For 63 minutes Friday, the IU field hockey team was rolling.
The Hoosiers looked well on their way to a quarterfinal date with No. 1 seed Maryland in the Big Ten Tournament, before the Michigan State Spartans changed the narrative of the game in the last seven minutes of regulation.
The Spartan momentum continued into overtime as they won 3-2, ending the Hoosiers' 2018 season.
A Bailey Higgins goal in the 72nd minute gave Michigan State the 3-2 victory, ending a back-and-forth affair between eight-seed IU and nine-seed Michigan State.
IU took an early lead on Friday as senior Claire Woods stepped up and put a ball into the net in the ninth minute.
“Proud of the team for coming out strong and getting an early goal,” IU Coach Amanda Janney Misselhorn said. “Claire had an amazing shot and it was great to see a senior step up.”
The rest of the half would go scoreless, but Michigan State put six shots on net during the first half as IU sophomore goalie Sachi Ananias made diving saves to keep Michigan State off the board.
Michigan State finally broke through in the second half as Meredith Ross got the Spartans onto the scoreboard with a 43rd minute goal. IU junior Kelsey Giese responded three minutes later to give the Hoosiers a lead in the 46th minute.
“We played a strong second half,” Janney Misselhorn said.
Meredith Ross paced the Spartans all day, putting in the equalizing goal in the 63rd minute for her second of the day. On a day where IU was close but not close enough, Ross was a difference-maker.
Bailey Higgins would ultimately end the game in the first overtime session, putting a final stamp on a long season for the Hoosiers. IU struggled on offense the whole season, putting up only 18 goals in 17 games.
“We really appreciate their fight today, I think they played really hard,” Janney Misselhorn said. “It’s been frustrating because we played really well today and we shut down the people we scouted. These seniors played fantastic and accomplished a lot in their four years.”
