Indiana University Athletics
Cardinals in Town for Senior Day Showdown
10/28/2008 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Oct. 28, 2008
Weekly IU Field Hockey Notes (PDF) 
The Hoosiers return home for a Senior Day battle with the Louisville Cardinals, and then head to Northwestern, where they will close out the regular season with a Saturday meeting with the Wildcats, which will be broadcast on tape-delay by Big Ten Network.
The meeting with Louisville will be the eighth in the all-time series, in which the Cardinals hold a 5-2 advantage. The last two meetings have gone to Louisville, with the 2007 matchup seeing the Hoosiers fall 2-3. The Cardinals are riding four straight wins, with the most recent a 4-3 win over Northwestern in overtime.
Indiana has won the last four meetings with Northwestern, moving the series to 4-5 in favor of the Wildcats. The Hoosiers took the 2007 meeting 2-1. Northwestern is coming off of five straight losses, the latest being the 3-4 defeat at the hands of the Cardinals. Saturday’s matchup will mark Indiana’s first appearance on BTN this season.
THE COACHES
Amy Robertson is in her ninth season at the helm of the IU field hockey program, where she has a record of 74-87. Robertson's players have found success on and off the field. She has coached three All-Americans at Indiana, and 77 Hoosiers have earned Academic All-Big Ten honors under her watch. In 2003, she was named Big Ten Coach of the Year, and in 2005, she was named Midwest Region Coach of the Year. Robertson graduated from the University of Massachusetts in 1988.
Pam Bustin is in her eleventh season as Louisville’s head coach. She has a 126-102 record at the helm of the Cardinals. She is a 1990 graduate of the University of Massachusetts.
Kelly McCollum is in her fifth season as head coach at Northwestern. She holds a 31-62 record at NU and is 2-27 in Big Ten play. McCollum played field hockey at Northwestern, graduating in 1995.
HOOSIERS FALL TO #9 PENN STATE IN OT
The Hoosiers took on the Nittany Lions of Penn State on Friday, taking the #9 team in the country to an extra session. Indiana lost in overtime in the defensive struggle, with the final tally of 0-1.
Defensively, Indiana came up big in holding Penn State, winners of their past seven, scoreless through regulation. Hoosier goalkeeper Alex Mann and the IU defense held the ninth-ranked Nittany Lions to just one goal, well under their average of 2.33 goals per contest on the season. Mann’s nine saves were more than double her average per game on the year. The nine saves are her second most in a game this year, as she recorded 14 against Central Michigan on Oct. 5.
The game’s lone goal came at the 70:51 mark, when Amy Bonenberger stole the ball and sprinted down field for a breakaway score. It was her fifth goal on the season.
CASTRO HEADED TO NFHCA SENIOR ALL-STAR GAME
Senior Indiana field hockey player Danitra Castro has been selected to play in the NFHCA Senior All-Star Game. The National Field Hockey Coaches Association announced on Wednesday that Castro and 37 other players from around the country have been selected to play in the game. The all-star game will be played in Louisville, Ky., on November 22, 2008, at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Castro is a captain on head coach Amy Robertson’s team. The senior from San Diego, Calif., is the leader of the Hoosier defense and has made contributions on offense as well, scoring six points on two goals and two assists thus far in the 2008 season.
Robertson said that Castro’s hard work over four years makes the recognition well-deserved.
“It is exciting to continue the tradition of having one of our seniors named to the all-star team. It is a great honor for Dani. She has worked very hard for four years,” said Robertson. “She has made a major contribution to this program, and it started when she was a freshman and continued over her four years. It is nice to see it culminate in receiving an honor for her career. She is among a lot of elite and accomplished players. It is nice for the team, and we’re very happy for her.”
Indiana had two representatives in the 2007 NFHCA Senior All-Star Game in Haley Exner and Meredith Brown.
HOOSIERS FALL TO THE REDHAWKS
Indiana lost to the RedHawks of Miami 3-2. The Hoosiers got goals from Lena Grote and Alina Valenti in the game.
The game was back and forth throughout with the two teams trading goals. Grote got on the board first, recording her third goal of the season just 17:37 into the game. The sophomore from Cincinnati, Ohio deflected a hard stroke from Meg O’Connell off of a defender’s stick and into the cage.
Miami answered back with two goals before the half. Katie Brightwell and Elizabeth Gilroy recorded the RedHawk tallies.
Just 3:38 into the second, Alina Valenti picked up a rebound behind the goalie and lifted into the cage to knot the game up at two all. The goal was the fourth on the year for Valenti.
The RedHawks got their third goal from Kate Snyder in the 65th minute, and it proved to be the difference.
STACKING UP WITH THE BEST IN IU HISTORY
Several Hoosiers have already written their names in the IU record books with their play this season.
Junior Meg O’Connell’s scoring prowess has her moving up the the IU record books. Her three game-winning goals this season have her tied for fourth in game winning goals in a season, and her six game-winners over her career have her tied for fourth in IU lore. Her seven goals tie her for the seventh best season in IU history, and her 13 career scores rank her ninth at Indiana. Her 34 career points are the tenth most by a Hoosier player.
Junior Haley Funk has 5 goals on the season, moving her career total to 14, which ties her for seventh all-time. Her three career game-winning tallies, including one this season, tie her for eighth in Hoosier history.
Sophomore goalkeeper Alex Mann is already fitting into the history of great goalkeepers at IU. Her three shutouts on he season tie her for an IU record held by undergraduate assistant coach Haley Exner. Her 71 saves are the ninth most in a season, and her 7 victories tie her for fifth in IU history.
