Oct. 24, 2006
IOWA CITY –
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This Week
Iowa’s field hockey team will face No. 7 Penn State (3-1,12-3) at 4 p.m. Friday in State College, PA. The Hawkeyes will then travel to Louisville, KY to take on No. 11 Louisville at 12 p.m. Sunday.
Last Week
The University of Iowa field hockey team last week earned its second win of the season over Northwestern, 2-1. The win improves its overall record to 8-7. The game was considered to be an out of conference game. Sophomores Katie Naughton and Roz Ellis each scored their first goal of the season while leading the Hawkeyes to victory.
No. 7 Penn State
Penn State boasts a record of 3-1 in the Big Ten and 12-3 overall. They are a half a game out of first place in the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions are coached by Charlene Morett. Last season, Morett was named Big Ten Coach of the Year, it marked the third time she has received the honor. In her 23rd season as a head coach she holds a career record of 359-127-16. Junior Shaun Banta leads Penn State with 13 goals on only 28 shots. Penn State has had three players receive Big Ten weekly accolades, two offensive and one defensive. Mallory Weisen shared the offensive honor with Iowa’s Caitlin McCurdy on Sept. 4 and Banta earned the award on Sept. 18. Goalkeeper Jen Beaumont earned the defensive award on Sept. 25.
Nittany Lions Are On A Roll
After losing its first two games of the season, Penn State has won 12 of 13 games. The three losses came from No. 3 Old Dominion, Ohio and No. 5 Ohio State.
Iowa vs. Penn State History
In a series that began in 1977, Iowa holds a 20-15-1 advantage over the Nittany Lions.
No. 11 Louisville
Louisville has an overall record of 12-6. Four of the six teams that defeated Louisville have also defeated Iowa (Duke, Wake Forest, Michigan and Ohio State). The Cardinals are sitting atop the Big East Conference as four of seven Big East team’s are ranked in the top twenty. Louisville is coached by Pam Bustin. Bustin is in her tenth year as head coach. She holds a career record of 109-98. Seven Cardinals’ have six or more goals for the season. They are led by senior Jessica Javelet who has 18.
Iowa vs. Louisville History
Louisville holds a 3-0 edge in this series. The series started in 2000.
Heather Schnepf = All-Star
Senior back Heather Schnepf was selected to play in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division I Senior All-Star Game. The game will take place on Nov. 18 at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC. There are a total of 38 student-athletes selected from across the country. Ten from the Big Ten Conference will participate in the game. Hawkeyes Will Play Against Other All-Stars During the final road trip of the regular-season the Hawkeyes will play against three athletes who have been selected to play along side Schnepf in the Senior All-Star Game. Penn State’s Annelise Legel and Louisville’s Jessica Javelet and Lisa Wasser.
Shooter McGavin!
Hawkeye sophomores Caitlin McCurdy and Lauren Pfeiffer are tied for second most shot attempts in the Big Ten with 56 apiece. The conference leader has 64.
What Does a Win Mean?
The Hawkeyes have not finished the regular season with a losing record since 1997 (8-10). If Iowa is able to upset either No. 7 Penn State or No. 11 Louisville it will secure a winning record. If Iowa is able to defeat Penn State its conference record would improve to 3-3. The Hawkeyes have not had a losing conference record since 2003 (2-4).
Big Ten Tournament
Big Ten Tournament will begin Nov. 3. All teams will play on the opening day except for the No. 1 seed. The second round will take place Nov. 4 and the Championship game will take place on Nov. 5 at 1 p.m. The tournament is single elimination.