Oct. 14, 2007
COLUMBUS, OH – The fourth-ranked University of Iowa field hockey team defeated Ohio State (5-10, 1-3) 2-1, Saturday. The Hawkeyes improve their record to 12-2 and a conference record of 3-1. Iowa is in second place in the Big Ten, tied with Michigan State. The University of Michigan leads the conference with a record of 5-0.
“We were a little flat footed the entire game,” Head Coach Tracey Griesbaum said. “We made a few defensive changes as well as a few changes to our press.”
Early in the first period, junior Katie Naughton scored her sixth goal of the season when she received the pass from Lauren Pfeiffer and slammed the ball past the Ohio State goalkeeper. Less than a minute later, the Buckeyes responded with a goal of their own, when Michaela O’Malley slipped the ball past Iowa goalkeeper Lissa Munley.
The Hawkeyes continued to play the majority of the half on their side of the field attempting seven shots, converting on only the goal by Naughton. A nice shot by Caroline Blaum was unable to clear the Ohio State goalkeeper’s reach, then, two Jess Werley shots barley missed the cage wide left.
During the 45th minute, the Hawkeyes missed a scoring opportunity when Pfeiffer’s shot was saved by the goalkeeper, leaving the goal wide-open for Naughton, but the ball was poked away by a defender moments before Naughton could control it.
Junior Caitlin McCurdy slipped the ball into the goal after receiving the pass from Naughton during the 47th minute, giving Iowa the lead. It is McCurdy’s third goal of the season.
During the 61st minute, the Hawkeyes were awarded a penalty corner. Pfeiffer flipped the ball from the top of the circle, only to be denied by the sidebar of the goal. Three minutes later, she attempted another shot which barely missed the wide-open net.
With four minute remaining, the Ohio State offense became very aggressive. They received two penalty corners, which were both denied by the stingy Hawkeye defense. They were the only penalty corners Ohio State was awarded.
“Our backs (Kadi Sickel, Meghan Beamesderfer, Roz Ellis and Pfeiffer) played really well,” Griesbaum said. “They were a major part in holding Ohio State to very few corners in the game. Jess Werley also played well in the midfield for us. She changed to center-mid during the game, which is not her normal position, but she managed to perform very well.”
The Hawkeyes will host No. 9 Penn State Saturday, Oct. 20, at 3 p.m. (CT) on Grant Field. The game will be televised by the Big Ten Network.
SCORE 1st 2nd FinalIOWA 1 1 2OSU 1 0 1IOWA Naughton (Pfeiffer) 13:14/1stOSU O'Malley 13:33/1stIOWA McCurdy (Naughton) 46:05/2ndShots - Iowa 13, OSU 9Penalty Corners - Iowa 8, OSU 2Saves - Lindsay Quintilinani (OSU) 8, Lissa Munley (Iowa) 1="http:>