Indiana field hockey opened its Big Ten schedule Friday against No. 11 Iowa, before playing the Hawkeyes again Sunday in a non-conference showdown. However, the weekend did not go the way of the Hoosiers, as Indiana lost 2-3 on Friday and 1-3 on Sunday.
The Cream and Crimson outshot Iowa in both games — 15-10 on Friday and 12-9 on Sunday — but Indiana could not turn those chances into goals. The Hoosiers also had 18 total penalty corners in both games.
“[The offense] needs to be more physical,” Indiana head coach Kayla Bashore said Sunday. “They’re not really trying to own their space. In the Big Ten, physically, it’s hard and it’s tough. So, we’ve got to get tougher in there. We’ve got to try and win 50/50 balls.”
Iowa got on the scoreboard first in both games, but Indiana was able to fight back. There was not enough time on the clock after the Hoosiers scored late goals to reduce their deficit.
Indiana freshman forward Celia Arroyo Cabezudo was able to increase her team-leading goals scored this season after providing the Hoosiers’ only score Sunday. Iowa junior midfielder Dionne van Aalsum kept her goal streak alive after scoring one goal in both games. Van Aalsum has scored in every contest for the Hawkeyes this season and now leads the NCAA in goals scored this year with 16.
“In corners, we changed our formation a little bit, but she still found a way to shoot it by our post,” Bashore said of van Aalsum. “That’s what makes her the highest goal scorer in the country right now. I thought we did a good job of shutting her down. But you give her one chance, and she will take that one chance.”
The Hoosiers started Friday’s affair by shutting down Iowa’s high-powered offense, which averages four goals a game. Both teams ended the first quarter with no shots or penalty corners.
However, Iowa started attacking in the second quarter. The Hawkeyes had seven shots and finally broke through in the 26th minute. Junior midfielder Lieve van Kessel tapped the ball out of the air and into the goal off a penalty corner.
Indiana was able to respond out of halftime. Arroyo Cabezudo earned a takeaway at Iowa’s 25-yard line and passed to sophomore forward Charlotte Glasper. Glasper’s shot from the right side found the top left corner of the net to tie the game in the 33rd minute.
However, the Indiana momentum was quickly taken away. Iowa scored only 28 seconds later after graduate forward Fréderique van Cleef ran past the Hoosiers’ defense before passing to van Aalsum, who scored in front of an open goal.
The Cream and Crimson had four shots and two penalty corners in the third quarter, but Iowa scored again.
The Hawkeyes opened the fourth quarter with a goal by van Cleef in the 47th minute. The transition offense for Iowa moved past Indiana’s defense again. Freshman midfielder Felicia Zonnenberg moved Indiana sophomore goalkeeper Sadie Canelli out of position before passing to van Cleef.
Indiana became more aggressive after going down two goals. The Hoosiers drew a penalty corner and pulled Canelli in the 57th minute to bring on an extra attacker. Indiana capitalized as sophomore forward Mijntje Hagen scored her second goal this season, but the Hoosiers did not have enough time to score again.
“Coming out of our team meeting right now is that we can do this, but we need to start from the beginning and have a little bit more aggressiveness from the start,” Bashore said Friday.
Indiana tried to be more aggressive to open Sunday’s game, but it only took two minutes for Iowa to score. Indiana gave up a penalty corner, and the Hawkeyes scored from a shot by van Aalsum in the middle of the scoring circle.
The Hoosiers thought they tied the game just over a minute later, but an official review overturned junior midfielder Inés Garcia Prado’s goal.
Iowa had the only shot in the second quarter as both teams’ defenses tightened. By the third quarter, Indiana’s defense faltered again in transition. After a Hoosiers’ turnover in the 36th minute, van Cleef raced down the sideline to score Iowa’s second goal, leading to freshman goalkeeper Kai Killian coming on to replace Canelli.
Arroyo Cabezudo reduced the deficit for the Hoosiers off a penalty corner in the 56th minute, leading the coaching staff to pull Killian to bring on another attacker.
Iowa received a penalty corner, but a defensive save by Garcia Prado kept the score at 1-2. With an extra attacker, Indiana had most of the possession and was able to produce two shots. However, Indiana could not score and gave up a goal to van Cleef in the closing seconds to end the contest in a 1-3 loss.
Indiana will not return to Deborah Tobias Field in Bloomington until Oct. 3 against University of California, Davis. However, the Hoosiers will travel to Illinois to take on Northwestern at 4 p.m. Sept. 26.
“I think this weekend was great preparation for that,” Bashore said Sunday. “Going into the Big Ten, everyone knows you’re in the trenches game after game. Playing Iowa twice was really good preparation for the Big Ten, and what it’s going to look like every game.”
Follow reporter Sean McAvoy (@sean_mc07 and semcavoy@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana field hockey season.
