Indiana University
Missouri State
Hoosiers Ready for Split Weekend with Missouri State, New Hampshire
9/8/2016 4:01:00 PM | Field Hockey
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana field hockey fans and players have noticed tangible improvement to the Hoosiers' gameplay through their first four games. After yielding seven scores in their first two games, the Hoosiers buckled down to play one goal short of No. 7 Wake Forest, followed by a shutout over UC Davis. On the other end, the Indiana offense is running through Kate Barber (5 goals) and their creative diversity has five players with at least one assist.
This weekend, Indiana will play their final full weekend before the start of Big Ten play, and they'll aim for a winning record to build momentum for their Saturday, September 17 clash at No. 7 Maryland. Sunday's game versus New Hampshire will air live on BTN2Go.com.
Indiana Field Hockey
Game 5: Indiana (2-2, 0-0 Big Ten) vs. Missouri State (0-2, 0-0 MAC)
5:00 p.m. CT | St. Louis, Mo. | SportPort International
Game Notes (PDF) | Live Stats
Game 6: Indiana (2-2, 0-0 Big Ten) vs. New Hampshire (2-2, 0-0 America East)
12:00 p.m. ET | Bloomington, Ind. | IU Field Hockey Complex
Game Notes (PDF) | Live Stats | Watch: BTN Plus on BTN2Go.com
Hoosier Notes:
Battle at the Buckeye Invitational
The Hoosiers return from a weekend of challenges at Ohio State's Buckeye Invitational, where they split the results in their two games. In their first contest, the Hoosiers played within one score of No. 7 Wake Forest, losing 2-1. The next day, they secured their first shutout win, 2-0, over UC Davis. Kate Barber scored a goal in both games, and Malia Fujisawa provided service to Maddie Latino on a 74-second stunner versus UC Davis.
Breakthrough in the Backfield
The steady progression of Indiana's work on the defensive end, a group led by Elle Hempt, Malia Fujisawa, Nora Aucker, Kelsey Geise, and Noëlle Rother in goal, reached a promising milestone in last week's win versus UC Davis. The Hoosiers forced their first shutout win of the season, 2-0. They also posted their first game with zero conceded penalty corners since September 3, 2011 vs. Ball State. Furthermore, the Hoosiers only allowed one shot attempt to the Aggies, which came late in the second half.
Gameday in the Gateway
Starting off this weekend's action for Indiana is a trip to St. Louis for a neutral site clash versus Missouri State at SportPort International. The Bears are 0-2 to start the year after a pair of losses to Saint Francis. Indiana leads the all-time series, 10-1, taking the last 10 contests. Last year, the Hoosiers won 5-1 over the Bears at the University of Louisville, with Maddie Latino scoring one and Kate Barber adding a goal and an assist.
Back Home Again
Indiana will host a Patriot Day game on Sunday versus the New Hampshire Wildcats at noon on the turf at the IU Field Hockey Complex. The Wildcats, like the Hoosiers, are 2-2 after their first two weekends, winning against Boston and Harvard while losing to UMass and Drexel. Indiana is 4-0 in the all-time series, winning most recently in 2014 at Louisville, 3-2.
Of Note…
• Kate Barber, Morgan Dye, and Noëlle Rother were named to the 2016 Big Ten Players to Watch List.
• Junior Maddie Latino was Indiana's top scorer last year, and she'll aim to build off of that success in the 2016 season. Latino scored her first goal of the year versus UC Davis, and she leads IU's assist count with two.
• 2015 All-American Kate Barber is in flying form after the start of her senior season. Barber has scored five goals in four games, most recently in IU's 2-0 win over UC Davis.
• The trip to face Missouri State is a homecoming of sorts for St. Louis natives Claire Woods and Kate Barber, along with Abby Urbanek, who hails from nearby Edwardsville, Illinois. All three played together at the prep level for Gateway Field Hockey Club in St. Louis.
• Sunday's game versus New Hampshire will bear significant importance to Kelsey Giese. Her sister, Chandler, recently graduated after four seasons of field hockey with the Wildcats.
