Sept. 8, 2004
IOWA CITY –
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This Week
The University of Iowa field hockey team will make its 2004 home debut when it takes on Stanford Friday afternoon at Grant Field. Gametime is set for 3 p.m.
Stanford will play Central Michigan Saturday on Grant Field at Noon. Iowa was originally scheduled to play Central Michigan Sunday, but the game was cancelled due to the UI’s policy against playing teams with Native American mascots.
Looking Back
The Hawkeyes picked up their first win of the 2004 season last weekend when they split a pair of games at the Temple Invitational.
Iowa opened with a familiar foe, falling to the North Carolina Tarheels for the second-consecutive game, 1-0. The Hawkeyes lost 5-0 to the Tarheels opening weekend at the Big Ten/ACC Challenge in Winston-Salem, NC.
Their second meeting was a much closer contest, with Iowa reducing North Carolina’s shot output from 32 to 17. Kelsey Keeran scored the game’s only goal 7:45 into the second half on an assist from Rachel Dawson.
In the consolation game, the Hawkeye offense erupted for a 5-1 win over Temple. Sarah Dawson led the way with a team-best six points on two goals and two assists.
Freshman Kat Vella opened the scoring with a goal just 2:10 into the game. Dawson then scored back-to-back goals at 9:55 and 22:45 to up Iowa’s lead to 3-0.
Senior Lauren Stiver converted her second penalty stroke of the season and Debbie Birrell picked up her first goal of the year for a 5-0 lead.
Ashley Bird scored for Temple just before the half ended to cut the lead to 5-1. Neither team scored in the second half.
Hawkeye goalkeeper Barb Weinberg made six saves on the day.
NFHCA Poll
The Hawkeyes finished last season ranked 16th by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association.
The first poll of the 2004 season will be released on September 14, 2004. The latest polls during the 2004 season can be viewed at the NFHCA Website, www.nfhca.org.
On Stanford
The Stanford Cardinal are currently 2-3 on the season with wins over Louisville and Providence and losses to Boston University, Indiana and Hofstra.
The Cardinal are led by freshman Jessica Zutz, who has three goals. Aska Sturdevan and Missy Halliday are tied for second on the team with two goals apiece.
In the cage, Ana Kralovec leads the way, having started all five games for Stanford. She has a 2-3 record with a 2.20 goals against average and .744 save percentage.
The Hawkeyes lead the all-time series with Stanford 8-1.
Welcome Back
Stanford head coach Lesley Irvine will be making a homecoming this weekend when she returns to Grant Field. Irvine played for the Hawkeyes in 1999 as a graduate student after coming to the United States from England.
In her lone season, Irvine led the team in points (47) and goals(17), while helping the Hawkeyes to the NCAA Final Four.
Irvine was a second team all-Big Ten selection and a member of the all-region team.
Welcome to the Jungle
Since the facility was introduced in 1989, it has been known to opposing teams that to visit Grant Field usually meant leaving unhappy.
Iowa stands 95-20 in the facility and is 11-2 in NCAA games played at Grant Field.
Originally named the Hawkeye Field Hockey Field, the facility was renamed Grant Field September 22, 1991, in honor of longtime University of Iowa Women’s Athletics Director, Dr. Christine H.B. Grant. The Hawkeyes set a home attendance record October 24, 1993 with 1,339 fans watching Iowa defeat No. 4 Penn State, 4-0.
Iowa has gone undefeated on its home field in six separate seasons, including a 40-game home winning streak.
A Career Day
Senior Sarah Dawson recorded a career-best six points Sunday against Temple. The Berlin, NJ, native scored a pair of goals and recorded a pair of assists. She was involved in every goal Iowa scored except for the penalty stroke converted by Lauren Stiver.
Dawson’s previous career-high was five points, which she did twice, in her first-career game (vs. Saint Louis, 8/25/01) and most recently against New Hampshire (9/7/03).
The Big Ten’s Best
Senior Barb Weinberg has established herself as the premier goalkeeper in the Big Ten after being named first team all-Big Ten the last two seasons.
This year, she is leading the conference with 44 saves.
First One’s the Hardest
Freshman midfielder Kat Vella scored her first-career goal in Iowa’s game with Temple Sunday.
Vella, from Sydney, Australia, has started all four games in the midfield this season.
A Stroke of Genius
Senior Lauren Stiver scored her second goal of the season in Iowa’s 5-1 win over Temple Sunday. Both goals have come off penalty strokes.
Stiver is 2-for-2 on the season in penalty strokes and 4-of-5 in her career.
First Half Woes
The Hawkeyes have struggled in drawing penalty corners in the first half of games. Of the 17 penalty corners Iowa has earned this season, just two have come in the first half.
Down on the Corner
Iowa’s offensive penalty corner unit is still looking for it’s first goal of the 2004 season. All seven goals the Hawkeyes have scored have been from the field.
The Hawkeyes have drawn 17 penalty corners so far this year.
First Times a Charm
Freshman back Kadi Sickel had a great debut for the Hawkeyes against Wake Forest, scoring a goal on the first shot of her career.
The last Hawkeye to score a goal on her first-career shot was Sarah Dawson, who did it on August 25, 2001, against Saint Louis.
Injury Report
Iowa will be without the services of starting sophomore back Heather Schnepf, who tore her ACL during spring practice.
Her return date is unknown, although it is possible she will play this season.
Schnepf emerged as a solid contributor during a great freshman year, leading the team with five defensive saves.
The Only Brick in the Wall
All-American goalkeeper Barb Weinberg will anchor the Iowa defense this year, and she better be in shape, because she won’t be getting a rest for the entire season. Weinberg is the only goalkeeper on the Iowa roster.
Shooting Gallery
After the first two weekends, senior Margot McMahon leads the team with 12 shots. McMahon, a forward/midfielder, has served as Iowa’s primary shooter on the offensive penalty corner unit.
2004 Captains
The Hawkeye tri-captains this season are seniors Margot McMahon, Lauren Stiver and Barb Weinberg.
Family Ties
Hawkeye ties always seem to run deep. This season, two seniors are the younger sisters of former Iowa all-Americans.
Tammy Leister is the younger sister of 2002 all-American Tiffany Leister, while Sarah Dawson is the younger sister of 2000 all-American Natalie Dawson.
Hawkeye Ties
When the Hawkeyes face a Big Ten foe, more than likely they will be facing a coach with University of Iowa roots. Four of the seven head coaches in the Big Ten either played or was an assistant at Iowa before taking her respective job.
Michigan State’s Michelle Madison (1982-89), Indiana’s Amy Robertson (89-92) and our own Tracey Griesbaum (92-99) were all assistants with the Hawkeyes before being named to their head jobs. Michigan head coach Marcia Pankratz played for Iowa from 1982-85.
The Head Coach
Tracey Griesbaum returns to the helm of the Hawkeye field hockey program for her fifth year.
She has done a good job rebuilding the Iowa program, recording a 45-29 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 return 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.