IU remains undefeated with home win

The IU field hockey team kept its winning streak alive Friday, defeating Missouri State 5-1 and pushing IU’s record to 3-0.

IU Coach Amy Robertson said there are more positives to take away from the game than just the record. She said her team is looking at more than the final score of the game.

“I think the good thing about this team is that they aren’t just satisfied with the win,” Robertson said. “The team is very capable of analyzing their play and performance and being honest about it. You can lose a game and play the game of your life, so I think it is looking at the performance rather than the outcome.”

The Hoosiers had a large lead in penalty shots Friday against the Bears with 11 in each half, bringing their total to 22, compared to the Bears’ three.

The Hoosiers’ abundance of penalty shots added to their scoring opportunities Friday. IU had 35 shot attempts, while the team’s defense allowed Missouri State to take seven shots Friday night.

Robertson said the team focused on penalty shots during practice last week. While she said Missouri State’s goalkeeper did well, her team did much better on shot attempts this game.

“I think their goalkeeper played great,” Robertson said. “She made a lot of saves, and nothing was getting by her, but we just missed the goal a couple of times. We are putting the ball in better places, and we should begin to see better output in our goals once we figure things out.”

Three of IU’s five goals were penalty shots from senior forward Morgan Fleetwood, sophomore forward Audra Heilman and junior defender Hannah Boyer respectively.

Junior forwards Emily Bowker and Mariella Grote added IU’s other two goals.

Heilman said she played a good game on the defensive side along with her goal and that her defensive effort came with the direction of the game.

“It was the flow of the game,” Heilman said. “I did anything I could to try to stop the ball.”

The Hoosiers stopped the Missouri State shot attempts, preventing the Bears from gaining much momentum with two shots on goal during the match.

Fleetwood said what made the defense so effective was the ongoing communication of players.

“When Missouri State came up with the ball, we were talking instantly of who needed to pressure the ball and who needed to drop,” Fleetwood said.

The Hoosiers are back in action  at 3 p.m. Friday at homeagainst the Louisville Cardinals.