No. 10 Hoosiers prepared to face aggressive RedHawks

Coming off a 2-1 victory against Ball State on Saturday, the No. 10 Hoosiers (2-1) will try to extend their winning streak today against Miami University of Ohio (2-2).\nThe IU field hockey team defeated the RedHawks last season 4-0 in its regular season finale. It was the last game the Hoosiers played before they made their NCAA Tournament run to the Elite 8.\n"They are a very aggressive team and are scrappy and take a lot of chances," IU coach Amy Robertson said. "They have a lot of depth, so they put people in and out of the game. It's a team that will try and put a lot of pressure on us, so we have to respond with confidence and move the ball and keep possession."\nLeading the Hoosiers against the RedHawks will be All-American senior forward Lydia Schrott, who currently leads the Big Ten in points (10) and goals (5). Schrott also scored a goal in last year's victory versus the RedHawks.\n"Lydia inspires the entire team," Robertson said. "When she gets near the goal, she's either setting someone up or looking to score. She's very fast, and her stick work is unpredictable."\nUnwilling to focus on her personal accomplishments, Schrott said the team must play strong in the first half against the RedHawks.\n"Coming into practice today, we were all on the same page," Schrott said. "We know we need to come out at the beginning of the game and start out well."\nAt the end of practice Monday, Robertson huddled the team together and stressed the speed and pressure the Hoosiers will face against Miami.\n"I told them to look for opportunities to break the press they will be putting on us," she said. "They need to not stay flustered and stay strong on the ball. We want to continue to play our game and see what they are giving us."\nThe Hoosiers will attempt to neutralize the RedHawks' speed with their zone defense, which features junior midfielder Meredith Brown.\nBrown said the team struggled a bit during the Ball State game since it was used to playing a man-to-man defense. But after doing some drills in practice Monday, Brown said the defense looked much better. \n"We worked out a lot of the kinks," she said.\nIn the midst of six consecutive road games, the Hoosiers will play their first of three games in Ohio against the RedHawks. This weekend they will take on Ohio University Friday and Radford University Saturday.