Sept. 14, 2004
IOWA CITY –
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This Week
The University of Iowa field hockey team will host a pair of non-conference games this weekend. The Hawkeyes will battle the Ohio University Bobcats Friday at 3 p.m., then tackle New Hampshire Sunday at noon. Ohio and New Hampshire will play Saturday at noon. All games are on Grant Field and admission is free.
Looking Back
The Hawkeyes were blitzed in their 2004 home debut last Friday, with the Stanford Cardinal coming into Iowa City and taking a 5-1 victory.
Liz Robinson scored a pair of goals for Stanford, while Eleanor Morgan had a goal and two assists.
The Cardinal solved the Hawkeye defense early, taking a 1-0 lead just 3:34 into the game on a goal by Missy Halliday. Robinson’s two goals came just two minutes apart late in the first half to give Stanford a commanding 3-0 halftime lead.
Morgan and Katherine Brooks each had second half goals to seal the deal for the Cardinal.
Hawkeye forward Sarah Dawson scored a late goal on a nice backhanded sweep in the circle, but it was too late.
NFHCA Poll
The Hawkeyes were listed as receiving votes (19) in the first STX/NFHCA Poll of the season.
Big Ten school Michigan State opens as the top-ranked team. Other Big Ten schools ranked in the top 20 are Michigan (No. 9), Indiana (No. 17) and Penn State (Tie – No. 19). Ohio State was listed as getting votes (42).
On Ohio
The Ohio University Bobcats come into this Friday’s game with a 1-5 record. They have dropped two consecutive games in overtime, including a 4-3 loss at the hands of No. 20 California.
Amanda Arnold leads the team with nine points off four goals and an assist. Chelsea Mearig is right behind with three goals and two assists for eight points.
Jennifer Cote is the starting goalkeeper for Ohio. She has a 4.22 goals against average and a .722 save percentage.
The Hawkeyes lead the all-time series between the two schools 2-1. The Hawkeyes are 1-0 against the Bobcats at Grant Field.
Ohio is coached by Shelly Morris, who is in her sixth season.
On New Hampshire
New Hampshire comes into the weekend series with a 1-3 record. They have losses to Michigan, Duke and Harvard. They have defeated Towson.
Kaitlyn Skelley leads the offense with four points off a pair of goals.
Christine Buckley is New Hampshire’s starting goalkeeper. She is 1-3 with a 6.27 goals against average and .610 save percentage.
The Hawkeyes lead the all-time series 10-1-1. Iowa holds a 2-0 advantage at Grant Field.
She’s Baaaaaaack
Sophomore back Heather Schnepf returned to the Hawkeye lineup last week against Stanford for the first time this season. Schnepf tore her ACL in spring practice and was expected to possibly miss the entire season.
The Medford Lakes, NJ, native didn’t start, but entered the game midway through the first half and played extensively the rest of the way.
Schnepf emerged as a solid contributor during a great freshman year, leading the team with five defensive saves.
Unfamiliar Territory
Friday’s 5-1 loss at the hands of Stanford tied for the worst home defeat in Iowa history. The others were 4-0 losses to Michigan (9/29/00) and Wake Forest (11/2/03).
The five goals allowed were the most ever scored by an opponent in an Iowa home game.
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 95-21 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 against Temple (Sept. 5). 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).
Dawson Ranked
Senior Sarah Dawson leads the team in all scoring categories with three goals, two assists and eight total points.
In the Big Ten, Dawson is tied for ninth in points and goals, while being tied for eighth in assists.
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 46 saves.
A Stroke of Genius
Senior Lauren Stiver scored her second goal of the season in Iowa’s 5-1 win over Temple (Sept. 4). 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 19 penalty corners Iowa has earned this season, just four 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 eight goals the Hawkeyes have scored have been from the field.
The Hawkeyes have drawn 19 penalty corners so far this year.
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 15 shots. McMahon, a forward/midfielder, has served as Iowa’s primary shooter on the offensive penalty corner unit.
Her 15 shots are good for 10th in the Big Ten Conference.
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.