The IU field hockey team looked as if it was in for a repeat performance of Friday’s 4-1 loss to Stanford against St. Francis Sunday. Turns out all the Hoosiers needed was a halftime break.
After looking out-of-sorts in the first half against St. Francis, juniors Kelsey Giese and Ciara Girouard led a blistering second half effort to defeat the Red Flash 4-2.
“That’s a great sign of what we’re capable of,” IU Coach Amanda Janney Misselhorn said. “We had a lot of different people step up today so I thought it was a great team win.”
The momentum quickly changed for the Hoosiers as they trotted out for the second half. Giese moved to the front line for a majority of the second half, and freshman Shelby Querry took over in net. Giese finished with a team-high nine shots on the day, including her 37th minute goal that put a spark in IU.
“At halftime we knew we were still in the game but it could’ve gone either way,” Giese said. We could’ve kept letting them dictating how the game went or we could’ve turned it around, and it’s a good thing we did. With me getting a goal and Ciara getting one a little after, we knew it was our game.”
After Giese’s 37th minute goal, Girouard found the net mere minutes after. Senior Taylor Swope and sophomore Bente Buwalda added to the second half barrage of goals as well. Those goals gave Janney Misselhorn a boost of confidence.
“It’s good to see the upperclassmen step up,” Janney Misselhorn said. “We’ve been through a lot in the last four years and these girls know how to win. That’s the kind of leadership we have from this team and it’s nice to see those senior leaders score.”
Giese said she feels like this was exactly the type of win the Hoosiers needed before heading into conference play next weekend. Getting a home win in rainy weather conditions while scoring four goals in one half gives IU a spark of energy while also proving the Hoosiers can score in bunches.
“We needed to show that we could score especially heading into Big Ten play and we proved that we could fight until the end of the game. Having that momentum heading into next weekend is going to be really helpful.”
The Hoosiers, 2-4, will play host to Northwestern next Friday at 3 p.m.
