Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Set to Host Big Ten Tournament
11/5/2008 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Nov. 5, 2008
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The Hoosiers will open the 2008 Big Ten Championships on Thursday, playing the early first round game (10 a.m. ET). The team will square off with the Iowa Hawkeyes, looking to avenge a 6-1 loss in late September. Indiana hosts the tournament at IU Field Hockey Field in Bloomington. Following the Indiana/Iowa game, Michigan and Ohio State will battle in the 4/5 seed match up, with the winner advancing to a semifinal contest with #1 seeded Penn State at 10 a.m. ET on Friday. The winner of the Indiana/Iowa game will face the winner of 2:30 meeting between the the third-seeded Michigan State Spartans and the Northwestern Wildcats. That semifinal contest will begin at 12:15 p.m. ET on Friday. The tournament final is on Sunday at noon. Both semifinals and the final will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network.
Indiana is 2-8 all-time against the Hawkeyes, and Iowa has taken the last three contests. On Sept. 26, the Hawkeyes scored six goals against the Hoosiers. Five Iowa players got on the board with Lauren Pfeiffer scoring twice. Lena Grote recorded the goal for the Hoosiers, scoring on a rebound in the 60th minute.
THE COACHES
Amy Robertson is in her ninth season at the helm of the IU field hockey program, where she has a record of 74-89. 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.
Tracey Griesbaum is in her ninth season as the head coach at the University of Iowa. Gries- baum has compiled a record of 116-81 in her career as a head coach and a 103-60 record at Iowa.
HOOSIERS UPENDED BY NORTHWESTERN Indiana fell to the Northwestern Wildcats on Saturday, closing out the regular season. The Hoosiers lost 3-1, with the team's lone goal coming from junior forward Haley Funk. Funk's goal was her sixth on the season. She redirected a Katie Griswold pass for the score. The goal opened the game's scoring, as it came just 4:39 into the contest. Griswold put a ball in toward goalie Elizabeth Dodds from the left wing. Funk put that ball past the keeper for Indiana. Northwestern went on to tie the game in the first, and their two goals in the second put it away. The Wildcats got goals from Stephanie Fortson, Alexandra Quinn and Courtney Plaster. 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. 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 gamewinners 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 10th most by a Hoosier player. Junior Haley Funk has six goals on the season, moving her career total to 15, which ties her for sixth 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 76 saves are the ninth-most in a season, and her seven victories tie her for fifth in IU history.
