Indiana University
#20 Duke
Indiana Field Hockey to Open Season at Duke and Liberty
8/24/2023 8:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. ––––– Indiana will open its 2023 season with two nationally ranked opponents on the road. The Hoosiers take on Duke to start the season on Friday for the first meeting between both programs since 2013. Indiana will play at Liberty on Sunday in a rematch of last year's contest.
NEW YEAR, NEW TEAM:
-It's a new season for Indiana Field Hockey, who is building off a 9-10 season in 2022. The Hoosiers notched nine or more wins in two consecutive seasons (10 wins in 2021) for the first time since 2014-2015.
-The team showed immense promise to start 2022, opening with an 8-4 record before catching the injury bug in the midst of conference play.
-The Hoosiers will look to take a step forward this year with a lot of returning players and some talented additions.
THE 2023 HOOSIERS:
-Indiana returns 20 players from last year's roster while only losing five from a season ago. Only one lost player was a routine starter.
-Of those returners, the Hoosiers return eight of their nine top scorers from a season ago.
-Leading scorers: Sydney Keld (6 goals), Jemima Cookson (6 goals), Sofia Arrebola Garcia (5 goals), Yip van Wonderen (3 goals) and Anna Mozeleski (3 goals) are all back for 2023.
-Indiana welcomes eight new faces to the roster in 2023, including seven freshmen and one transfer.
-The freshmen are Kate Longo, Ava Winner, Maddie Olshemski, Javi Baeza, Theresa Ricci, Hannah Riddle and Inés Garcia Prado.
-Three freshmen were former high school teammates of current members of the Indiana roster.
-Olshemski went to Wyoming Seminary College Prep (PA) where Anna Mozeleski attended. Baeza went to Shaker Heights (Ohio) as did junior Maggie Carter. Riddle graduated from Assumption High School (Kentucky) the same high school as Meredith Lee.
-The Hoosiers' one transfer is Sarah Charley. Charley is a graduate student and comes to Bloomington after playing four years at Ohio State.
-Charley enjoyed a fantastic Buckeye career where she was a top scorer in the Big Ten. She led the team with 12 goals in 2022 and posted 25 career scores.
CURRENT IN COACHING:
-There is a strong tie between Indiana and Duke's coaching staff dating back over 15 years.
-Duke head coach Pam Bustin has extensive coaching experience with USA Field Hockey. Bustin has served as an assistant coach for Team USA's U19, U21 and senior level teams. She has earned a strong reputation for helping develop the country's top young talent.
-One of those top young players that Bustin helped coach was now Indiana head coach Kayla Bashore. Bashore enjoyed a very successful international career with USA Field Hockey as a two-time Olympian in 2008 and 2012.
-This will be the first time that Bustin and Bashore will face off against one another as head coaches.
-Indiana assistant coach Leah Zellner is in her first season on the Hoosier staff and her first as a collegiate coach.
-Zellner joined the staff in March 2023 after graduating from Iowa in December. Zellner was a five-year, impact player for the Hawkeyes that helped lead the program to major national success.
-Zellner played in 96 career games with 70 starts. She had 15 goals and 10 assists in her career. She put 64.5% of her shots on goal.
-In her time as a Hawkeye, Iowa won two Big Ten regular season championships (2019, 2021), a Big Ten Tournament title (2019) and five NCAA Tournament appearances.
-Iowa reached the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament in 2020-21.
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION:
-The Hoosiers open the 2023 season with a tough challenge in a road test with No. 20 Duke, a team who is consistently competing at the national level.
-The Blue Devils are coming off an uncharacteristic 7-11 season.
-Duke's Hannah Miller was recently named to the Preseason All-ACC Team. Miller, a graduate student, was one of 11 players named to the team.
-She recorded 7 goals and 11 assists in 2022. She was the team's leading point scorer with 25 points.
-In the all-time series between Indiana and Duke, the Hoosiers lead it 2-1. The two programs have not met since 2014 when Indiana beat Duke 3-2 in Bloomington. Indiana has never won in Durham before.
-On Sunday, Indiana will face No. 14 Liberty in Lynchburg for the return game after the two teams played in Bloomington in 2022.
-The 2022 matchup was a 2-0 win for the Flames in the season's opening weekend.
-Liberty enjoyed a strong 2022 season where the Flames went 12-8 with a 6-1 conference mark.
-Liberty won the Big East Conference Championship, knocking off Old Dominion, 3-1, in the title game.
-The Flames were defeated in their first NCAA Tournament game, 2-1, in double overtime by Maryland.
-Liberty is two years removed from reaching the NCAA Tournament Final in 2021.
OVERTIME TIDBITS:
-Indiana's Sofia Arrebola Garcia, Sydney Keld and Sarah Charley were named to the Big Ten's preseason Players to Watch list.
-Indiana's 2022 team captains of Keld and Kennedy Reardon are both team captains again in 2023. Senior Jemima Cookson was voted in as a team captain in the spring, as well.
