Hawkeyes Head To Stanford

Sept. 9, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa field hockey team (2-2, 0-0) will hit the road again for its second roadtrip of the young season. The fourth-ranked Hawkeyes will face Stanford Saturday at 2 p.m. (CT). Iowa will then face Pacific Sunday at 1 p.m. (CT). Both games will be played at the Varsity Field Hockey Turf in Stanford, CA. Hawkeye fans can track the action this weekend on Hawkeyesports.com. Click on the Gametracker link on the field hockey schedule page to get live scoring and play-by-play.

STANFORD (1-3, 0-0)
The Stanford Cardinal, a member of the NorPac conference, are 1-3 and receiving votes in the STX/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll. This season, Stanford has already faced three common opponents the Hawkeyes will see later in the year. The Cardinal lost at Michigan State Wednesday (3-2), at Michigan Friday (5-1), and defeated Central Michigan Sunday (3-2). Stanford is led by former Hawkeye forward Lesley Irvine. In her sixth season, she has an all-time record of 44-60 as the leader of the Cardinal.

PACIFIC (1-3, 0-0)
The Pacific Tigers enter the weekend with a record of 1-3. This season the Tigers lost to California in their home opener, 3-0. They then traveled to Kent, OH. There, Pacific lost to Kent State (2-1) and Lock Haven (2-1) before defeating Robert Morris (3-0) Sunday. The Tigers are coached by 11th-year head coach Linda MacDonald. She is 107-115 all-time at the helm of the Pacific program.

THE LAST TIME
The Hawkeyes last faced Stanford in 2006. Iowa defeated the Cardinal 2-1 in Iowa City. In addition, the Hawkeyes last played Pacific in 2005. Iowa dominated the Tigers, 8-1, in Iowa City. Iowa leads the all-time series against Stanford, 9-2. Additionally, the Hawkeyes have defeated the Tigers both times they have faced them.

MILESTONE FOR COACH APPROACHING
After defeating American Friday, Head Coach Tracey Griesbaum is just one victory from 100 career wins at the University of Iowa. Griesbaum won her 100th game as a head coach last season.

MILESTONE REACHED
The Iowa Hawkeye field hockey program reached its 500th all-time victory Friday with a win over American. With the 4-1 victory at Granf Field, Iowa is now 500-177-25 all-time. The Hawkeyes’ first season was in 1977.

COACH READY FOR THIS WEEKEND
“We are looking forward to traveling to Stanford this weekend,” said Head Coach Tracey Griesbaum. “Stanford and Pacific will be tough opponents for us. We must get back to the drawing board this week at practice. We are capable of playing a lot better than we displayed against American and Duke. Stanford and Pacific are regional games for us so a top performance will help our standings in the west region.”

MOVING ON UP
The Hawkeyes moved up in the current STX/NFHCA rankings from No. 5 to No. 4. Iowa trails only No. 1 Maryland, No. 2 Wake Forest and No. 3 North Carolina in the latest rankings.

STANFORD HEAD COACH LESLEY IRVINE
One of many former Hawkeyes in the coaching ranks, Stanford Head Coach Lesley Irvine played at Iowa in 1999. She is in her sixth season at the head coach of the Cardinal.

SCHEDULE NOTES
Iowa’s last three NCAA Tournament opponents (2004, `06, `07) are on the season’s schedule. Iowa defeated American (4-1) Sept. 5 and faces Boston Sept. 21. The Hawkeyes lost to American 2-1 in 2004 on the campus of the University of Maryland. The Black and Gold fell to Boston a year ago, 1-0, in double overtime on the campus of the University of Connecticut. Iowa plays Virginia (Oct. 11) on the campus of Penn State University. The Hawkeyes lost to the Cavaliers 1-0 in 2006 on the Campus of Wake Forest.

2007 – A YEAR TO REMEMBER
Iowa had quite the season in 2007, finishing 17-4 overall and 4-2 in Big Ten play. The Hawkeyes won their second-straight Big Ten Tournament Championship and reached their 19th NCAA Tournament in program history. Five Hawkeyes were named all-Big Ten. Lauren Pfeiffer, Roz Ellis, Meghan Beamesderfer and Caroline Blaum were all named first team. Each returns for 2008. Additionally, Kadi Sickel was named to the second team. Goalkeeper Lissa Munley won the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award. Blaum and Sickel were each named to the Big Ten Tournmant Team, as Blaum took MVP honors. The Hawkeyes gained plenty of national attention also. Pfeiffer was named a first team all-American by Women’sFieldHockey.com and was named second team all-American by NFHCA. Women’sFieldHockey.com named Beamesderfer to their second team squad. In addition, she was named a third-team all-American by NFHCA. Ellis also was named to an all-American squad, landing on the Women’sFieldHockey.coms third team. Six Hawkeyes were named Academic all-Big Ten. Tricia Dean, Katie Naughton, Ellis, Pfeiffer, Munley and Sickel were all named to the squad.