Iowa Defeats No. 11 Wake Forest in Opener

Stats | Boxscore

Aug. 27, 2011

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The University of Iowa field hockey team opened its 2011 campaign with a 3-2 victory over No. 11 Wake Forest in the annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The match was held at Phyllis Ocker Field on the campus of the University of Michigan.

“This win is exactly how we wanted to start off our season,” said head coach Tracey Griesbaum. “We played really well. It was nice to get out to a two-goal lead. That gave us a lot of confidence and the ability to play at a good tempo. This is a great win for our team and our program.”

The Hawkeyes, ranked 23rd, struck first, scoring in the 21st minute to take a 1-0 lead. Sophomore Kim Scraper scored on a rebound off a blocked shot.

Moments later in the 22nd minute, Scraper, named Iowa’s player of the game, scored again to push the Hawkeye advantage to 2-0. Senior Becca Spengler was credited with the assist. The Demon Deacons (0-1) added their first goal at the 31:17 mark to make the halftime score 2-1.

The Black and Gold added another goal to their lead in the early moments of the second half. Sophomore Niki Schultheis tallied her first career goal and gave the Hawkeyes a 3-1 advantage. Junior Jessica Barnett was credited with the assist.

Wake Forest scored in the 60th minute to cut the Iowa lead to 3-2. The Hawkeyes shut out the Demon Deacons in the final 10 minutes of regulation to earn the season opening victory.

Iowa (1-0) concludes play in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge Sunday. The Hawkeyes battle No. 2 North Carolina at 1:30 p.m. (CT).