SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Missouri State field hockey team travels to St. Louis, Mo., where the Bears will take on Indiana University and Saint Louis University in a pair of matches on Friday, Sept. 9 and Sunday, Sept. 11 at the Sportport International Complex.
 
Match Info: Missouri State (0-2) vs. Indiana (2-2) • Missouri State (0-2) at Saint Louis (0-4)
Location: Sportport International Complex– St. Louis, Mo.
Date: Friday, Sept. 9 • Sunday, Sept. 11
Time: Friday – 5 p.m. • Sunday – 12 p.m.
 
Match History
The Indiana University Hoosiers hold a 10-2-2 series record over Missouri State. The Bears last win dates back to 2001, where the Bears took the match 1-0. Against Saint Louis, the Bears boast a 64-29-2 series record. Missouri State has won the last two contests against the Billikens, one being a 5-4 overtime win on Sept. 17, 2015, and the other a 2-0 victory on Oct. 4, 2015.
 
Bear Bites

• After a week of rest, the Bears enter Friday's contest 0-2 after dropping a pair of matches to Saint Francis in Athens, Ohio (Aug. 28-29). Missouri State showed great improvement from game one to game two against the Red Flash, showing a more unified offense and defense.
• Junior forward Bianca Mills scored the lone goal for the Bears in the second match against Saint Francis, leading the team in both goals (1) and points (2). Senior Liz Young carries Missouri State's only assist and earned one point against Saint Francis.
• On the defensive side, sophomore goalkeeper Feli Heinzel (0-2) accumulated nine saves on 15 shots on goal in the Bear's opening weekend. Emily Tran and Sara O'Malley also made several key defensive stops, preventing numerous Saint Francis shot attempts.
• Catherine Ostoich is in her first season as head coach for the Bears

 
A Look At The Competition
Indiana
Indiana carries an even 2-2 record after splitting a pair of matches Aug. 4-5 against UC Davis and No. 7 Wake Forest. Facing two nationally ranked teams so far this season, the Hoosiers fell 5-1 to No. 12 Louisville and dropped a 1-2 decision to seventh-ranked Wake Forest. Indiana's victories are against two Missouri State opponents, Ohio and UC Davis.

Senior Kate Barber leads the Indiana squad with five goals and 10 points. Against Ohio, Barber recorded a hat trick that lifted the Hoosiers to victory in overtime. Maddie Latino leads the squad with one assist and follows Barber with four points.

Senior goalkeeper Noelle Rother (2-2) carries 16 saves while allowing nine goals. In the 2015 season, Rother recorded 106 saves while holding an 8-8 record.

Head coach Amanda Janney is in her second season leading the Hoosiers.

Saint Louis
The Billikens are 0-4 coming off a pair of losses to Fairfield and No. 19 Iowa. In its first match of the season, Saint Louis fell 9-0 to Mid-American Conference foe, Miami (Ohio). Against nineteenth-ranked Iowa, the Billikens dropped an 11-0 decision to the Hawkeyes.

Sophomore Carly Kissinger leads Saint Louis with two goals and four points, while senior midfielder Caitlin Gibson and junior midfielder Katie Moss each carry one assist and one point.

Goalkeepers Jessie Bryan and Meme Dawson have both made appearances this season, Bryan (0-3) with four and Dawson (0-1) with two. Surrendering 29 goals, Bryan leads the defense with 29 saves, facing 92 shots. In two games, Dawson allowed nine goals and accumulated seven saves.

The Billikens are led by head coach Danielle Baumgardner, who is in her first season at the helm for Saint Louis.
 
Final Details
Friday's match against Indiana is slated for 5 p.m. and Sunday's match against Saint Francis is set to being at 12 p.m. in St. Louis, Mo. at Sportport International Complex. Live updates will be available on Facebook (Missouri State Field Hockey) and Twitter (MSUBearsFHockey). For more information on the Missouri State field hockey team, visit Facebook, Twitter or Instagram (msufhbears).