2009 season a great improvement from last campaign

IU field hockey ended its impressive season with a 14-7 record, tied for second in the Big Ten Conference, and a first-round loss to Wake Forest 2-0.

“I’m proud of the team and season they had this year,” IU field hockey coach Amy Robertson said.

After a seven-game winning streak and then a loss in the Big Ten Championship game to Michigan State, the Hoosiers advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005.

“We learned discipline and dedication and as a team our competitive spirit grew from last year,” senior midfielder Meg O’Connell said.

Last year, IU went 7-11, but this year doubled its wins with its record.

“I think we had a really successful season, we just improved so much from last season to this year,” senior back Lucy Ireland said.

The team won seven of its last 10 games.

“We had ups and downs, but, in the end, we competed in the NCAA tournament, which is where we wanted to be,” O’Connell said.

IU went 3-5 against ranked opponents this season.

The Hoosiers have some young talent that will help add to Coach Robertson’s arsenal.

“I think the underclassmen now know how to win and be a part of a successful team and program,” Ireland said.

Freshman forward Morgan Fleetwood led IU with 15 goals and six assists in the 21 games played.

Junior midfielder Kelsey Kiper led in assists with 10 on the season.

“I think the underclassmen worked hard and will continue what we’ve done this year to next year,” O’Connell said.

Junior goalkeeper Alex Mann started all 21 games and had 82 saves with a .683 save percentage.  

But the team will lose seven talented seniors as the season ends.

Defender Mutsa Mutembwa, who is academically a senior, tied the all-time defensive saves category with seven in her three years.

O’Connell had four goals and six assists on the season, and was picked to play in the NFHCA Division-I senior game this Saturday against the USA national field hockey team.

“Every year we’ve had one or two seniors play in this game with the best seniors in the country,” Robertson said.

Ireland also made the senior game and helped the team excel on the defensive side of the ball.

“We get to play against Kelly and Carrie, our two coaches, which will be funny,” Ireland said.

Assistant coaches Kelly Doton and Carrie Lingo will play for the USA national team against the senior team this weekend.

“After this game, we’ll retire our shoes, mouthguards and shinguards,” O’Connell said.

Although seven seniors leave the roster, the team should grow from here on out, the departing members said.

“I think we raised the bar for this program and we’ll just keep getting better and better every year,” Ireland said.