Nov. 1, 2007
COLUMBUS, OH – The third-seeded University of Iowa field hockey team dominated sixth-seeded Indiana 8-2 in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament held in Columbus, OH, Thursday. The Hawkeyes, who rank sixth nationally, improve their record to 15-3.
Six different Iowa players scored, including juniors Katie Naughton and Caitlin McCurdy who each scored twice.
The eight goals tie the Big Ten Tournament record set by Penn State in 2000. It also marks the second time the Hawkeyes have scored eight goals against Indiana since 2001 (8-1). Eight is the most goals the Hawkeyes have scored since Sept. 9, 2005, against Pacific (8-1).
“We are proud that we had a very balanced attack, you can tell from the amount of players who scored,” Head Coach Tracey Griesbaum said. “We scored off of penalty corner rebounds, fast breaks and free hits.”
The Hawkeyes were able to score early and often. In the sixth minute, junior Roz Ellis rebounded a penalty corner miss and slammed home the first Iowa goal, her eighth of the season.
Five minutes later, Indiana struck back on a Kate O’Connell shot that slipped past the Hawkeye defense. Iowa responded by scoring three straight goals from senior Kadi Sickel, Naughton and junior Lauren Pfeiffer.
Pfeiffer’s goal came only two minutes into the second half and was her 14th of the season.
After Indiana scored its second goal during the 38th minute, McCurdy scored back-to-back goals within six minutes of each other. Sophomore Meghan Beamesderfer assisted the second McCurdy goal for her first assist of the season.
Naughton and sophomore Tricia Dean scored the final two Hawkeye goals. Naughton’s came from a loose ball that she controlled on the left side of the circle during the 63rd minute, while Dean’s came in the 67th minute from the right side of the circle.
“Our defense created a lot of scoring opportunities for us,” Griesbaum said. “Overall it was a great win and an excellent effort by everyone.”
Iowa’s defense held Indiana to only four shots.
The third-seeded Hawkeyes advance to the semi-finals in the Big Ten Tournament Friday, Nov. 2 at 1 p.m. (CT) against second-seeded Michigan State. The game will be televised live on the Big Ten Network. Michigan State defeated Iowa Oct. 27, 1-0, in Iowa City.
Scoring 1st 2nd FinalIOWA 3 5 8IND 1 1 2
IOWA Ellis 5:05/1stIND O'Connell (Griswold) 10:07/1stIOWA Sickel 16:47/1stIOWA Naughton 31:26/1stIOWA Pfeiffer 36:24/2ndIND O'Connell (Oyler) 37:26/2ndIOWA McCurdy 41:25/2ndIOWA McCurdy (Beamesderfer) 46:53/2ndIOWA Naughton 62:11/2ndIOWA Dean 66:46/2nd
Shots - IOWA 20, IND 4Penalty Corners - IOWA 7, IND 3Saves - Haley Exner (IND) 8, Lissa Munley (IOWA) 1="https://hawkeyesports.com/http:%3E%3C/pre%3E%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Cp%3E%3Cbr%3E%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3C/p%3E%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Cp%3E%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Cp%3E%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Cp%3E%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Cp%3E%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Ctable%20border='0'%20cellpadding='0'%20cellspacing='0'%20align='left'%3E%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Ctr%3E%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Ctd%20align='center'%20width="150">
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