something that I have really been working on. It started in the Louisville game and it escalated Saturday against Ohio State. My main focus is to keep every player out of the circle. This has also been the defensive goal. This will continue to be our focus"
Although the Hoosier defense is imperative to the success of IU on Saturday, we can't forget about the other end of the field, the offense. The Indiana midfield has taken strides in the past couple of games to generate scoring opportunities. Big Ten Player of the Week freshman Mallory Reabold has been a major contributor to the Hoosier midfield.
"I have been trying to work off of Kayla (Bashore)," Reabold said. "Me and her are the center midfielders and we have to make sure that we are spaced right and not on top of each other and therefore we can distribute the ball evenly through out the field."
The Hoosiers are ready for the challenge and are excited to play their third Big Ten game. They have improved drastically and are eager to see continued growth.
"The girls understand that Michigan State is a better team than last year, but so are we, coach Robertson said."
