IU faced an uphill battle heading into Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Sunday to play No. 6 Michigan.
The Hoosiers, in the midst of a four-game losing streak, stumbled to Michigan in an offensive drought that had spanned three consecutive games. Shots were hard to come by in their previous four matches, and a battle with one of the Big Ten’s best wouldn’t make it any easier.
IU showed signs of progress at the beginning, but would ultimately fall to No. 6 Michigan 6-1, extending its losing streak to five games.
Junior Ciara Girouard gave the Hoosiers a glimmer of hope early in the match, netting a penalty corner in the 11th minute. That goal from Girouard was the first goal since Sept. 14, when freshman Maddie Boehm scored against Northwestern. Girouard was IU’s leading returning scorer coming into this season, but has only seen two balls go into the net.
Michigan was quick to respond after conceding the early goal to Girouard. Michigan’s Emma Day, Meg Dowthwaite and Sofia Southam all added first half goals to give the Wolverines a comfortable 3-1 lead at halftime. What was once a strong chance to add insurance to the Hoosiers’ lead was quickly deflated as No. 6 Michigan took back control of the momentum and would never let go.
Redshirt freshman Shelby Querry would enter as IU's goalie in the second half, but Michigan continued to have their way on the offensive front. Marleise Emrhein, Tina D’Angolell and Katie Anderson would all add second-half insurance goals for Michigan, carrying them to their 6-1 win over IU.
IU will look to break its five-game losing streak Friday as the team welcomes Michigan State to Bloomington. IU will then take another conference break at home against St. Louis, a team IU defeated handily in the preseason, on Sunday.
