IU field hockey took part in two scrimmages over the weekend. IU defeated Ball State University 3-1 Friday in Muncie and took part in an inter-squad scrimmage on Saturday that ended in a 2-2 draw in 36 minutes of action.
In the Cream and Crimson scrimmage, the team’s offense ran through sophomore forward Hailey Couch and sophomore midfielder Mary Kate Kesler. It seemed as if the ball found the two sophomores at opportune times and both players scored on Saturday in the scrimmage.
IU head coach Kayla Bashore raved about the two sophomores, saying that they were both going to be an integral part of the offense moving forward.
While there was some clean movement and through balls, especially from senior Andi Jackson to the duo of Couch and Kesler, there were many more unforced errors by both squads on Saturday.
Many unguarded passes went out of bounds with no intended target, ,and there were many unwarranted shots from extreme range that sailed wide of goal.
“Obviously, we need to alleviate those issues," said Bashore. "But the purpose of these two days was to work on that stuff."
She added that the team has been focusing on those issues during the past couple of weeks during practice, especially since they open the regular season on the road against a quality opponent, the University of Louisville.
The team played loosely and was constantly communicating which created a fast-paced style. Bashore emphasized the fast pace style of play showed in the two results over the weekend despite the few goals.
IU will open up the season at Louisville Friday before hosting Drexel University Sunday.
