IU falls to Iowa, rebounds to shut out Miami RedHawks

The IU field hockey team is 7-5 after a weekend which included a 2-1 overtime loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes and a 1-0 victory against the Miami (Ohio) RedHawks.

In Friday’s game against the Hawkeyes, senior forward Morgan Fleetwood scored the game’s first goal, giving her team a 1-0 lead.

Shortly after, the game was delayed due to lightning.

After the delay, Iowa tied the game to force overtime and was able to come away with the 2-1 overtime victory.

Although her team lost the game, IU Coach Amy Robertson said she admired her team’s competitive spirit. She also discussed how hard of a loss it was for the team.

“When we got to overtime, the team wasn’t going to settle for a loss and a moral victory, and our team was really heartbroken over the result, because they weren’t in that game just to play with Iowa,” she said. “They wanted to win it.”

Sophomore forward Audra Heilman and Fleetwood both returned to action this weekend after being sidelined with concussions.

Both Heilman and Fleetwood said being on the sidelines provided them with a learning experience. Fleetwood said specific changes resulted from watching the game.

“I definitely think you gain a different perspective from watching on the sidelines more, because you get to see everything that’s going on,” Fleetwood said. “I took note on structural changes we needed to make and implemented them this weekend.”

On Sunday, the Hoosiers traveled to Oxford, Ohio, to take on the RedHawks. IU was victorious, winning the game 1-0. Robertson credited the turnaround victory to the team’s mindset.

“We wanted to be very attack-minded,” she said. “Morgan Fleetwood and (sophomore midfielder) Amanda Bennison were really great with second and third efforts, staying in the play and being tough to beat.”

Fleetwood noted she was pleased with the team’s performance on the defensive side of the ball.

“Our defense was really strong,” she said. “(Graduate student goalkeeper) Viki (Green) had another fantastic game. Our defense overall wasn’t giving up as many corners, and we were stopping the ball outside of the circle a lot.”