Field hockey looks for Big Ten win

The IU field hockey team is coming off a weekend in which they lost 3-0 to conference foe Michigan State.

In addition to the loss, the Hoosiers fell in the final moments 3-2 to in-state rival Ball State, leaving IU 0-2 for the weekend.

Looking for a different outcome, at 3 p.m. Friday the Hoosiers will play Iowa Hawkeyes at home, and Sunday they travel to Oxford, Ohio, to take on the Miami (Ohio) RedHawks with a 1 p.m. start time.

Sophomore forward Nicole Volgraf said her team made certain adjustments in preparation for this weekend’s set of games.

“Everyone realized that we had to bring something new and different to practice this week,” Volgraf said. “A new intensity, a new mindset, and there is work to be done, and we have a positive attitude about it.”

Her teammate, junior defender Hannah Boyer agreed and said the team’s mental approach has to change for them to be successful.

“The biggest adjustment was with our mentality,” she said. “We realized after this past weekend that nothing is going to be handed to us. We have to earn it.”

The Hoosiers are currently 0-2 in Big Ten play after losing to Penn State and Michigan State. IU Coach Amy Robertson noted while every game is big, beating Iowa would be a huge win for this team.

Boyer said although her team hasn’t recorded its first Big Ten win of the year yet, it is more of a motivating factor than a burden.

“It gives us even more of a reason to fight, and we want to prove who we are as a team at IU,” she said. “We are ready to turn 0-2 to 1-2 and just keep going off of that.”

Volgraf said her team plans to use their 0-2 conference record to their advantage against Iowa.

“We are already 0-2 in the Big Ten, and that is motivation to get this W on Friday,” she said. “We are going to use this to our benefit and come out really hard, and Iowa isn’t going to expect it.”

The Hoosiers and RedHawks played an exhibition game earlier this season. IU won 4-2.

Robertson said although they won in the previous meeting, the key to duplicating the success will be not overlooking them.

Volgraf agreed with her coach and also discussed how prior matches have no indication on the outcome of this game.

“We have to remember not to underestimate this team no matter what our past wins and losses are against this team,” she said. “It will be really important to recognize they had just as much time as we did to develop as a team, and we have to come out and play IU field hockey.”

Boyer said Miami is a rival, and because they play so often, it comes down to who will come out fighting harder. She said her team has to carry momentum from the game prior to Sunday as well as continue to learn and grow.

“I’m very confident in our team,” Boyer said. “Even though the past couple of weekends haven’t been what we wanted them to be, that doesn’t mean we lose confidence in each other. Trust is something that is huge on this team, and the trust is there, so we are pretty confident in each other.”