Hoosiers lose in first round of Big Tens

The IU field hockey team went into the 2001 Big Ten Tournament with hopes of pulling an upset of No. 2 seed Ohio State, but the Buckeyes jumped on the freshmen and sophomore laden Hoosier squad with a goal less than five minutes into the match.\nOSU senior Marije van Nouhuys got an assist when sophomore teammate Vanessa Immordino beat IU's keeper, junior Molly Pulkrabek for the first goal 4:54 into the first half. The Hoosier defense then withstood the Buckeyes attack for nearly 18 minutes until OSU netted four goals in less than seven minutes.\nBuckeye freshman Lorena Margni found the back of the net with 12:30 left in the first half. OSU added a third goal less than a minute later as van Nouhuys and Immordino connected again. Just over two minutes later freshman Lucy Clayton scored off a penalty corner with assists from Margni and senior Kimberley Reedy. That same trio got together for its second goal off another penalty corner with 5:38 left in the half.\nThe Hoosiers attempted to step up their attack in the second half, but were unable to muster a shot against the stingy OSU defense headed by senior goalie Allison Blanton who was named to the First Team All-Big Ten squad. Blanton faced only three Hoosier shots on the day while the Buckeyes managed to put 23 on the IU keepers. OSU also got 15 more penalty corners than the Hoosiers. The win boosted the Buckeyes to 13-4 overall after finishing Big Ten play with a 5-1 record and a share of the regular season conference championship with Michigan State. The loss dropped IU to 1-16 overall with a 0-6 record in conference competition.\nPulkrabek posted seven saves in the first half, giving her 85 stops on the year and placing her five ahead of freshman Katie Kanara for most saves in a season by an IU keeper. But Kanara was placed in the net to start the second half and recorded two saves on nine shots while shutting out Ohio State in the second half. Kanara's 82 saves on the season place her second on the school list in saves for a season and her 2.73 goals against average set a new single season school mark.\nKanara and Pulkrabek weren't the only Hoosiers who set new school records throughout the season. Freshman Kim Nash set school records with four goals and nine points on the year. Classmates Kayla Bashore and Ryan Woolsey each tallied three assists on the season to break the old mark of two. Bashore was also named a Second Team All-Big Ten midfielder, becoming the first Hoosier to be named to an all-conference team in the sport's two-year varsity history.