Hoosiers face Michigan foes

IU field hockey comes home for a five-game stand, starting their first weekend back with No. 8 Michigan State on Friday and Central Michigan on Saturday.

The Hoosiers come off two wins over the weekend against Iowa 2-1 on Oct. 2 and California 1-0 on Oct. 3.

Although IU won its last two games and improved its record to 7-4, they only received 91 votes in the NFHCA polls, not enough to put them in the top-25 rankings.

“Michigan State is very powerful on their skill, and they will take smart attacks on goal,” IU coach Amy Robertson said.

The Hoosiers have only beaten MSU once in the 13 times they’ve played the Spartans.

In last year’s meeting, IU lost 9-1 in East Lansing, Mich.

“Including Michigan State, we want to make sure we win the rest of our Big Ten games,” junior forward Katie Griswold said.

Last year Michigan State went 17-6, with a conference record of 4-2.

“In the Big Ten, they are the team to beat,” Robertson said.

The two players the Hoosiers should watch are senior midfielder Floor Rijpma and freshman forward Manouk Vernij, who have scored 17 goals combined.

Currently, the Spartans are 9-3 on their season, with losses to Duke, Syracuse and Virginia.

“Both teams are very feisty and will shoot anything on goal,” senior midfielder Brittney Hacken said.

Indiana leads the series 4-1 against Central Michigan.

Last year, the Hoosiers beat the Chippewas 1-0 in Mount Pleasant, Mich. The Chippewas are 3-7 this year.

“Last year’s game with Central Michigan was a tough game,” Griswold said.

The Hoosiers hope for a lot of support in their first game in Bloomington since Sept. 19 against Ball State.

“Both games are at home, so we hope to have a good crowd,” Robertson said.

Griswold said she felt confident about the team’s chances against the competition from the north.

“We just have to play IU field hockey to win, ” Griswold said.