IU field hockey had aspirations to possibly crack the top 25 of the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Poll for the first time this season, but IU fell short following this weekend's performances.
The Hoosiers started out their tough road weekend of games with a 2-0 loss at No. 23 Rutgers on Friday afternoon.
This drops IU to 0-2 to start the season in Big Ten play after previously losing 3-1 at home against No. 9 Maryland.
Senior goalkeeper Katie Johnson ended Friday's game with a season-best 11 saves against 16 shots faced.
Sophomore midfielder Ciara Girouard led IU with three shots on goal in the game, and senior forward Maddie Latino and sophomore forward Sam Scire also created chances for the Hoosiers on offense.
Coach Amanda Janney said her team didn't do a good enough job of responding against Rutgers.
“We needed to get more shot opportunities," Janney said. "Rutgers scored two nice goals against us. It was disappointing on Friday just not playing our best game, not creating enough attacking opportunities."
IU's New Jersey road trip came to an end Sunday as IU fell against No. 25 Monmouth, 2-1, in overtime.
The only goal for the Hoosiers was scored by junior forward Claire Woods early in the first half, which gave IU the lead in the game.
IU was outshot 23-9 against the Hawks. Monmouth also bested IU when it came to shots on net, as Monmouth put 10 shots on goal compared to IU's three.
A key part of the IU defense was missing from Sunday's game, as senior defender Elle Hempt was out injured for IU.
Johnson had a solid performance in goal with eight saves against Monmouth, bringing her weekend total to 19.
“Kind of two very different games," Janney said. "We were happy to get a first half lead, I thought we played a lot stronger."
IU's road trip will shift from the East Coast to the Midwest this weekend.
IU will visit Iowa City, Iowa, to play the Hawkeyes this Friday at 4 p.m., before then travelling to St. Louis to play Saint Louis University on Sunday at 1 p.m.
It will be the second time this season IU will face St. Louis. The two teams met in Bloomington on Aug. 18 as part of IU's preseason schedule.
The Hoosiers won that game 6-0.
