Iowa Travels to Ohio State, Ohio This Weekend

Oct. 5, 2011

Complete Release

THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa field hockey team, ranked 17th nationally, continues action this weekend when it travels to Ohio for two games. The Hawkeyes (8-3, 1-2) will face No. 18 Ohio State (8-5, 2-0) in a conference battle Saturday at noon (CT) at Buckeye Varsity Field in Columbus, Ohio. Sunday, Iowa travels to face Ohio (10-2) in a non-conference contest at 11 a.m. (CT) at Pruitt Field in Athens, Ohio.

ON THE NET
Iowa field hockey fans can follow the Hawkeyes with live stats (Gametracker) on hawkeyesports.com. Click on the GT link found on both the front page and the field hockey schedule page.

ON THE TUBE
Saturday’s game at Ohio State will be broadcast by the Big Ten Network. It will air as a tape delay on BTN on Sunday at 1 p.m. (CT).

HAWKEYES IN BIG TEN PLAY
Iowa (8-3, 1-2) continues conference action this weekend after falling at Michigan last Saturday. The Hawkeyes are 212-83-6 against current Big Ten teams and lead every series: (Indiana: 13-6), (Michigan: 39-17), (Michigan State: 46-11-1), (Northwestern: 50-18-4), (Ohio State: 41-13), (Penn State: 23-18-1). Iowa has claimed 11 Big Ten regular season titles in school history and four Big Ten Tournament championships.

SCOUTING OHIO STATE
Ohio State is led by head coach Anne Wilkinson. Wilkinson is in her 16th season at the helm of the program. The Buckeyes, who defeated No. 20 Louisville Tuesday (2-1), are 8-5 overall and 2-0 in Big Ten play. Ohio State is 4-5 at home this season and ranked 18th in the latest NFHCA rankings. They have won six-straight games.

SCOUTING OHIO
Ohio is led by head coach Neil Macmillan. Macmillan is in his seventh season at the helm of the program. The Bobcats are 10-2 overall and 4-1 at home. Ohio is receiving votes in the latest NFHCA rankings. The Bobcats have played two Big Ten teams this season, winning at Ohio State (2-1) and falling to Indiana at home (3-2). Ohio travels to Central Michigan Friday.

SERIES HISTORY
Iowa is 41-13 all-time against Ohio State, including a record of 14-7 in Columbus. The two teams first met in 1980. The Hawkeyes are 4-1 all-time against Ohio, with a record of 1-1 in Athens. The two first squared-off in 1988.

CLIMBING THE RANKINGS
The Hawkeyes are ranked 17th in the NFHCA rankings this week. Iowa will play or has played six of the NFHCA top 20 this season. In addition, the Hawkeyes will play or have played three of the teams receiving votes in the most recent poll. The Big Ten Conference currently has six teams ranked in the top 20. Penn State sits sixth in the rankings. Joining the Nittany Lions is Michigan (No. 13), Northwestern (No. 14), Indiana (No. 15), Iowa (No. 17) and Ohio State (No. 18).

LAST TIME OUT
The Hawkeyes fell at 14th-ranked Michigan Saturday, 2-0. Junior goalkeeper Kathleen McGraw led Iowa with six saves.

IOWA AT GRANT FIELD
The Hawkeyes are 5-1 this season at Grant Field, with one home match remaining. Iowa is 132-42 all-time on its home turf, including a 58-23 conference record.

ROAD WARRIORS
The Hawkeyes have six games remaining in the regular season, five of which will come away from Iowa City. The Black and Gold are 3-2 away from Grant Field this season.

SCRAPER SHINES
Sophomore Kim Scraper ranks seventh nationally in points per game (2.82) and second in the country in goals per game (1.36). Scraper has recorded 15 goals and 31 points, marking the most for a Hawkeye in a season since former All-American Lauren Pfeiffer notched 20 goals and 44 points in 2008. Ellen Egan holds the Iowa records with 42 goals and 93 points in 1983. Scraper has scored at least one goal in each Hawkeye victory.

LEADING THE PACK
The Hawkeyes rank first in the Big Ten in shots per game (17.82) and shutouts (4), and second in scoring average (3.36), scoring margin (2.00), and goals against average (1.36). The Hawkeyes’ 10 goals and 21 points against Missouri State are the most of any conference team in a game this season. Iowa notched 37 shots at Brown (Sept. 10), marking the most for a league team in a contest this year. The Hawkeyes own the three highest scoring games in the Big Ten this season (10 goals vs. Missouri State, 7 vs. Kent State and Brown).

SCRAPER NAMED BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK TWICE
Iowa forward Kim Scraper was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week for the second consecutive week on Sept. 13. Scraper led Iowa to a sweep of Providence and Brown in Providence, R.I., tallying six of Iowa’s 11 goals scored in the two contests. On Sept. 9, in Iowa’s 4-1 win at Providence, the sophomore scored two goals en route to her third multi-goal game of the season. She helped Iowa blank Brown on Sept. 10, 7-0. Scraper tallied her fourth multi-goal game of the year as she recorded four scores in the victory. It marked the first time a Hawkeye had recorded four scores in a game since Pattie Gillern scored five in a win over Missouri State on Sept. 28, 2003. The honor marked the first time Iowa won the conference offensive weekly award multiples times in a season since 2008, when the team earned three offensive weekly accolades. The last time a Hawkeye won the offensive award in back-to-back weeks was Caitlin McCurdy in 2005 (Oct. 17 and Oct. 24).

ROSTER BREAKDOWN
Four Hawkeyes (freshmen Brittany Evangelisti and Corinne Allen, sophomore Kelsey Mitchell, junior Geena Lesiak) hail from Eastern Regional High School in New Jersey. The school has won 12 consecutive New Jersey state championships. Jessica Barnett and Karli Johansen are both from Handsworth Secondary School in North Vancouver, Canada. Seven Hawkeyes hail from New Jersey, three from Pennsylvania, three from Canada, two from California, and one each from Delaware, Michigan, Belgium and Germany.

TEAM CAPTAINS
Iowa has a trio of captains in 2011, senior Becca Spengler and juniors Jessica Barnett and Kathleen McGraw.

CELEBRATING 25 YEARS
The 2011 season marks the 25th anniversary of Iowa’s 1986 national championship team. Iowa honored the team at its game against Massachusetts Sept. 4 at Grant Field.

KOBOLDT NAMED TO IOWA HALL OF FAME
Former Hawkeye Mary Koboldt was one of six individuals inducted by the National Iowa Varsity Club and the University of Iowa Athletics Department into the Athletics Hall of Fame this year. A member of the 23rd class, she was honored and inducted into the National Varsity Club Athletics Hall of Fame at Iowa’s home football game against Tennessee Tech Sept. 3. The Hawkeye honored Koboldt at their game Sept. 4 against Massachusetts. A Hawkeye midfielder from 1982-85, the former U.S. National Team member and U.S. Olympian was a three-time All-Big Ten honoree and a two-time All-American. Koboldt, a member of four NCAA Tournament teams and two Big Ten championship teams, was named to the NCAA All-Tournament team after leading Iowa to its first ever trip to the NCAA Final Four in 1984. As a senior in 1985, she was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and was a nominee for the Honda Broderick Award, as the top collegiate female athlete in the country.

FOLLOW THE HAWKEYES
Become fans of the official Iowa Field Hockey fan page by going to facebook.com/iowafieldhockey to follow the Hawkeyes on Facebook. Fans can also follow the Black and Gold on Twitter at twitter.com/iowafieldhockey.

ON THE HORIZON
Iowa continues action next weekend when it hosts Indiana in its final home game. The Hawkeyes will face the Hoosiers Oct. 15 at 1 p.m. at Grant Field. Iowa will honor senior Becca Spengler.

HAWKEYES ON BTN
Iowa’s game at Ohio State on Saturday will be televised by the Big Ten Network (BTN). It will be shown as a tape delay at 1 p.m. on Oct. 9. Additional Hawkeye contests will be streamed live on BTN.com. In addition, coverage of the Big Ten Tournament can be seen on BTN. Iowa has won three of the last five tournaments.