The first half was fairly competitive, with MSU trying to make sure they set their own pace coming out. The Spartans were afforded four penalty corners in the opening 15 minutes, but solid defensive blocks by IU kept MSU off the scoreboard.

Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Sierra Patton stood tall in the first half, stopping all five shots she faced. Unfortunately, there was only a harder test waiting in the second half for her. Patton faced the first ten shots of the second half, as IU came out looking to take over the game.

Heilman scored both goals in a span of nine minutes to give IU a 2-0 lead over the Spartans. The first goal came off a one-on-one situation where Heilman was able to find the back of the net, and the second goal came off a rebound.

With just over fifteen minutes remaining in the game, MSU finally started to generate some offense in the second half. Barker was able to score in the 64^th minute to cut the deficit to 2-1. It was her team-leading 12^th goal of the season, and it almost sparked a  Spartan comeback.

In the final three minutes of action, MSU was all over the Hoosiers and had four opportunities off penalty corners. Three saves by IU goalkeeper Maggie Olson and two defensive blocks spoiled the Spartans attempt at forcing overtime, handing MSU its third conference loss.

The game marked MSU’s ninth consecutive game where they’ve allowed the game’s first goal, and their fourth loss by a one-goal margin.

The Spartans will try to rebound with a win on Sunday versus Ball State, a team they drubbed 8-0 last year in East Lansing. The game is set to start at 1 p.m., giving MSU little time to fester on the loss to Indiana.