Field hockey readies for weekend road trip

As the Hoosiers prepare for a trip to East Lansing, Mich. to take on No. 9 Michigan State, IU will be able to do something Saturday it has not yet accomplished this season: Defend a three-game winning streak.

“We’re going to try to go five-for-five,” senior forward Lena Grote said about closing out the regular season on a winning streak. Our big thing was belief. I think we’re all believing in each other.”

IU coach Amy Robertson’s team has strung together wins at a pivotal point in the season.

“We had a pattern — we’d win some games, lose a game,” Robertson said. “Now we’re on a streak. Three games in a row. We’ve learned a lot. We got out of our slump.”

Against Michigan State, the Hoosiers will face a different Spartans team than the one that defeated them in the Big Ten Championship game in 2009, as the Spartans had to replace Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year Floor Rijpma. Consequently, Michigan State has struggled in conference play, sporting a 1-3 record.

“I never, ever care about the poll,” Robertson said. “It just doesn’t matter. Every team in the Big Ten can be beaten by any other team they’re playing. I don’t care what our record is. If we’re going against the No. 3 in the country, you can beat them. It takes everyone being on the same page and putting it all out there.”

The team earning its first Big Ten win against Iowa on Oct. 15 was crucial to morale, Robertson said.

“The most important thing about this win is that we got our first Big Ten win,” the coach said. “If you lose again in the Big Ten, you can’t help but start to think, ‘Can we do it? Are we good?’ We have a team that has the potential to be great. We’re good right now. When you get a win like this, it’s huge. We do belong here, and we can do it.”

Robertson said her team made a choice.

“Rather than give in, this team found a way to make some changes, pick themselves up and really explore the positives of playing this game as opposed to dwelling on the mistakes and the frustrations. I’m really proud of them for that.

“Our team shows a lot of character. They want to be successful. I like what I’m seeing.”