Field Hockey Falls to Louisville in Home Opener

Friday, August 26

Bloomington, IN

3 PM

Indiana University

(0-1)

Louisville

(1-0)

Louisville

Indiana

Field Hockey Falls to Louisville in Home Opener

8/26/2016 10:44:00 PM | Field Hockey

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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana's offense was unable to build momentum through their first half equalizer in a 5-1 loss to the No. 21 Louisville Cardinals. Indiana's goal scorer, Sam Scire, showcased her knack for the goal line by striking home a close-range opportunity to the keeper's right side, with an assist by Maddie Latino.

The game, known as the "Battle of the Border", served as the Hoosiers' home season opener for 2016, their first such game since 2011. The Cardinals now hold an 11-5 series lead in the rivalry.

The Hoosiers trailed early after Louisville converted a quick scoring chance in the first three minutes. Down, but not out, Indiana showcased their capability of speedy play and their knack for the counterattack. Within the next four minutes, the Hoosiers knotted the score line at 1-1 with Scire's close-range conversion.

"With our speed, one counterattack can get us right back on the board," said head coach Amanda Janney. "The resiliency of the team is going to be a symbol of the way we're going to play."

Scire, who joined the Hoosiers at the start of the spring semester, began her tenure at Indiana with an illustrious spring season. The incoming freshman netted four goals in Indiana's three spring weekends. In the first game of her career, Scire connected with Latino for Indiana's first goal of the year.

"She was really excited and not at all nervous when she came in, so that helped her transition," Latino detailed Scire's development since the freshman's arrival last spring. "She had a great spring season, continued with the High Performance program this summer, and worked with us in the summer and the preseason, and that showed today. She had a great game, and she put the Louisville defense on their toes, which aided our attack."

Latino, a Louisville native, aided the Hoosiers' counterpunch after the Cardinals' opening score. The Hoosiers received a precise pass into the circle, where Latino connected with Scire for the 1-1 equalizer. In just their first full-go game as teammates, the duo up front are seeing the fruits of their work this offseason.

"They're both scrappy forwards who find a way of getting it done," Janney said of Latino and Scire, who have played together since Indiana's 2016 spring season. "Sam being that spark in the attack was huge for us. I think that's a sign of what's to come with a freshman forward. Maddie's production from last year was outstanding, so we know she's going to score goals and create a lot of havoc for opposing defenses."

Despite the loss, Indiana took a lot of positives from the contest, along with some key improvements for the upcoming season. There's nothing the Hoosiers can do now about their game versus Louisville, aside from applying what they learned about themselves.

"I liked the character our team played with, the way they dealt with the weather delay, came back and played hard the last 13 minutes," Janney said. "We did a lot of positive things in those last 13 minutes. We have people in new positions, so we're going to take all the learning experiences from this game and move forward."

Up Next: Indiana Hoosiers (0-1, 0-0 Big Ten) at Ohio Bobcats (1-0, 0-0 MAC)
Sunday, August 28 • 1:00 p.m. • Pruitt Field • Athens, Ohio
Live Stats

The Hoosiers' first weekend rolls onward with a road trip to Athens to take on the Ohio Bobcats. Indiana hopes to rebound from the home loss versus Louisville while breaking a 5-5 series tie versus Ohio. The Bobcats won their first game of the season, 4-2, against Saint Francis (Pa.).

"We want to keep up our speed of play," Janney stated when asked about keys for their next game. "Going against an ACC opponent like Louisville, it's a fast game, so we want to make sure we maintain that speed. We want to get more on the attack, force more attack penalty corners, and find ways to finish."

Stay tuned to IUHoosiers.com and follow Indiana field hockey on Twitter for live in-game updates from Athens.