Indiana University Athletics
Field Hockey Heads to the Big Ten Tournament
11/5/2002 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
November 5, 2002
Bloomington, IN - The Indiana field hockey team heads to the 2002 Big Ten Tournament this weekend, in Columbus, Ohio. The games will begin on November 8, with the Championship game set for Sunday, November 10. The games will take place at Ohio State on North Turf Field.
"The team is really excited about the weekend," head coach Amy Robertson said. "The team loves playing Michigan State, they always step up to the challenge of playing a great team. The team performs best when they have nothing to lose."
Penn State clinched the third seed after defeating Iowa. Michigan, the No. 2 ranked team in the nation, earned the top seed, giving them a first-round bye and the Big Ten title. The Wolverines ended up with a perfect 6-0 Conference record.
Michigan State, ranked fifth in the country, ended up 5-1 in Big Ten play, clinching the No. 2 spot. Both Indiana and Northwestern finished conference play 1-5, but the Wildcats stole the sixth spot after defeating IU in a head-to-head battle on Nov. 1. Northwestern will go up against third seed Penn State on Friday, Nov. 8 at 2:00 p.m.
Fourth seed Ohio State will face fifth seed Iowa on Friday, Nov. 8 at 12:00 p.m. Both teams ended the Big Ten regular season at 2-4. OSU took fourth place after defeating the Hawkeyes in a double overtime victory on October 27.
Michigan will see action on Saturday, November 9, where they will play the winner of the Ohio State-Iowa game in the first semi-final match up. Game time is set for 12:00 p.m. The winners of the Michigan State-Indiana game and Penn State-Northwestern will meet up at 2:00 p.m. The Big Ten championship game is set for Sunday, Nov. 10, at Noon.
Indiana fell to Michigan State earlier in the season, 5-1. The Hoosiers held the Spartans to a score of 2-1 up until the final 10 minutes of the game, when MSU went on a scoring frenzy, putting in three goals within a span of eight minutes. IU will have to play to their best potential this weekend to put one past the No. 5 ranked Spartans.
"Preparing for the tournament is a big deal especially since we are playing Michigan State for the second time," junior goalkeeper Molly Pulkrabek said. "I think we can succeed if we stay focused the whole game. Preparing means a staying focused on the goal at hand, working hard in practice to ensure that we don't make the mistakes in the crucial moments."
The Hoosiers, led by Coach Amy Robertson, are having their best season since the sport returned as a varsity sport in 2000, posting six wins after tallying just one victory in both 2000 and 2001. Indiana has faced some of the toughest competition in the nation this past fall and have matched its opposition accordingly. This season the Hoosiers upset No. 20 Ohio State, 3-2, and Villanova, 3-1, who at the time was receiving votes to be ranked nationally. Indiana also lost a heartbreaker to No. 9 Louisville in double overtime, 2-1.
The field hockey team has grown throughout this past year. After regular season play the Hoosiers have already set numerous team records. In the very first game of the season against Miami University (Ohio), August 31, the Hoosier squad tied the record for most goals scored in a single game with four. Contributing to this effort was Erica Nilsson with two, Kayla Bashore, and Kimberly Nash. Against Lindenwood University on October 20, Indiana tallied 31 shots, breaking the record for most shots taken in a single game. This wipes out the previous record of 25 shots that was set in 2000 against Bellarmine. The team has also set a new record for most goals in a season with 22, surpassing last year's record of 14.
"We have great team chemistry," coach Robertson said. "We enjoy just coming out and playing. We work hard. Being a new program, the team was so hungry to start producing results. That is what I attribute our growth to over the past three seasons."
Leading the team in points is junior co-captain Erica Nilsson with 11, recording five goals and one assist. Sophomore Kayla Bashore is second with nine points, tallying three goals and three assists.
Junior goalkeeper Molly Pulkrabek has a had a stellar performance in cage, stopping 137 shots on goal for a saves percentage of .797. Pulkrabek has been ranked nationally for saves and saves percentage every week since the beginning of the season, this week capturing the No. 13 spot for save percentage and the No. 11 spot for saves.
For the Indiana University field hockey Big Ten Tournament results, check back with IUHOOSIERS.com. Full coverage of all the teams participating in the games, including game recaps and boxscores, can be found on the Ohio State Athletics Web Site (www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com).
