Field hockey team welcomes 'very similar' Cal in first home contest

The IU field hockey team opens the home portion of its 2010 campaign today, welcoming to town the Golden Bears of California after a 2-1 victory over Massachusetts on Aug. 29.

“We had a whole week, so it was like having an extra preseason to get back to all those things we needed to improve upon,” IU coach Amy Robertson said.

The team spent plenty of time working on the nuances of its game in the 11 days since its last contest.

“We’ve fine-tuned the details of our game,” Robertson said. “We’ve been working on our team defense and in attack, working together better to produce better goal-scoring opportunities. We’ve had a lot more time to practice our penalty corner defense and attack, which are set pieces really vital to success. We really focused a lot more on our defense after our first weekend.”

Senior forward Lena Grote pointed to the adjustments the team made while in
Amherst, Mass. for the UMass Invitational.

“From the first game to the second game, we improved,” she said. “We’re trying to focus on keeping up that momentum that we gained in that second game. We were very successful in working with our midfielders, sort of inside-outside and building up the play whereas the first game we just trying to force it.”

Additionally, the Hoosiers studied Cal on film. Watching the Golden Bears somewhat reminded Robertson of the team she coaches every day.

“We respect Cal and the program they have,” Robertson said. “They’re solid and they have great structure. We play very similar to them. It’s almost like playing ourselves. We have to come out and make sure that we finish on opportunities, and we’re the team that has the competitive edge playing at home.”

Grote agreed that the Hoosiers and Golden Bears have similar playing styles.

“Like us, they’re a very structured team,” Grote said. “So we’re going to focus on beating their structure. We’re going to bring our forwards back to try and defend the middle.”

Robertson demonstrated great respect for Cal, but she said she’s also ready to play.

“We’re excited for a worthy opponent and a great game at home,” she said.