No. 7 Hawkeyes Post 8-0 Win Over Ball State

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October 3, 2014

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IOWA CITY, Iowa — The seventh-ranked University of Iowa field hockey team (8-2, 2-0 Big Ten) posted an 8-0 win over Ball State (3-7, 0-1 MAC) Friday night at Grant Field. Dani Hemeon and Stephanie Norlander paced the Hawkeye offense each scoring hat tricks.

“We were clicking on all cylinders tonight,” said UI head coach Lisa Cellucci. “Our passing game was on and we were really efficient. We’ve been working on our individual defense all week in preparation for Northwestern and we proved tonight we’re pretty dominant in that area. With our offense tonight, a win like this gives us a lot of confidence; we know we have a lot of people that can score and step up to the plate. It’s great to have that confidence heading into Northwestern as we continue Big Ten play.”

Thirteen minutes was all it took for the Hawkeye offense to take a 3-0 lead over the visitors. Hemeon accounted for two of those goals with her final score coming in the 25th minute — which completed the hat trick and put Iowa on top, 4-0.

“I’ve been struggling a bit with my shooting so tonight I was able to put that away and have a confidence boost,” said Hemeon. “It was my first time playing under the lights at Grant Field so it was a special night all around.”

A pair of goals from Sara Watro and Norlander stretched Iowa’s lead to 6-0 as both teams went into the half.

Sophie Plasteras knocked in her second goal on the season in the 48th minute to put the Hawkeyes on top, 7-0. Norlander capped Iowa’s scoring just seconds later netting her third and final goal to complete the hat trick. The score marked the North Vancouver, Canada, native’s eighth in a three-game span, and her second consecutive hat trick.

“My teammates have been great at setting me up lately,” Norlander said. “Our offense has been playing really well lately. It builds a lot of confidence for us knowing that we can get a lot of shots on goal, and score on those opportunities like we did tonight.”

Defensively the Hawkeyes were in control throughout the game outshooting the Cardinals, 32-0, and holding the edge on penalty corners, 18-0. Alexandra Pecora improved to 7-2 on the season after playing 57 minutes. Newcomer Katie Jones relieved Pecora in the second period.

The Hawkeyes return to action on Sunday hosting No. 11 Northwestern (8-3, 3-0 Big Ten) at noon on Grant Field.