Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Sweep Big Ten Weekly Honors
10/2/2006 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Oct. 2 Big Ten Weekly Release
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Oct. 2, 2006
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - For the first time in program history, Indiana swept the Big Ten's weekly field hockey honors the conference announced on Oct. 2. Junior forward Kate O'Connell earned offensive player of the week, while junior goalkeeper Haley Exner was tabbed the week's top defensive player. O'Connell and Exner helped the Hoosiers to a pair of Big Ten wins over Iowa (2-1) on Sept. 30 and undefeated No. 5 Ohio State (2-1) on Oct. 1.
"I am so proud of this team and the way they played this weekend," Indiana head coach Amy Robertson said. "They never cease to amaze me. There is no doubt that last weekend was the toughest two games we have on the schedule and to come out with two wins is impressive. This team continually fights hard, finds ways to win and has so much pride for this program."
Against the Hawkeyes, O'Connell scored two goals in as many shots including the game winner for the third multi-goal game of her career. Two days later against No. 5 Ohio State, the St. Louis, Mo., native tallied one shot and scored the Hoosiers' first goal of the contest. O'Connell had a hand in IU's second goal of the OSU game as well. In the 50th minute, O'Connell recorded the assist on senior back Morgan Miller's game winner. For the weekend, O'Connell took three shots, scored three goals, notched one assist for seven points, while contributing to every Indiana score. Currently, she is second on the team in goals (7) and points (20).
Exner turned in an equally impressive performance against Iowa and Ohio State. The San Diego, Calif., native held the Hawkeyes scoreless until 67th minute, recording seven saves in the win. She followed that performance with an even better one, tallying an impressive season-high 11 saves against No. 5 Ohio State. The Buckeyes, who threatened offensively for the majority of the game, out shot IU 14-6 and took 13 penalty corners, but were only able to slip one goal past Exner in 70 minutes.
The honor is O'Connell's first and Exner's fourth as she was honored last season three times.
The 11-1 Hoosiers are back in action on Friday, Oct. 6, as they take on Louisville at Trager Stadium for a 7 p.m. (ET) match. Fans can follow IU live on GameTracker.
