Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Head to Iowa for Another Big Ten Battle
10/18/2005 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Oct. 18, 2005
Iowa Game Notes
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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The No. 8 Indiana field hockey team continues on its quest for the program's first ever berth in the NCAA Tournament this weekend with Big Ten foe Iowa on Saturday, Oct. 22 at 1 p.m. in Iowa City, Iowa.
Track the Hoosiers Live
Live stats and summary of the Indiana-Iowa showdown will be available as soon as the game gets underway through Gametracker. Gametracker is accessible though IUHOOSIERS.com. Click on the Gametracker link provided on the schedule page.
Hoosier Notables
• The Hoosiers are riding a ten-game winning streak; the longest win steak by any Hoosier field hockey team in history. The Hoosiers' 13 wins broke last year's all-time season wins mark. As of Oct. 14, the Hoosiers have scored in 22 straight contests and are averaging 3.4 goals per game.
• Along with Penn State, Indiana is the only unbeaten in the Big Ten. Both teams are tied for first with 4-0 records and have yet to play each other.
• This season, Indiana is boasting one of the toughest defenses in the conference. In the last three outings, three Hoosiers have recorded defensive saves. Freshman Dani Castro, sophomore Erin Isler and junior Morgan Miller scored the first three non-goalkeeper saves of the year.
• Both junior Lydia Schrott and senior Kayla Bashore have tied the single-season record in goals (10). Sophomore Meredith Brown needs three more assists to become the single-season assists leader. Hoosier seniors Lesley Wiler, Morgan Albini and Nikki Orciuch's 71 career games placed the trio at the top of all-time games played.
• Indiana continues to shatter program records. This year's squad claimed the single-season record for goals (47), assists (36) and shots (296) record. Indiana's 13 wins makes the 2005 team the winningest field hockey team in history.
• Indiana will return to Iowa City, Iowa for the 2005 Big Ten Conference Tournament. The post-season action is slated for Nov. 4-6 at Grant Field at the University of Iowa.
Coach's Corner
Head coach Amy Robertson:
"Iowa has a lot of pride when they play at home. They are a deceptive team. They have a lot of young players on their roster, but they are strong as you can see by their results. They are a team that is gaining a lot of confidence going into the home stretch of the season. This game will be a challenge. Our schedule isn't getting any easier. Iowa is a great team with great facilities so we are excited about the challenge. I think we respect each other's programs. It's the only game this week, so we can gear all our efforts towards Iowa and concentrating on what we need to do to keep improving. We are hoping to keep turning it up as we begin to round out the regular season schedule. Friday's matchup with Iowa will be a good one."
Scouting the Opponent
The Iowa Hawkeyes are currently 9-5 overall and 2-2 in the Big Ten and ranked No.11 in the Oct. 18 NFHCA Division I poll. Iowa has suffered losses from Wake Forest (8/27), North Carolina (8/28), Duke (9/17), Ohio State (9/25) and Penn State (10/8). The Hawkeyes were victorious over Northwestern and Michigan State in conference play.
Leading the Hawkeyes in scoring is Caitlin McCurdy with nine goals and six assists, followed by Debbie Birrell with eight and Lauren Pfeiffer with seven. In their 14 contests, Iowa has outscored opponents 45-25. Goalkeeper Lissa Munley has started every game for the Haweyes in goal. She currently has recorded 58 saves and holds a goals against average of 1.73.
The Series
The Hoosiers and the Hawkeyes have met five times with Iowa holding the 4-1 advantage in the series. Indiana is 1-1 in Iowa City going into Saturday's matchup. IU's only win over the Hawkeyes came on Oct. 31, 2003. Despite being underdogs, the Hoosiers prevailed 2-1 in double overtime. The last meeting between the two conference rivals was held on Sept. 26 in Bloomington. Lydia Schrott scored the Hoosiers' only goal off an assist from Lesley Wiler and Mallory Reabold in the 4-1 loss. Overall, Indiana has taken 31 shots against Iowa in five tries, connecting on seven of them for goals.
Hawkeye Connection
Indiana head coach Amy Robertson is no stranger to the Iowa field hockey program. Robertson's first assistant coaching job was at Iowa from 1989-1991. In her three seasons with the Hawkeyes, the team complied an impressive 56-8-3 overall record, including three NCAA Tournament appearances and back-to-back Final Four trips.
Junior back Morgan Miller has an Iowa connection as well. Her sister, Lindsay lettered for the Hawkeyes from 2000-03. Lindsay Miller was named to the All-Region team in 2003 and second team All-Big Ten in both 2002 and 2003.
Re-writing History
Indiana's record-breaking year continues as the 2005 Hoosiers keep shattering records. IU's win over Ohio State (10/14) makes the 2005 squad the winningest team in program history (13). Additionally, this year's team now holds the single-season record for most goals (47), assists (36), shots (296), goals per game (3.4), longest winning streak (10) and consecutive games with a goal (22). Individually, goalkeeper Haley Exner is the single-season leader in victories (13). Exner is only one win away from becoming the all-time career leader in wins. Additionally, after being credited with the assist on the game-winning goal, sophomore Meredith Brown is tied with junior Lydia Schrott and senior Lesley Wiler for the career assist leader (14).
Last Time Out
After 97 minutes of play, the Hoosiers improved their win streak to 10 with a 2-1 double-overtime thriller against No. 9 Ohio State. Led by goalkeeper Haley Exner's career-high 16 saves, the victory increased Indiana's longest Big Ten winning streak in program history to four games and broke the previous 12 game single-season record for most wins. Despite a scoreless first period, it was junior Morgan Miller who finally put the Buckeyes away off a penalty corner.
Five minutes into the second half, Ohio State got on the board when Lauren Kruse scored from the left side. Eleven minutes later, the Hoosiers answered when sophomore Frederique Meeuwsen netted her second score of the year when she poked the ball in from the front of the cage.
Deadlocked at one at the conclusion of regulation and the first 15-minute overtime period, Miller connected on the Hoosiers' only shot in overtime for the victory. The back from Gap, Pa., notched her fourth goal of the year off a penalty corner for Indiana's second double-overtime win of the year. Credited with the game-winning assist were sophomore Meredith Brown and junior Lydia Schrott.
