Hoosiers Corner Unit Delivers 4-1 Win Over Central Michigan

Friday, September 8

Bloomington, IN

3 PM

Indiana University

(3-2)

Central Michigan

(0-5)

Central Michigan

Indiana

Hoosiers Corner Unit Delivers 4-1 Win Over Central Michigan

9/8/2017 8:50:00 PM | Field Hockey

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Four different scorers in the Hoosiers’ home opener

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Indiana field hockey team began their home schedule with a 4-1 win over Central Michigan at the IU Field Hockey Complex. The Chippewas (0-5) made an early threat with a score in the first five minutes, but the Hoosiers (3-2) responded with four unanswered goals from four different players, all on penalty corners.

"This was a great team win for us," said Indiana head coach Amanda Janney. "It was nice to get positive contribution from so many different players, and we had some big sparks off the bench today that really helped us in the second half."

Sophomore Ciara Girouard continued her goal-getting form with her fourth score in the Hoosiers' last two games and fifth of the 2017 season. Maddie Latino grabbed her second goal of the year and fifth career game-winner with a redirect in the first half. Elle Hempt hammered a corner hit to tie the game, and Kelsey Giese converted a short corner for her first points of the season.

Because all four of Indiana's goals came from corners, the Hoosiers set a season high with six assists. Taylor Swope and Nora Aucker set single-game career highs with two assists apiece, Hempt provided a well placed hit on Latino's redirect, and Sheridan Weiss inserted her first career helper in the second half.

After the Chippewas scored the game-opening goal on their first corner attempt in the fourth minute, Indiana locked down the midfield and wrestled control of possession. Just after the midpoint of the first half, Hempt delivered a precise strike from Indiana's third penalty corner attempt.

"It feels good to finally break through," Hempt said after scoring her first goal of the season. "We have worked on corners a lot this week so it's good to know the hard work paid off."

Senior Maddie Latino pressed on from Hempt's tying goal to give Indiana the lead and the game-winner before halftime. Latino found her spot after the Indiana corner insert and redirected Hempt's hit into the cage. The Hoosiers' 2-1 lead held through the midway break.

Girouard kicked off Indiana's strong second half in the 44^th minute on another penalty corner chance. The reigning Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week cracked a straight shot that took a deflection and bounced over the goalkeeper's lunging effort.

Giese found her moment on a short corner in the 51^st minute, scoring her first goal of he season and second of her career. After officials waved off her first conversion due to a violation on the corner play, the sophomore stepped up and drained her second opportunity.

Although the Hoosiers were pleased with their offensive output, Janney was quick to praise the support that the team received from their bench players in the win.

"It was the contributions we had from different players," Janney said. "Jessica Morford had one of her better games today, Savannah Bucher stepped in and helped us in the central midfield. It's really nice to see our depth execute when they've been working so hard in the preseason."

Game Notes…
• The Hoosiers reached 22 total shots in the game, a season high. The last time they posted as many shots was at Central Michigan last season (9/25/16), when they fired 23 shot attempts.
• With last Sunday's game at Villanova, this marks the first time that Indiana has scored four or more goals in consecutive games since the start of last season (9/9 vs. Missouri State, 9/11 vs. New Hampshire).
• Taylor Swope's two assists is both a personal single-game career high and a new single-season high. Nora Aucker, assisting on the same goals as Swope, set a single-game personal record and tied her 2016 season tally.
• Elle Hempt, with a goal and an assist, posted a single-game career high for points (3).
• Maddie Latino's goal moves her to 16 career goals (13^th – IU history), 48 career points (T-9^th – IU history), and 5 game-winning goals (T-10^th – IU history).

Up Next: Indiana (3-2) vs. Miami (2-3)
Sun., Sept. 10 • 12:00 p.m. ET • Bloomington, Ind. • IU Field Hockey Complex
Live Stats • Watch: BTN Plus • @HoosiersFH on Twitter

The Hoosiers wrap up the weekend with their second game of a four-game home stand in Bloomington, this time against the Miami RedHawks. The Hoosiers lead the overall series, 11-6, but Miami has won the last two meetings. The RedHawks began their weekend with a narrow 3-2 defeat versus No. 23 Ohio State at home.

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