Oct. 18, 2005
Iowa to Host Indiana
The No. 11 Hawkeyes (9-5, 2-2) are back in town to host the eighth-ranked Hoosiers of Indiana (13-1, 4-0). This Big Ten game marks the first time that the teams have meet this season. The contest will be held at the new Grant Field and will begin at 1 p.m. Live results can be found by clicking the Gametracker link on the Hawkeye Field Hockey Schedule and Results page at www.hawkeyesports.com.
Hawkeyes Get Second Win Over Northwestern, 3-1
The University of Iowa evened its conference record last Friday after defeating the Wildcats 3-1 at the Thomas Sports Complex on the Northwestern campus.
The Hawkeyes went to Northwestern in search of a much needed victory after losing to Penn State 4-0 the previous weekend. Iowa got the win they were looking for and started the scoring early in the game. Freshman Caitlin McCurdy scored the Hawkeyes first goal almost seven minutes into the game on a corner shot. McCurdy slammed home another goal at the 22:06 mark to up the lead to 2-0 and junior Kara Zappone scored just before the half for a 3-0 Hawkeye advantage.
Iowa was shutout in the second half after only managing to get off five shots against the Wildcat defense. Goalkeeper Lissa Munley was two minutes away from her second shutout of the year, but Annie Bosslet ruined that with a goal at the end of the game.
McCurdy scored two goals on five shots. Lauren Pfeiffer picked up one assist and took one shot in the game. Zappone was perfect in the game with one shot taken and one goal scored. Sophomore Adrienne Dybus earned one assist on Zappone’s goal. Caroline Blaum and Kelly Slattery each took two shots in the game.
Munley earned her ninth win of the season after holding the Wildcats to just one goal. She stopped seven Northwestern shots; two attempts in the first half and five in the second. In 14 contests, Munley has had just 24 goals scored against her for an average of 1.73 per game.
Caitlin McCurdy Named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week
Freshman Caitlin McCurdy picked up her first Big Ten Player of the Week accolade after scoring two goals in a 3-1 victory over Northwestern last weekend. The forward/midfielder scored the Hawkeyes’ first goal almost seven minutes into the game on a corner shot and then picked up her second game-winning goal of the season at the 22:06 mark. McCurdy, a native of Mountain Top, PA, has scored at least one point in eight out of the last 14 games this season for the Hawkeyes. She currently leads the squad in four offensive categories, most goals (9), assists (6), total points (24) and shots (55).
Goalie Lissa Munley, also a Mountain Top native, was the last Hawkeye to garner Big Ten Player of the Week honors this season (Sept. 5).
Iowa No. 11 in National Poll
The University of Iowa Hawkeyes are ranked for the sixth consecutive week in the top 25 of the 2005 STX/NFHCA Division I National Poll. The Hawkeyes moved up one spot this week to the 11th spot after a 3-1 defeat over Northwestern University last weekend. Six of the seven Big Ten schools are in the top 25: Penn State is sixth with a record of 14-1, Indiana is eighth with a 13-1 mark, Ohio State (14-3) is ranked ninth, Michigan comes in at the ten spot with a 9-6 record, Iowa is 11th and Michigan State is in the number 15 spot (9-7).
The Hawkeyes have played six other teams in the top 25; in fact, all of Iowa’s losses this season have come to top-25 teams. In the Big Ten/ACC Challenge earlier this season, Iowa lost to No. 1 Wake Forest (2-0) and No. 4 North Carolina (2-0). They fell 3-2 on Sept. 17 to second-ranked Duke and dropped a heartbreaker, 4-2, against No. 9 Ohio State the next week. The Hawkeyes defeated 15th-ranked Michigan State 3-2 on Oct. 2 and suffered their last loss to sixth-ranked Penn State, 4-0, at home on Oct. 8.
Big Ten Statistics (All Games)
Iowa ranks fourth in margin of victory with a 1.44 differential; Penn State tops the list with a 3.02 margin of victory. The Nittany Lions also lead the conference in scoring average with 3.88 goals per game and the Hawkeyes are fourth with an average of 3.23 goals per game. The Hawkeyes are fifth in shots per game with 16.36 (229 total); Indiana is first with an average of 21.14 shots per game.
Caitlin McCurdy is third in shots taken with an average of 3.93 (55 total) shots per game through 14 contests. McCurdy is fifth in the league with an 1.71 points per game average; she 24 total points from nine goals and six assists. Senior Debbie Birrell is tied for tenth in points total with 21 points (8 goals, 5 assists) in 14 games. McCurdy ranks eighth with 0.64 goals per game; Lucy Clayton of Ohio State averages one goal per game. McCurdy and Birrell both are in the top ten in assists per game; McCurdy is tied for fourth with 0.43 and Birrell is tied for tenth with 0.36 assists per game.
Lissa Munley is ranked fifth with 62 saves for an average of 4.43 saves per game and is fifth in goals against average with just 25 goals scored in 14 games for a 1.80 average. Megan Akstin of Penn State leads the league with just 12 goals scored against her in 14 contests for an average of 0.87.
Big Ten Statistics (Conference)
With a 2-2 record in conference action, Iowa’s margin of victory is -0.75, which ranks fifth. Penn State leads with 2.50, Ohio State has a 1.60 average and Indiana is the only other Big Ten school with a positive average with 1.38. Iowa is fifth scoring average with eight goals in four game; Penn State is tops with 3.75 (15 total) goals through four games. The Hawkeyes are fifth in goals allowed per game with an average of 2.75 (11 total) and are tied for third with 1.25 (five total) assists per game in four Big Ten contests. Iowa is last in the league with just 5.25 (21 total) penalty corners per game; Ohio State leads the conference with 10.50 (42 total).
McCurdy is second in the conference with 4.75 (19 total) shots taken per game through four contests. She is tied for first in points per game with an average of 2.50 (10 total). McCurdy is also tied for the top spot in goals per game with five goals in four games for an 1.25 average. Kadi Sickel has scored twice for an average of 0.50 goals per game. Birrell is tied for tenth with 2 assist in four games for a 0.50 average. McCurdy and Kate O’Connell of Indiana each have two game-winning goals in four contests to lead the Big Ten.
Munley is fourth in the league with 23 saves and a 5.75 saves per game average in four games; Indiana’s Haley Exner leads the conference with 38 saves in four games for a 9.50 saves per game average. Munley is third in saves percentage with a .676 mark; Exner is first in the category with a .884 save percentage.
Indiana
The Hawkeyes lead Indiana 7-4 in the overall series. Iowa won the last meeting against the Hoosiers in Bloomington last season by a score of 3-1. However, Indiana is ranked eighth this year and will be looking for their 11th straight victory this weekend against the Hawkeyes.
The Hoosiers won their tenth game in a row last weekend with a 2-1 double-overtime victory over then No. 9 Ohio State. Indiana was led by sophomore goalkeer Haley Exner who had a career-high 16 saves. Indiana also set two new school records with the victory including their longest Big Ten winning streak with four games and they also broke the previous 12 game single-season record for most wins.
After a scoreless first half, the Buckeyes scored five minutes after the break on a goal by Lauren Kruse. Eleven minutes later, sophomore Frederique Meeuwsen picked up her second goal of the season when she scored right in front of the net.
In the second overtime period, junior Morgan Miller connected on Indiana’s only shot in overtime for the win. Miller’s fourth goal of the year came was on a penalty corner for Indiana’s second double-overtime win of the year. Sophomore Meredith Brown and junior Lydia Schrott had the assists on the game-winner.
Kayla Bashore is a senior midfielder for the Hoosiers. She has taken 57 shots this season that have resulted in ten goals and two assists for 22 points. Bashore also has two game-winning goals and is 1-1 on penalty shot goals.
Junior forward Lydia Schrott is next on the team with ten goals scored and one assist. Three of her goals have been game-winners.
Haley Exner is the goalkeeper for the Hoosiers this season. The sophomore has a 13-1 record with 79 saves for a .823 saves percentage. Exner has had just 17 goals scored against her for an average of 1.60 goals per game.
Amy Robertson is in her sixth season as head coach at Indiana and has been with the field hockey program since its inception in 2000. Last season, she coached the Hoosiers to a 12-8 record, which was the best mark in school history until this season.
Before joining Indiana, Robertson was an assistant coach at Wake Forest for three seasons and helped lead the team to an 18-4 record, number-three national ranking and a trip to its first NCAA Tournament in 1999. Prior to her experience at Wake Forest, Robertson spent five seasons as an assistant coach at her alma mater, the University of Massachusetts, helping lead the team to three NCAA appearances in 1992, 1993, and 1996. Robertson began her coaching career in 1988 as a student assistant coach at UMass and left in 1989 to take a position as an assistant coach at the University of Iowa, where she remained until 1992. Robertson helped the Hawkeyes advance to the Final Four in each of her first two seasons, 1989 and 1990, and posted a combined record of 39-6-2; Iowa returned to the NCAA Tournament in her final season, with a record of 17-2-1.
As a student-athlete at UMass, Robertson helped lead the Minutewomen to a combined 56-19-6 record and four trips to the NCAA Tournament in four years. Massachusetts advanced to the NCAA Final Four and finished the season ranked No. 3 in the nation in 1987, her senior season. In four years as a defender, Robertson tallied four goals and six assists.
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