Nov. 2, 2004
IOWA CITY –
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The Big Ten Tournament
The Hawkeyes will head into the postseason this weekend when they travel to Evanston, IL, for the 2004 Big Ten Tournament. Iowa will be the No. 2 seed and take on the host team and No. 7 seed, Northwestern, Friday at 10 a.m.
No. 4 seed Penn State will battle No. 5 seed Ohio State at Noon, while No. 3 seed Michigan State and No. 6 seed Indiana will play at 3 p.m. Top-seeded Michigan has a first round bye.
If the Hawkeyes win their first round game, they would play the winner of the Michigan State-Ohio State game.
Big Ten Champs
The Hawkeyes clinched a share of their 13th Big Ten Championship Friday with a 3-2 win over Northwestern.
The game started bleak for the Hawkeyes, who found themselves in an early 2-0 deficit, despite out-shooting the Wildcats 15-4 in the first half. Northwestern’s Candice Cooper scored both Wildcat goals, the first on a breakaway at 22:36 of the first half and the second on a penalty corner nine minutes later.
It appeared Iowa was destined to head into halftime trailing by two, but freshman Kadi Sickel tipped in a shot off the stick of Margot McMahon on a penalty corner to cut the lead to 2-1 with just 22 seconds left in the period.
The Wildcat defense held strong through the first 20 minutes of the second half, but the Hawkeyes broke through after a timeout to tie the game up at 2-2. Senior Sarah Dawson dribbled the ball down the endline before ripping a pass to Caroline Blaum, who buried the equalizer.
Just over two minutes later, senior Lauren Stiver scored the game winner by drilling a rebound of a penalty corner shot to the back of the cage.
The Hawkeyes finished the regular season Sunday with a 5-2 win over Southwest Missouri State.
Iowa was paced by Dawson and junior Debbie Birrell, who each scored two goals.
The 2004 Big Ten Title
With a 5-1 conference record, the Hawkeyes tied for first in the Big Ten Standings, earning their 13th conference championship.
This is the first Big Ten Championship since 1999 and the first under Head Coach Tracey Griesbaum.
Seeding Breakdown
With a three-way tie for first in the Big Ten between Iowa, Michigan and Michigan State, seedings for the Big Ten Tournament were decided by tie-breakers.
All three teams were still tied after applying the first two tiebreakers (head-to-head and record against conference teams NOT among the tied teams). The Wolverines were awarded the top seed on the third tiebreaker, goal differential in all conference games.
Iowa and Michigan State remained tied until the fifth tiebreaker, goal differential versus conference teams in descending order. That tie was eventually broken because Iowa defeated Ohio State 2-0, while the Spartans beat them 3-2 (OT).
STX/NFHCA Poll
The Hawkeyes remained at No. 14 in the latest STX/NFHCA Coaches Poll.
Wake Forest was once again No. 1. Michigan State was ranked fifth, while Michigan was eighth and Penn State 18th.
Big Ten Tournament History
The Big Ten Tournament debuted in 1994, when the Hawkeyes won their first and only tournament title.
Last season, Michigan State won its second-straight tournament title by defeating Penn State 5-3.
Penn State has a Big Ten-best four conference tournament titles. Michigan and Michigan State each have two, while Ohio State and Iowa have each won one.
Hawkeyes at the Big Ten Tournament
The Iowa Hawkeyes have a 10-9 record in Big Ten Tournament play, and have won one tournament championship (1994).
The Hawkeyes are 4-3 in first round games. They are 2-0 in Big Ten Tournament games against Northwestern and 3-2 in Big Ten Tournament games held in Evanston.
Hawkeye Record Holders
The Hawkeyes hold a few Big Ten Tournament records, with Vicki Sax and Anne-Marie Thomas sharing the record for goals in a game (4) and Thomas holds the record for points in a game with nine. All records were set in 1981.
As a team, Iowa shares the record for most goals in a tournament with Penn State (13). The 1999 team also tied a record for fewest goals allowed in a tournament (2).
Hawkeye goalkeeper Barb Weinberg is second on the list of saves in a tournament after turning away 24 shots in 2001.
Rollin’ Along
After dropping four of their first five games to begin the season, the Hawkeyes have been on a tear, winning 10 of their last 12 regular season games.
Making Them Count
Freshman defender Kadi Sickel has been amazingly economical with her shots this season, having scored on five of seven.
Her .714 shooting percentage is 406 points higher than anyone else in the Big Ten that has scored at least five goals.
Hawkeyes in the Big Ten
With 16 goals in conference play, the Iowa Hawkeyes finished the year as the highest scoring team in the Big Ten. Weinberg an All-Star
Hawkeye goalkeeper Barb Weinberg was named to the 2004 NFHCA North/South Senior All-Star Game.
Weinberg, a senior, will represent the North team at the all-star game, which will be played on Saturday, November 20, 2004 at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC. Game time is 7:30 p.m.
Getting Their Money’s Worth
The Hawkeyes have been showing their love of field hockey this season by playing a lot of it. Iowa has been in five overtime games, tying a school record set in 1994.
In fact, five of the last 10 games the Hawkeyes have played have gone into overtime. Three of Iowa’s six Big Ten games weny into extra frames.
The Hawkeyes are 3-2 in overtime this season.
Miss Clutch
Freshman defender Kadi Sickel crammed a career’s worth of drama into a two-week span. The Plaistow, NH, native scored the game-winning goal in three consecutive games, two of which were in overtime.
The streak started when Sickel tipped in a shot to give the Hawkeyes a 4-3 overtime win against the Michigan Wolverines. It continued in double overtime against Penn State, when she ended the game by burying a rebound.
Sickel then scored the game-winner in Iowa’s 4-0 win over Quinnipiac.
The last Iowa player to record overtime game-winning goals in back-to-back game’s was Pattie Gillern, who did it at the 2001 Big Ten Tournament against Michigan State and Penn State.
100 Wins
The October 10 win over No. 8 Michigan was the Hawkeyes’ 100th win at Grant Field. Iowa is now 102-21 on it’s home field, dating back to it’s dedication in 1989.
Getting Defensive
Iowa defender Heather Schnepf has helped anchor the Hawkeye backfield this season and leads the team with three defensive saves.
The sophomore missed the first two weeks of the season after suffering a knee injury during spring practice.
Offensive Leader
Senior forward Sarah Dawson’s currently leads the team in all offensive categories. She has 12 goals, nine assists, 33 points and 64 shots. She is tied with teammate Kadi Sickel with three game-winning goals.
Career High
Senior goalkeeper Barb Weinberg has made a career-high 114 saves so far this season. Her previous high was 106, which she set last season.
Big Ten Scoring
Senior forward Margot McMahon is currently tied for third in the Big Ten with five goals in conference play. The St. Louis native is also fourth in total points with 10.
Every goal McMahon scored this season came in Big Ten Conference play.
Dishing Them Out
Senior forward Sarah Dawson led the Big Ten in assists during conference play with five. Overall, she leads the team with 33 points on a team-best 12 goals and nine assists.
Position Change
Sophomore Kelly Slattery has moved from the forward line to the backfield to help bolster the Hawkeye defense.
Having a Stroke
The Hawkeyes have already drawn more penalty strokes than all of last year. Iowa has earned eight strokes in 17 games, as compared to just three in 19 games last year.
Senior Lauren Stiver is 5-of-6 in penalty strokes so far, while classmate Margot McMahon is 1-for-1 and junior Debbie Birrell is 0-1.
The Only Brick in the Wall
All-American goalkeeper Barb Weinberg anchors the Iowa defense this year, and she better be in shape, because she hasn’t gotten a rest for the entire season. Weinberg is the only goalkeeper on the Iowa roster.
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.
On Michigan
The Michigan Wolverines are the top seed at the Big Ten Tournament. The Wolverines own a record of 14-5 (5-1) and are ranked No. 8 by the NFHCA.
Michigan’s offense is a potent one, averaging 3.42 goals per game. Jessica Blake leads the way with 43 points on 18 goals and seven assists. Adrienne Hortillosa has 37 points with 13 goals and 11 assists, while Katie Morris has 29 points on 14 goals and one assist.
In goal, the Wolverines rely on Beth Riley, who has a 1.26 goals against average.
The Hawkeyes lead the all-time series with Michigan 35-7 and defeated them 4-3 in overtime earlier this season. They are coached by former Hawkeye Marcia Pankratz, who is in her seventh season.
On Michigan State
The Michigan State Spartans are the third seed at the Big Ten Tournament after going 15-2 during the regular season. They are ranked No. 5 by the NFHCA.
The Spartan offense is led by the Big Ten’s leading scorer Veerle Goudswaard, who has 56 points on 26 goals and four assists. Another strong force on offense is Annebet Beerman, who has 15 goals and five assists for 35 points.
In goal, the Spartan’s lean on second team all-Big Ten selection Christina Kirkaldy, who has a league best 1.08 goals against average this season.
The Hawkeyes lead the all-time series with Michigan State 38-8-1. Iowa fell to the Spartans in East Lansing, 2-1 in overtime, earlier this season.
On Penn State
The Penn State Nittany Lions will be the fourth seed at the Big Ten Tournament. Penn State went 10-9 in the regular season with a 3-3 record in the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions are ranked No. 18 in the latest STX/NFHCA coaches poll.
The Nittany Lion offense is led by Michele Rigby, who has 12 goals and three assists for 27 points. Karin Grap is the team’s second-leading scorer with 19 points on nine goals and one assist.
Defensively, Penn State is one of the best in the Big Ten, allowing only 1.21 goals per game. In the cage, the Nittany Lions look to Megan Akstin. The junior transfer has a 1.19 goals against average and a .755 save percentage.
The Hawkeyes hold a 20-15-2 series lead with Penn State. Earlier this season, Iowa topped the Nittany Lions 2-1 in double overtime at Bigler Field in State College, PA.
Penn State is coached Char Morett, who is in her 18th season at the helm.
On Ohio State
The Ohio State Buckeyes finished the season with a 9-9 record and a 1-5 mark in the conference. They will be the No. 5 seed in this weekend’s Big Ten Tournament.
The Buckeyes have a balanced offensive attack with four players in double digits in points. Curlyne Wynn leads the way with 15 points on seven goals and one assist. Saskia Mueller leads the team with eight assists.
In goal, Lindsay Williams has started all 16 games for the Buckeyes. The junior leads the Big Ten with 124 saves and averages 7.22 saves per game. Williams has a 1.90 goals against average and .790 save percentage.
The Hawkeyes have a 38-8 all-time series lead against Ohio State, including a 2-0 Iowa win earlier this year.
On Indiana
The Indiana Hoosiers are the No. 6 seed in the Big Ten Tournament after going 11-7 with a 1-5 conference mark. They were listed as receiving votes in the latest STX/NFHCA coaches poll.
The Hoosier offense is led by Frederique Meeuwen, who is ninth in the Big Ten with ten goals. Lydia Schott has 23 points on seven goals and nine assists. Her nine assists is good for third in the Big Ten.
In the cage, Indiana has Katie Kanara, who boasts a 1.78 goals against average and 92 saves, which is the third highest total in the Big Ten.
The Hawkeyes own an 8-3 series lead with the Hoosiers. Earlier this season, Iowa topped Indiana 4-1 in Bloomington, IN.
The Hoosiers are coached by former Hawkeye assistant Amy Robertson, who is in her fifth season at the helm.
On Northwestern
The Northwestern Wildcats are currently 7-12 with a 1-5 mark in the conference.
The Wildcat offense revolves around senior Candice Cooper, who is the second-leading goal scorer in the Big Ten with 19. On the year, Cooper has 42 points. She was a second-team all-Big Ten selection last season.
On defense, the Wildcats have used two goalkeepers this season. Sherri-Anne Nyberg started 15 of the first 16 games and has a 1.80 goals against average and a .714 save percentage. However, senior Kelly Augustine has started the last five games in goal for Northwestern. She has 3.40 goals against average and a .647 save percentage.
The Hawkeyes lead the all-time series with Northwestern 39-17-4. Northwestern’s 17 wins over Iowa is more than any other team in the nation.
Northwestern is coached by Kelly McCollum, who is in her first year.
Earlier this season…
The Hawkeyes and Wildcats met in a non-conference game on Sept. 24, with Northwestern pulling out the 1-0, double-overtime win.
After a scoreless regulation and first overtime, Wildcat senior Candice Cooper scored the game’s only goal on a rebound in the circle.
The Hawkeyes were out-shot by Northwestern 15-14, and the Wildcats drew 10 penalty corners to Iowa’s nine.
Iowa put pressure on the Northwestern defense throughout most of the game, out-shooting the Wildcats 9-5 in regulation and peppered goalkeeper Sherri-Anne Nyberg with five shots in the first overtime.
Hawkeye goalkeeper Barb Weinberg made seven saves on the day, including three in overtime.