Hoosiers prepare for No. 22 California

The IU field hockey team will face the California Golden Bears at 1 p.m. Saturday.

The Hoosiers are 4-1 and coming off a loss to Ohio in a triple-overtime game that ended in a shootout.

IU Coach Amy Robertson said the team’s self esteem hasn’t wavered, and its recent defeat has given players the motivation to play harder.

“I think our team morale has been pretty consistent all season,” Robertson said. “This team hasn’t lost any confidence from the loss. If anything, it refocused us and made us more hungry.”

Robertson also expressed that even if the team had pulled out the victory last weekend, it needs to have a hungry mentality all season.

Sophomore forward Nicole Volgraf said her team definitely took something from the loss to Ohio,

“I think we learned a lot from Sunday,” Volgraf said. “Regardless if we won that game or lost that game, we took a lot from it.”

Robertson said the main focus of the team is taking what the athletes have learned and using it to help them perform better.

“Main focus is taking what we’ve learned, applying it and being able to build on it,” she said. “We don’t want to get too complicated. We want our fundamentals to be really sound, and everyone needs to understand exactly what we are doing.”

Robertson said the coaching staff is encouraging the players to think and try to solve issues on the field instead of waiting for halftime to discuss problems.

She also elaborated that defense is the key to any success her team hopes to enjoy and is always a focal point of the game plan.

“Our defense will continue to always be an important factor to how we move forward,” Robertson said. “If this team wants to be successful, we’ve gotta defend hard. We’ve gotta defend as a team, and we have to defend smart.”

California is currently ranked 22nd in the NCAA rankings. Though California is ranked, junior defender Hannah Boyer said she isn’t too worried about the status of the Golden Bears.

She also said the team is focused on playing its own style of field hockey.

Volgraf said having only one game this weekend could help them in preparation and confidence.

“I think that coming into a one-game weekend, we really have a whole week to prepare,” Volgraf said. “We are really determined to get that W.”