Indiana Drops Home Opener Against Miami, 3-1

Friday, September 11

Bloomington, Ind.

3:00 PM

Indiana University

(2-4)

Miami University (OH)

(4-2)

MIAMI

Indiana

9/11/2015 9:08:00 PM | Field Hockey

Box Score

The Hoosiers fall to the Redhawks in their first home game of 2015

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Indiana field hockey team played their first home game of the 2015 season on Friday afternoon against the Miami Redhawks, a familiar opponent from preseason play. The Hoosiers had a strong showing in the second half, but fell 3-1 despite winning the preseason exhibition.

"We got them in the preseason, but couldn't get them today," said Indiana's senior captain, Nicole Volgraf. "They came prepared, beat us to the 50-50 balls, and played a good game, but we should have played better."

The Hoosiers played from behind after four minutes of play due to an early, opportunistic score by the Redhawks. The Hoosiers refocused and continued with their press defense, but Miami broke through on another counter-attack. In a defense-heavy game that was certain to provide few chances for both teams, Miami were ahead 2-0 after nine minutes of play.

"The other team did a great job to break our press," said Indiana head coach Amanda Janney. "We made adjustments in the second half that worked a lot better, but we still need to find ways to make in-game adjustments rather than waiting for half time to make changes."

The Hoosiers' halftime adjustments worked well against Miami. As they've done all season, they moved personnel around in their formations, and hoped that the new mix would revive the squad for the final 35 minutes. And it worked.

"We started connecting better," Janney said. "We have the potential to play great and score some beautiful goals."

Indiana's goal came in the 56^th minute of play. Kate Barber's delivery sliced across the rain-soaked AstroTurf from outside the circle, arrived at Volgraf's stick, and took a precise deflection into the back of the goalmouth. It was the senior forward's first score of the season, and it reminded Hoosier fans of Volgraf's capabilities on the attack.

"Our senior captain has been working hard," Janney said, ecstatic for Volgraf. "It's great to see her rewarded for that with a phenomenal tipped goal."

The Hoosiers halved their deficit with Volgraf's score, and had enough time to push for an equalizer. Indiana went all-out on the attack, but Miami's defense clogged the Hoosier passing lanes. The Redhawks got a much-needed insurance goal with three minutes to play, the second of the afternoon by Miami's Paula Portugal.

"They had great players in preseason, and they scored some good goals on us," Janney said.We knew they had some dangerous players. We're getting great chances, and the work rate is there. We just have to finish."

Indiana only has one non-conference game remaining before the start of the preseason, next Friday against Ball State. With a full week of practice ahead, the Hoosiers know what adjustments they need to make, and that they have time to make them.

"We have a lot of people in new positions," Janney said. "Our forwards are playing great, but it's still their first season up front. There's still a lot to figure out with them, along with other players in new positions.

"We have great hockey players, we're still trying to connect as a team and put that together. Having a full week to prepare for our next games will help accomplish that."

The Hoosiers have a week to recover and hit the training ground in preparation for next Friday's game against Ball State, which will begin at 4:00 p.m. ET at the IU Field Hockey Complex. The loss against Miami was tough to swallow, but if you ask the Hoosiers, it's another step in their pursuit of excellence.

"We have a long week of fixing a lot of things," Volgraf said, confident in this team's ability to grow and adjust. "It's going to pay off when we get a big 'W' on Friday."