Fleetwood’s golden goal upsets Duke in overtime

When the white ball landed at the bottom of junior forward Morgan Fleetwood’s stick with 2:33 remaining in the overtime period, it was only the second time in 49 minutes Fleetwood raised her stick for a shot on goal.

It was her second shot against Duke – the team ranked No. 15, who upset No. 6 Ohio State in their match Friday.

The shot was her second resulting from a corner.

The first time, it was a goal. This time, it was a golden goal.

The shot rang off the wood at the back of the goal box as cheers filled the air.
Fleetwood threw both hands toward the sky as she screamed and fell to her knees, and eventually her back when her teammates celebrated the 3-2 overtime victory with a dog pile.

It was the first time IU played Duke, and it would go down as a W in the record books.

“Everyone bought out that game, and it was a whole team effort in overtime,” Fleetwood said.

But scoring goals wasn’t just a Sunday gift for Fleetwood.

She scored twice Friday at IU Field Hockey Field, where the Hoosiers opened their 2011 campaign with a 3-0 win against Miami (OH).

IU returned three of four starting defenders to open the season, senior Brenna Moeljadi, sophomore Danielle McNally and sophomore Hannah Boyer. The fourth defender, freshman Stefani Day, has transitioned seamlessly, Boyer said.

“She’s come right in and picked up on things right away,” Boyer said.

Sophomore Maggie Olson started in the cage for IU and recorded two saves in her first regular season start. Senior Viki Green played the second half in the cage.
Each goalkeeper faced only one penalty corner.

The experience of the Hoosiers’ defenders contributed to the low tally of penalty corners for the RedHawks.

“Our composure was really important,” Boyer said. “We stayed composed under pressure. Our communication was positive throughout the game.”

IU Coach Amy Robertson said her defenders’ experiences earlier in their careers have led to the ability to handle chaos with confidence.

“They’ve learned,” said the 12-year coach. “You’re not going to get a lot of corners against us. We’re good tacklers. We can see situations before they’re actually forming and take care of it.”

On Sunday, the Hoosiers took the game against Duke in chunks.

“We focus on pieces that we can control,” Robertson said. “We don’t think about the outcome ... They didn’t let the pressure rattle them. They didn’t look at the magnitude of what the result could mean for them.”

As for her forward who scored four of the team’s six goals in their opening weekend?

“Morgan is one of the strongest people I’ve ever known,” Robertson said. “She can go through people, but now she’s finding where the defense is imbalanced, when she can get shots, how she can create space for herself. So really, she’s just become a smarter player. She always had the strength to do what she’s doing.”

After the game, Fleetwood called the game a “confidence builder.”

“Going 2-0 this weekend, that’s a huge deal for us,” the forward said, “especially after last year. We didn’t have the best season.”

In the score box, Duke had 19 shots to IU’s six. The Blue Devils had nine corners. IU had five and scored off three, but the one that mattered most for IU was the final one that lead to the game-winning goal.

“We have a lot of talent on this team,” Fleetwood said. “It’s just putting it together and creating opportunities and finishing. We did all of that this weekend.”