Oct. 11, 2005
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Big Ten Action Continues On The Road
Iowa (8-5, 1-2) travels to Evanston, Ill., to face Northwestern (7-6, 0-3) for more Big Ten conference action. The two teams met last week in Iowa City in a non-conference match-up with the Hawkeyes taking the game, 4-3.
Hawkeyes Outdone By Penn State 4-0
The Hawkeyes were disappointed in their hopes of an upset over Penn State last weekend. No. 12 Iowa put up a goose egg on the scoreboard, with the sixth-ranked Nittany Lions taking the victory 4-0.
Ten minutes into the game, Penn State’s Natalie Berrena scored from the top of the arc to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. Iowa managed to take six shots in the first 35 minutes, but were denied each time by the Nittany Lion defense and goalkeeper Megan Akstin.
“Even though we were down 1-0 at the half, I still thought that we had the motivation to comeback in the second half and play well. Unfortunately, we played right into their hands,” said Iowa Head Coach Tracey Griesbaum.
Penn State dominated the second half and continued to build their lead. Shaun Banta scored her 12th goal of season to give the visitors a 2-0 lead and Berrena picked up her second score of the game at the 59:37 mark. The Lions put the game out of reach when Mallory Weisen was successful on a penalty shot. The Hawkeyes had two corner shot opportunities near the end of the game, but couldn’t convert and lost 4-0.
Despite the final score, Iowa actually outshot Penn State, 12-11, and also took nine corner shots to just five by Penn State.
“We had a major meltdown in the circle defense with our deep defenders and our goalie. And our corner shots just weren’t falling today; our shots were either wide or right down the middle,” said Griesbaum.
Freshman Caitlin McCurdy took six shots for the Hawkeyes and Debbie Birrell and Lauren Pfeiffer each had two. Juniors Heather Schnepf and Kara Zappone each had one attempt.
Goalkeeper Lissa Munley had seven saves in the game. Four Penn State shots slipped by the freshman to raise her season goals against total to 23 and goals against average to 2.30. Munley has racked up 51 saves for a .689 save percentage.
Northwestern
The Hawkeyes lead Northwestern 42-19-4 in the overall series, with Iowa taking the last meeting on October 4 by a score of 4-3.
Jill Putnam is the leading scorer for the Wildcats with ten goals through 13 games; she also has two assists. Meghan Small and Ellen Schlafly both have eight goals and four assists. Putnam scored two goals and Small had one score in Northwestern’s 4-3 loss to Iowa on October 4.
Sherri-Anne Nyberg is the starting goalkeeper for the Wildcats. Through 13 games, she has recorded 98 saves for a .737 save percentage and has allowed 35 goals for a 3.51 goals against average.
Last Saturday, Northwestern dropped a 3-1 decision to seventh-ranked Indiana. Christina Foley scored the Wildcats only goal in the second half on a corner shot; Ellen Schlafly and Amanda Care picked up the assists.
The Wildcats picked up their seventh win of the year against Lindenwood on Sunday. Ellen Schlafly and Alexandra Quinn each scored two goals and Meghan Small scored her eighth goal the season in the 5-0 victory.
Kelly McCollum is in her second year at the helm of the Wildcats field hockey team. She is the sixth head coach in the program’s 24 year history, after replacing Marisa Didio, who retired following the 2003 campaign. Last season, McCollum led the Wildcats to a 7-13 mark, including games against three of the four NCAA semifinal squads. McCollum also coached Candice Cooper to Northwestern’s first All-America selection since 1996.
McCollum, a former Wildcat student-athlete, was a four year assistant to Didio from 2000-03. Prior to her return to Northwestern, she spent three years as an assistant coach at Northeastern University in Boston, Mass., and two years as an assistant coach at the University of New Hampshire.
Hawkeyes Still Ranked Nationally
Iowa is ranked 12th in the nation according to this week’s 2005 STX/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll. The Hawkeyes didn’t move anywhere from last week after winning against Northwestern last Tuesday and losing to Penn State over the weekend.
Big Ten Statistics (All Games)
Iowa ranks fourth in margin of victory and scoring average in all games played this season. The Hawkeyes margin is 1.39; Penn State is at the top of the list with a 3.17 margin of victory. The Hawkeyes are third in shots per game with 16.62 (216 total); Indiana is first with an average of 23.08 shots per game.
Caitlin McCurdy is third in shots taken with an average of 3.85 (50 total) shots per game through 13 contests. McCurdy is sixth in assists per game with 0.46 (6 total) and Debbie Birrell is tenth with 0.38 (5 total). Birrell is also tenth in points per game with 21 points (8 goals, 5 assists) for a 1.62 average through 13 contests. Kadi Sickel is tied for fifth in game-winning goals with 2 game winners in 13 games. Lissa Munley is ranked fifth with 55 saves for an average of 4.23 saves per game and is fifth in goals against average with just 24 goals scored in 13 games for a 1.86 average.
Big Ten Statistics (Conference Games Only)
With a 1-2 record in conference action, Iowa’s margin of victory is -1.67, which ranks fifth. Penn State leads with 3.00, Ohio State has a 2.67 average and Indiana is the only other Big Ten school with a positive average with 1.56. Iowa is tied for fourth with Northwestern in goals scored with 5 goals through three games for an average of 1.67; Penn State and Ohio State are at the top of the list with 4.33 (13 total) goals through three games. The Hawkeyes are sixth in goals allowed per game with an average of 3.33 (10 total) and are sixth with 1.0 (3 total) assists per game in three Big Ten contests. Iowa is tied for fifth with 5.67 (17 total) penalty corners per game; Ohio State leads the conference with 9.33 (28 total).
McCurdy is second in the conference with 4.67 (14 total) shots taken per game through three contests. She ranks sixth in points per game with an average of 2.00 (6 total) and Kadi Sickel is tenth with a 1.33 average (4 total). McCurdy is tied for third in the Big Ten with three goals in three contests for an average of one per game and Sickel has scored twice for an average of 0.67 goals per game; Laticia Fragapane of Ohio State is at the top with five goals through three games for a 1.67 average. Birrell ranks third with two assists for a 0.67 average per game and Caroline Blaum is tied for tenth with 1 assist in three games for a 0.33 average. McCurdy is tied for second with one game-winning goal in three Big Ten games. Munley is fourth in the league with 16 saves and a 5.33 saves per game average in three games; three Big Ten goalies lead the list with 22 saves through three games for a 7.33 saves per game average.
Check out the PDF format of this week’s notes for more information about the University of Iowa field hockey team!