Robertson’s group wins close battle

The No. 17 Hoosiers won their home opener against Ball State 2-1.

IU field hockey scored its game winner with less than three minutes to go.

The Hoosiers improve to 5-2 and have beaten the Cardinals six times in a row.
At the 4:42 mark, freshman forward Brooke Borneman scored IU’s first goal with an assist from junior midfielder Kelsey Kiper.

IU took 11 shots against Ball State in the first half, but senior goalkeeper Tiffany Shifflett stood her ground.

“Their goalie, Tiffany Shifflett, always has her best games against us,” IU field hockey coach Amy Robertson said.

At halftime, IU had the lead at 1-0.

“We started off a little hesitant but took more shots in the second half,” sophomore forward Corey Brautigam said.

About 40 minutes after the first goal, the Cardinals tied up the game with a goal from senior forward Brooke Macgillivary.

The Hoosiers responded with less than three minutes left in the game with a goal from Brautigam off of an assist from senior midfielder Meg O’Connell.

IU took 25 shots in the game but only scored two goals. Shifflett had 11 saves.
On Friday, the Hoosiers face Miami (Ohio) at 5 p.m. in Oxford, Ohio.

“I think we are going to work on goal-scoring in the practices for next week,” senior back Lucy Ireland said.