Indiana's Season Ends In Big Ten Tournament

Thursday, November 5

Bloomington, Ind.

5:30 PM

Indiana University

(9-10)

Penn State

(9-9)

Penn State

Indiana

11/5/2015 9:29:00 PM | Field Hockey

Box Score

By: Sam Beishuizen, IUHoosiers.com | @Sam_Beishuizen

By: Sam Beishuizen | Twitter
IUHoosiers.com

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - One of the most celebrated seasons in Indiana field hockey program history came to an end Thursday.

The Penn State Nittany Lions defeated the Hoosiers 3-1 in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament at the IU Field Hockey Complex, effectively ending IU's season. Indiana's postseason run was short-lived, bringing a bitter end to head coach Amanda Janney's first season in Bloomington.

"I don't think this loss takes away from anything we've done this season," junior midfielder Morgan Dye said. "It is disappointing to go out that way, but we don't feel like we left anything on the field."

The Hoosiers fell behind early, conceding a Penn State goal just 45 seconds into the game, and were never able to fully recover enough to mount a comeback.

Miscommunication on a breakaway in the game's opening seconds gave Penn State junior midfielder Brooke Birosik a clean look at goal. She buried it, navigating a shot around senior defender Sydney Supica and past the glove of freshman goalkeeper Noelle Rother for a score.

"The first goal was a shocker," junior defender Malia Fujisawa said. "When you get scored on in the first five, 10 minutes, you're kind of just hesitant. But we were able to hold that one goal deficit and keep playing strong."

After a series of chances came up frustratingly short, Indiana found an equalizer in the 61^st minute off a penalty corner.

Sophomore forward Maddie Latino rifled in a pass to start the goal-scoring sequence. Supica gathered the pass and sent a shot on goal that was deflected in front of the net and sent the ball right to Latino, who batted the ball out of the air and into the goal.

"We got it back," Fujisawa said. "Unfortunately, they got a couple more on us."

Birosik added a second goal on the night just four minutes after Indiana found its equalizer. Her second goal was less conventional than the first, receiving a pass in the circle, spinning and rifling a shot past Rother for what proved to be the game-winning score.

Indiana gambled and pulled its goalie immediately after the score, opening the net for Penn State to add a third goal in the 67^th minute to finalize a 3-1 win. Janney said she had no choice but to risk pulling her keeper, saying she'd rather push for a tie than sit back and lose 2-1.

"The score, 3-1, doesn't reflect how well we played today," Janney said. "I'm so proud of the team for the way we played. To see this team come so far in such a short amount of time, we're so proud of them."

Indiana and Penn State were equal in shots at 15 apiece, but only nine IU shots were on goal compared to 12 from the Nittany Lions.

Janney said Indiana couldn't find a way to capitalize on its scoring chances, especially in the first half where they were shut out. Despite a number of seemingly dangerous looks on goal, it took too long for Indiana to break through with the equalizer it needed.

By the time Penn State added its second score, it was too late for Indiana to manage much of a response.

"I don't think we tested (the Penn State goalie)" Janney said. "I think we had a lot of good chances in the circle. We didn't put them away."

During the postgame team debrief, players couldn't help but reveal their emotions. Graduating seniors were noticeably upset as they came to grips with their careers coming to an end.

But at the same time, there was reason for optimism even in defeat. An Indiana program that missed the Big Ten Tournament all together in 2014 earned a 3-seed and left the field disappointed after not winning the conference championship.
It was a bittersweet end to a season Janney said her players should be proud of.

"The amount of time and care and dedication all the girls head, including the coaches, is unbelievable," Fujisawa said. "We have come so far. I am so proud of every single girl, especially the seniors.

"We're going to start from here and go up next season."