Oct. 28, 2003
IOWA CITY –
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This Week
The Hawkeyes will finish up the regular season with a pair of home games this weekend. Iowa will take on Indiana Friday at 2:30 p.m., then battle top-ranked Wake Forest Sunday at noon. Indiana and Wake Forest will play Saturday at noon on Grant Field.
Last Weekend
The University of Iowa field hockey team defeated the Northwestern Wildcats, 2-0, in a hard-nosed defensive game Sunday.
The first half was a tight defensive battle, with the two teams taking a combined three shots. Iowa goalkeeper Barb Weinberg and her counterpart Sherri-Anne Nyberg each saved every attempt they saw, keeping the game knotted at 0-0 heading into the half.
The Hawkeyes finally broke onto the scoreboard when Margot McMahon buried a shot 7:40 into the second half. The goal was McMahon’s fifth of the season.
Six and a half minutes later, Iowa’s leading scorer Pattie Gillern put in an insurance goal for the Hawkeyes. The forward from Medford, NJ, now has 15 goals on the season. Gillern attempted seven shots on the game, three more than Northwestern’s entire output.
Weinberg made four saves on the day for her Big Ten leading sixth shutout of the season.
Iowa out-shot Northwestern 9-4 in the game, and earned five penalty corners to the Wildcats’ four.
NFHCA Poll
The Hawkeyes moved up a spot to 9th in this week’s STX/NFHCA coaches poll.
Five of the seven Big Ten teams were ranked in the top 20, led by Michigan State at No. 5, Michigan at No. 6, Penn State at No. 7 and Ohio State at No. 15.
Once again, Wake Forest held down the No. 1 spot.
On Indiana
The Indiana Hoosiers are currently 7-8 with a 1-5 record in the Big Ten Conference.
The Hoosier offense is led by Kayla Bashore, who has 13 points on six points and one assist. Lydia Schrott also has 13 points on five goals and three assists.
Molly Pulkrabek is Indiana’s starting goalkeeper, and owns a 6-7 record. She has a 1.90 goals against average and a .688 save percentage.
Iowa has a 7-2 series advantage over Indiana and has won every meeting since the Hoosiers restarted their field hockey program in 2000.
Indiana is coached by former Iowa assistant Amy Robertson, who is in her fourth year at the helm.
On Wake Forest
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons come into the weekend with a record of 14-1 and are the top-ranked team in the NFHCA Coaches Poll. They are coming off a dominating, 5-1 win over No. 20 Virginia.
The defending NCAA Champion’s offense is led by Kelly Dostal, who has 41 points on 19 goals and three assists.
The defense is led by goalkeeper Katie Ridd, who has an NCAA leading 0.57 goals against average.
As a unit, the Wake Forest defense is allowing an NCAA-low 0.52 goals per game. The Demon Deacon offense is second in the nation with 4.42 goals per game.
The all-time series between Iowa and Wake Forest is tied 1-1.
The Demon Deacons are coached by Jennifer Averill, who is in her 11th season at Wake Forest.
Earlier This Season
The Hawkeyes and Demon Deacons met way back on August 31 at the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The game was the 2003 opener for both teams, and Wake Forest took a 1-0 overtime win.
The game was a thriller from start to finish, with the Demon Deacon offense blitzing and the Hawkeye defense standing strong.
Iowa goalkeeper Barb Weinberg made save after spectacular save against the Demon Deacons, while each team made a defensive save in regulation to keep the game knotted at 0-0.
Just 1:35 into overtime, Wake Forest ended the game with a goal from Maeke Boreel.
The Big Ten Race
With the regular season winding down, it is time to start looking at potential seedings for the conference tournament in two weeks.
The Hawkeyes are currently in fifth place, but a win against Indiana this Sunday and a Penn State loss at Michigan would move Iowa into a tie with the Nittany Lions in fourth place. Since Iowa won the head-to-head match-up earlier this season, Iowa the Hawkeyes would get the No. 4 seed at the Big Ten Tournament.
The race for the top spot is even more interesting with three teams tied for first heading into the last weekend of play.
Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State are all tied at 4-1.
The Buckeyes control their own destiny and can clinch the Big Ten Championship with a win at Michigan State, since they own the head-to-head tiebreaker over Michigan.
Michigan needs a win against Penn State and an Ohio State loss, while Michigan State needs a win over Ohio State and a Wolverine loss.
Hawkeye All-Stars
The University of Iowa will have two representatives in the annual NFHCA Division I North/South Senior All-Star game.
Forward Pattie Gillern and midfielder Lindsay Miller have each been selected to play on the South team at the game, which will be held November 22 at the University of Massachusetts.
Another Brick in the Wall
Junior goalkeeper Barb Weinberg is enjoying another stellar season, and picked up her sixth shutout of the year last weekend at Northwestern.
That total leads the Big Ten and is a career-high for Weinberg, who had five last season.
So far this season, Weinberg has blanked Northwestern twice (9/17 and 10/26), Ball State (9/19), Temple (9/21), Penn State (9/27) and Southwest Missouri State (9/28).
She Just Keeps Scoring
Senior forward Pattie Gillern is having a career-season in her senior year.
The Medford, NJ, native has scored a team-best 15 goals so far this season. She has also added two assists for a total of 32 points.
Her season total is already better than the team leaders from each of the past three seasons. Tiffany Fodera led the team with 10 in 2000, Sarah Dawson led the team with 10 in 2001, while Gillern and Tiffany Leister led the team last season with six apiece.
Last Line of Defense
Freshman back Heather Schnepf has been enjoying an outstanding debut season with the Hawkeye defense.
The Medford Lakes, NJ, native has recorded a team-best five defensive saves so far this season, more than the entire Hawkeye team had last year. That total ties her with Michigan State’s Jessica Miller for the top spot in the Big Ten.
Lauren Stiver and Shelby Roche are second on the team with two apiece.
Offensive Improvement
The Hawkeye offense is performing at a much higher level than last season, scoring 35 goals so far. Last year, Iowa scored only 26 goals all season.
Gillern in the Big Ten
Senior Pattie Gillern leads the Big Ten with five game-winning goals.
She is second in shots (84), third in the Big Ten in goals (15) and shots per game (5.25), and sixth in points (32).
Tenacious D
The Hawkeye defense is rapidly becoming a force to be reckoned with. Iowa has given up only 16 goals all season.
The team is sixth nationally in scoring defense, allowing only 1.00 goal per game.
Iowa’s 16 goals allowed is the fewest in the Big Ten.
Weinberg Ranks Nationally
Barb Weinberg is making her case as one of the top goalkeepers not only in the Big Ten, but in the entire country.
The junior is second nationally with a .845 save percentage. She is also sixth in the nation with a 0.995 goals against average.
Weinberg in the Big Ten
Junior goalkeeper Barb Weinberg leads the Big Ten in shutouts (6) and save percentage (.845), and is second in goals against average (0.995).
Weinberg was a first team all-Big Ten selection last season.
The Head Coach
Tracey Griesbaum returns to the helm of the Hawkeye field hockey program for her third year.
She has done a good job rebuilding the Iowa program, recording a 27-15 record.
Before taking the head coaching job at Iowa, she was with United States Field Hockey. Griesbaum not only served as a full-time assistant, but was the head coach for the United States Under-21 Team. She led the Under-21 team to a second-place finish at the Pan American Junior Championships and a spot in the 2001 Junior World Cup.
Her work was good enough to earn her the 2000 United States Field Hockey Coach of the Year award.
Before taking the job with USA Field Hockey, Griesbaum was an assistant coach at Iowa for eight years.
The Assistants
Former Hawkeye Lisa Cellucci and Carla Tagliente will serve as the assistant coaches this season.
Cellucci was a four-year starter in the cage for Iowa. From 1995-98, Cellucci was a three-time All-American, four-time Regional All-American and a four-time All-Big Ten selection.
After graduation, Cellucci was an assistant coach at James Madison, where she helped the Dukes to a 15-7 record.
Tagliente was a four-time all-America selection for Maryland from 1997-2000, earning first team laurels her final three years.
She led the Terps to three ACC Titles and the 1999 NCAA Championship. She was also a two-time Broderick Award finalist and was a member of the U.S. National team from 1997-2003.