Field hockey is off to a rough start.

Last weekend the team lost both its opening home games against Missouri State University and Indiana University. The pair of losses drops the team to 1-3 on the season.

MSU edged out the Bills 3-2 on Friday, Sept. 5, while Indiana blanked SLU the following Sunday, 4-0.

Midfielder Stephanie Ertzberger delivered offensive blows against MSU, scoring both of the Billikens goals in the second half. Ertzberger, who has had an impressive offensive season so far with goals in three of the four games played, notched one of the goals in the last minute of the game.

The SLU defense held off Indiana’s attack in the first half, holding the Hoosiers to a single goal. IU broke through late in the second half with three goals to pull past the Bills.

The game was an improvement from the 2007 season, when SLU lost to the Hoosiers, 8-0.

Sweeper Eva Luck played a pivotal role holding down the back and keeping Indiana’s scoring in check. Fellow sweeper Kelsey Traynor said that the team remains positive despite the losses.

“We can take a lot away from the Indiana game,” Traynor said. “We did some things good and learned a lot, but we still have a lot to improve on.”

One of those things to improve on is finishing, Traynor said. The team had five shots on goal, but IU keeper Alex Mann made five saves to keep the Billikens from scoring.

The team plans to use the weekend’s losses as a learning experience and work hard on skills in the upcoming week, according to Traynor.

This Saturday, the Billikens will travel to compete against No. 16 University of Michigan in Muncie, Ind. The Wolverines lead 6-1-1 in the all-time series with SLU and will face the Billikens this weekend for the first time in 11 years.