Indiana University Athletics
UC Berkeley Squeaks by IU
9/8/2002 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
September 8, 2002
Bloomington, IN - The Indiana women's field hockey team once again knocked on the door of victory, but were denied by the 20th-ranked California Golden Bears, 1-0. The Hoosiers out shot Cal, 15-12, on the afternoon.
"This was the toughest competition of our trip, and it was our third game in four days," said UC Berkeley head coach Shellie Onstead. "I thought it was pretty even. I think that if Indiana has executed the corners a little better we might be looking at a different result."
Cal got the on the board at the 57:51 mark. Hoosier goalkeeper Molly Pulkrabek came out to shot Cal's Stephanie Lyons, but Lyons dished it off to Michelle Wald. Wald took advantage of the empty net and lifted it high into the back of the cage. The goal was Wald's second of the year.
"Molly is playing her role 100%," IU head coach Amy Robertson said. "She has been so great in there, and she has been so reliable."
The Hoosiers would not go down without a fight though and had numerous opportunities in the final minutes of the game, but could not capitalize.
"Their goalie played really well today," Robertson said. "She made it difficult to put it past her. We got it in behind her a few times. We challenged her, but we just didn't finish."
The Hoosiers got a penalty corner at the 63-minute mark. Sophomore Ryan Woolsey made the stick-stop, and sophomore Kayla Bashore took the ball and moved right. Her shot was on goal, but Cal's Kelly Knapp came up with one of her eight saves as she dove to push the ball out. The Hoosiers were awarded another penalty corner, and again Bashore was in the middle of the action. She tried to pass it to the left side to senior Erica Nilsson, but Nilsson could not corral the pass.
Bashore had two more opportunities before the end of regulation, but could not finish. Her diving shot attempt with 5:45 remaining went wide, and with one-minute remaining her push was denied by Knapp.
Bashore finished the contest with a game high eight shots, while Nilsson had four. Wald led Cal in shots as she took five on the afternoon.
The first half was one mark by missed opportunity for both squads. Both Pulkrabek and Kelly Knapp from Cal came up big in goal. Knapp denied five Hoosier shots, while Pulkrabek was able to knock away three Golden Bear shots.
The first big Hoosier opportunity came at the nine-minute mark off a penalty corner. The Hoosiers got a flurry of shots on Knapp, but were unable to hit the back of the net. Knapp made three saves on the play, while the Hoosiers got two shots each from sophomore Kayla Bashore and senior Erica Nilsson.
Nilsson was once again in the middle of a Hoosier scoring chance. At the 16:30 mark, Nilsson had a fast break opportunity that resulted in a penalty corner for the Hoosiers. Off the corner, Nilsson took a pass from Bashore. Nilsson put the shot on but was just wide and hit the side of the goal.
"We definitely had the attacking mindset, and I think overall we played pretty well," co-captain Nilsson said. "We shut down a lot of their attack, and I wish we could have won. We were very close. We had more shots than them; we had more corners than them. We just couldn't put the ball in the net, but I think we played great."
Freshman Nikki Orciuch provided a chance for the Hoosiers. The West Falmouth, Mass. product took a shot in front that was saved by the Cal keeper. The Hoosiers were awarded another penalty corner; Bashore took a shot from the top-left of the circle. Orciuch snuck in behind the Cal defense but was unable to deflect the shot into the cage.
Pulkrabek came up big for the Hoosiers on penalty corners. She made three of her five saves on the day off California penalty corners.
The Hoosier fell to 1-3 on the year, while Cal improved to 4-1 on the year. Cal was competing in their fifth game in eight days. Indiana will next take the field in Syracuse, N.Y. where they will compete in the Big Ten/Big East Challenge. The Hoosiers will battle Rutgers on Friday, September 13, and Villanova on Sunday, September 15.
