Indiana University Athletics
Previewing the 2010 IU Field Hockey Season
8/13/2010 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Aug. 13, 2010
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - In her 11th season at Indiana, head field hockey coach Amy Robertson returns 13 letterwinners after leading the Hoosiers to the NCAA Tournament and the Big Ten Tournament championship game in 2009.
That list of returners includes IU's top scorer from last season in redshirt sophomore Morgan Fleetwood. Fleetwood earned Second Team All-Big Ten, Big Ten All-Tournament and womensfieldhockey.com All-Rookie Team honors after setting a single-season IU record in shots with 89 and tallying the second most goals (15) and points (36) in single-season history. Joining Fleetwood is junior Corey Brautigam, a First Team All-Big Ten, Big Ten All-Tournament Team and NFHCA and womensfieldhockey.com Third Team All-American honoree. Brautigam recorded four goals and two assists in 2009 for 10 points in 21 games for the Hoosiers.
Defensively, Indiana returns senior goalkeeper Alex Mann, who recorded 80 saves and a 1.89 goals against average as a junior. She collected 14 wins and one shutout in 21 games. The Hoosiers also return redshirt junior back Brenna Moeljadi, who tallied two defensive saves in 2009. She also helped out the IU offense with four goals, including a game-winner in a 4-2 victory at Michigan.
During the offseason, Robertson signed five student-athletes, including Emily Bowker (Beach Haven, N.J./Southern Regional), Mariella Grote (Cincinnati, Ohio/Saint Ursula Academy), Danielle McNally (Marmora, N.J./Ocean City), Gaby Olshemski (Shavertown, Pa./Lake-Lehman) and Anne Verhaar (Bussum, The Netherlands/Sint Vitus College).
Bowker, 5-3 forward/midfielder, was a three-time all-county honoree and earned First Team All-Shore honors her senior season at Southern Regional High School. She helped her team win the A-South Championship in 2006, 2008 and 2009. Grote, a 5-7 forward, led the South West Ohio Field Hockey League in scoring all four years at Saint Ursula and holds the league record for most goals scored in a season. A three-time team captain, Grote helped Saint Ursula to a SWOFHL tournament title as a freshman on the junior varsity team and league championships as a sophomore and senior. She is also the younger sister of IU senior Lena Grote.
McNally, a 5-6 back, totaled 34 goals and 32 assists at Ocean City High School. She was a 2009 Harrow Sports/National Field Hockey Coaches Association Second Team All-American and a High School All-Region Team honoree. McNally also earned Star Ledger First Team All-State in 2008 and 2009, First Team All-State Group III honors in 2008 and 2009, and was the 2009 Press of Atlantic City Female Athlete of the Fall as a senior and the Press of Atlantic City Player of the Year as a junior. Olshemski, 5-1 midfielder, totaled 48 goals and 36 assists for a total of 132 points in her career at Lake-Lehman. She earned Pennsylvania First Team All-State honors as a junior and senior, and second team honors as a sophomore. The two-time Citizens Voice First Team All-Star, Olshemski ranked among the top 10 in scoring in the Wyoming Valley Conference between her sophomore and senior season. Verhaar played 11 years of club field hockey for Gooische in Bussum. She spent two season playing in national competition for the Gooische U-14 team, helped the U-17 team to a second place finish during the outdoor season and spent two seasons on the U-18 team where they finished first in national competition. She also competed for U-18 during the indoor season.
2010 Schedule Highlights
Two of the Hoosiers' games will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network this fall. The Hoosiers' home contest against Ohio State on Saturday, Oct. 2 at 1 p.m. ET will air on the network on Sunday, Oct. 3 at 1 p.m. IU's game at Michigan State, which will take place in East Lansing on Saturday, Oct. 23 at 1 p.m. ET will air on the network on Sunday, Oct. 24 at 1 p.m. Two games will also be streamed live on BigTenNetwork.com. IU's home games against Louisville (Tuesday, Oct. 5, 3 p.m. ET) and Iowa (Friday, Oct. 15, 3:30 p.m. ET) will both be streamed online.
The Hoosiers will play a pair of scrimmages beginning on Wednesday, Aug. 18 at 11 a.m. ET against Miami (OH) in Bloomington. IU will scrimmage Ohio State on Saturday, Aug. 21 at 4 p.m. in Columbus, before opening the regular season against Boston College on Saturday, Aug. 28, at 2 p.m., in Amherst, Mass. The Hoosiers conclude their season-opening road trip against UMass on Sunday, Aug. 29, 2 p.m.
Indiana opens the home slate, which features eight games this season on the IU Hockey Field, on Thursday, Sept. 9, against Cal-Berkeley at 3:30 p.m. ET.
