Field hockey finishes season after falling to Michigan State in Big Ten Tournament

The IU field hockey team’s season came to an end in the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday. The Hoosiers lost to Michigan State 6-0 in the first round of the tournament.

Michigan State’s scoring effort started early. At the 7:34 mark, junior forward Abby Barker scored off of a deflection to the right of the cage. Junior forward Allie Ahern was credited with the assist on the play.

Six minutes later, Barker scored again.

In the 29th minute, the Spartans scored their third goal. Sophomore forward Claire Johnson scored her first goal of the season scored off of a rebound.

Almost two minutes into the second half, Barker was able to score her third goal of the game, her 14th of the season. The goal occurred after a Michigan State penalty corner. Junior back Jenni Smith had the assist on the goal.

In the 44th minute, junior midfielder Becky Stiles found Adelle Lever in front of a cage for a shot. Lever scored and gave the Spartans a 5-0 lead. 

Just under four minutes later, sophomore forward Mallory Tyler found the back of the cage for the third time this season. Junior forward Heather Howie was credited with the assist.

In the first half, the Hoosiers were only able to register one shot. In the second half, IU registered nine shots but was unable to capitalize.

Robertson said Michigan State’s early goals made it difficult for IU to rebound.

“The second goal was a tough one,” Robertson said. “At that point we lost a lot of momentum. From that point on we were unable to find our stride and get rhythm and flow to our attack.”

Robertson said the loss is very difficult, especially on the seniors.

“It felt like we never played up to our potential,” she said. “It really hurts for our seniors. They had very high expectations coming into this tournament.”

Before the game, the Big Ten announced that four Hoosiers had received honors for their performance during the season.

Junior forward Audra Heilman was named to First Team All-Big Ten, while senior defender Hannah Boyer and sophomore back Sydney Supica were both named to the second team.

In addition, senior forward Emily Bowker was awarded with the Sportsmanship Award.

“It speaks a lot about the respect that the rest of the conference has for our team and those players,” Robertson said. “It is an honor. There are a lot of very good players in the Big Ten.”

Robertson said she thinks that this season provided a lot of lessons that will help the team in the future.

“I’m proud of the team for never giving up and for hanging in there,” Robertson said. “I have confidence we will come back next year and be a much better team because of this year.”

Follow reporter Dan Matney on Twitter @Dan_Matney.