Indiana University
Penn State
Hoosiers Set for Big Ten Tournament
11/4/2015 10:54:00 AM | Field Hockey
Indiana opens postseason play with a quarterfinal against Penn State
Indiana capped their regular season with a shutout win over Rutgers, their fifth conference win in 2015 (program record). Indiana enters as the third seed, and is set to take on sixth-seed Penn State in the quarterfinal round. All seven games of the Big Ten Tournament will take place in Bloomington at the IU Field Hockey Complex, and will air live on Big Ten Network or BTN2Go.com.
Big Ten Field Hockey Tournament - Quarterfinals
Thursday, November 5
(3) Indiana (9-9, 5-3) vs (6) Penn State (8-9, 4-4)
5:30 p.m. ET | IU Field Hockey Complex (Bloomington, Ind.)
Coverage: Live Stats TV: Big Ten Network
Hoosier Notes
Standing Their Ground
The Hoosiers hold the third seed in the 2015 Big Ten Tournament, hosted on Indiana's home turf. The Hoosiers will aim to take advantage of the comforts of home this weekend, as they have a 6-2 home record this season. They'll open their tournament campaign with a match against sixth-seed Penn State, their second meeting at Indiana this season.
Big Ten's Best
Three members of the Indiana Field Hockey team received All-Big Ten honors this season, the Big Ten Conference announced Wednesday. Junior Kate Barber received a unanimous first team selection, one of just four unanimous selections. Senior Sydney Supica earned her third consecutive second team selection, and freshman Noëlle Rother was named to the All-Big Ten second team for the first time in her career.
Senior Day Shutout
The Hoosiers are coming into the Big Ten Tournament fresh off of a 2-0 shutout win against Rutgers on Senior Day. Sydney Supica led the way with one goal and an assist, with Kate Barber grabbing the second goal. Noëlle Rother finished the game with eight saves, including a swift stick save on a Rutgers penalty stroke.
Picking Up the plaudits
After Indiana's dominating performance against Rutgers, two Hoosiers received weekly honors from the Big Ten. Sydney Supica was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the week, and Noëlle Rother was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the third time this season. It's the third week this season that multiple Hoosiers have earned Big Ten honors in the same week.
Playing Penn State
Indiana matched up against one of the toughest seeds in the tournament, a sixth-seeded Penn State. The last time out, Indiana won at home, 1-0, in their second shutout win of the weekend. Sydney Supica scored the game-winner on an untimed penalty corner at the end of the second half, thanks to a cereberal assist by Kate Barber.
Scouting The Nittany Lions
Penn State will give the Indiana defense one of the most tenacious attacks they've faced all season. They rank third in the conference in shots per game (17) and in corners per game (8.06). They have a three-pronged attack of Brooke Birosik, Aurelia Meijer, and Stephanie Hussey, who have combined for 21 goals and 60 percent of Penn State's total points.
Of Note...
- The Hoosiers currently rank #23 in the FieldHockeyCorner.com ACR polls, and currently sit at #25 in the NCAA RPI rankings. Their strength of schedule is ranked 13th nationally.
- Kate Barber, Noëlle Rother and Sydney Supica were named to the 2015 All-Big Ten Team.
- Sophomore Maddie Latino leads all Hoosiers in scoring this season. The attacking midfielder has nine goals and eight assists to her name this season.
- Noëlle Rother ranks second in the Big Ten in saves (106).
- Kate Barber and Karen Lorite are having solid seasons on the attack as well. The two have combined for 13 goals and 11 assists, accounting for one third of the Hoosiers' offensive output.
- Sydney Supica holds the Indiana career record for defensive saves (22), along with the three highest single-season totals in school history.
