Hoosiers End Road Trip With 4-3 Win at Villanova

Monday, September 4

Villanova, PA

12 PM

Indiana University

(2-2)

Villanova

(0-4)

Indiana

Villanova

Hoosiers End Road Trip With 4-3 Win at Villanova

9/4/2017 3:13:00 PM | Field Hockey

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Girouard scores first career hat trick

CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. – The Indiana field hockey claimed victory in their final away game before their 2017 home opener, a 4-3 win over the hosting Villanova Wildcats. The Hoosiers (2-2) launched onto the attack from the outset, coming up on top of a high-scoring Labor Day game with the Wildcats (0-4).

"The two road wins give us a lot of momentum for our upcoming home games," said Indiana head coach Amanda Janney. "It was a great opportunity to play in Pennsylvania in front of fans, friends, and alumni this weekend. The team played hard all weekend, and this was a great win for us today in a really tough Philly battle. I knew it would be hard to win in Philly and it was a great, scrappy game like I expected it to be."

Sophomore Ciara Girouard set a new single-game career high with three goals, Indiana's first hat trick of the season, including the Hoosiers' game-winner in the 62^nd minute. Maddie Latino opened her senior season account with a 37^th minute goal to break a halftime tie, and senior Elle Hempt set a career high two assists to Girouard on Indiana's final two scores.

"That really helped with my energy, having so many fans there," said Girouard after playing a game less than an hour from her hometown. "I had at least 20 people there, which made me nervous at first because I was afraid I would make mistakes. I'm happy that I could do what I know how to do, executing on those corners."

After a back-and-forth proceeding that kept the game scoreless most of the first half, Girouard broke through in the 25^th minute to give the Hoosiers a 1-0 lead. The Wildcats tied the contest before halftime, taking advantage of a restart to level things at 1-1.

The Indiana offense emerged at halftime looking for a quick answer to breaking the deadlock, and they got it with Latino's first goal of the season. The senior forward made a veteran play to send her chance into the boards and give Indiana a one-goal lead.

Girouard found her second shortly after Latino's score. Hempt entered a pass in the 44^th minute that found Girouard's stick, and the Big Ten preseason honoree hammered home the opportunity.

"She's an amazing athlete, and to have her step up in front of essentially a home crowd for her shows great leadership out of the underclassmen," Janney said, regarding today's top scorer. "She executed perfectly on those two corners."

The Wildcats kept it close throughout the game, and they struck back quickly in the 48^th minute to reset Indiana's lead to one goal. It wasn't until the 62^nd minute that the Hoosiers found the decisive game-winner, provided once again by Girouard. She converted Hempt's cross-cage delivery to score the Hoosiers' first hat trick since All-American graduate Kate Barber at Ohio (8/28/16) last season.

The win required a clutch defensive effort in the final ten minutes. Villanova scored their third goal in the 67^th minute, putting pressure on Indiana's backline down the stretch. Indiana stopped five defensive penalty corners in the final five minutes, while senior goalkeeper Katie Johnson finished the game with four saves.

Offensively, this performance was the highest goal output by the Hoosiers this season. The last time Indiana scored four or more goals in a win was at Central Michigan (9/25/16) last year.

Up Next: Indiana (2-2) vs. Central Michigan (0-4)
Friday, Sept. 8 • 3:00 p.m. ET • Bloomington, Ind. • IU Field Hockey Complex
Live Stats • Watch: BTN Plus • @HoosiersFH on Twitter

At long last, the Hoosiers will make use of their home turf advantage next weekend with two home games at the IU Field Hockey Complex. The four game home stand starts with two out-of-conference foes, as Indiana squares off with Central Michigan on Friday, September 8 and against Miami on Sunday, September 10.

"The team is extremely excited to get back to Bloomington and play on our home turf," Janney said. "The five-day road trip was fantastic, the team really came together, and we accomplished a lot of our team goals this weekend. We're excited to play in front of our home crowd."

Indiana won their game against Central Michigan in Mount Pleasant last season, 6-1, with Girouard and Barber netting two goals apiece. Current seniors Maddie Latino and Taylor Pearson also scored in that contest. The Hoosiers will look to exact revenge against Miami after they handed Indiana a 4-3 overtime loss on the road last year.

Follow Indiana Field Hockey on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter.

#GoIU