Hawkeyes Travel to Virginia

Sept. 2, 2015

THIS WEEK
The 17th-ranked University of Iowa field hockey team remains on the road this weekend, traveling to Harrisonburg, Virginia. Iowa faces Richmond in a neutral site contest Friday at 4 p.m. (CT), and concludes the weekend with an 11 a.m. (CT) contest against James Madison on Sunday.

LIVE STREAMING
Sunday’s contest against James Madison will be streamed online at http://bit.ly/1NYBZD9. Play-by-play will be called by James Madison’s Director of Multimedia Communications, Curt Dudley. Live stats are available for each contest on the field hockey schedule page on hawkeyesports.com.

SCOUTING Richmond
Last year’s Atlantic 10 champions, the Spiders enter Friday’s matchup against the Hawkeyes unblemished (2-0). Richmond completed a perfect opening weekend, defeating American 2-1 in overtime and Drexel 2-1, earning ninth-year head coach Gina Lucido’s 100th win in the process. Freshman Laetitia Commeyne was named the Atlantic 10’s Co-Rookie of the Week after scoring one goal on four shots in two games. The Spiders are outshooting their opponents, 23-15, through two games.

RICHMOND VS. IOWA — THE SERIES
• Iowa is 2-0 all-time against Richmond.
• In the first ever meeting between the two schools (1998), Iowa won, 1-0.
• The last time the Hawkeyes and Spiders met was in Iowa City in 2000. Iowa topped Richmond in overtime, 2-1.

SCOUTING JAMES MADISON
The James Madison Dukes finished 1-1 over the opening weekend, falling 6-3 to Liberty before topping Longwood, 8-1. The Dukes are averaging 24 shots per game and are outshooting opponents, 48-29. Through two games, senior Loes Stijntjes has eight points via three goals and two assists.

JAMES MADISON VS. IOWA — THE SERIES
• Iowa leads the all-time series against James Madison, 4-1.
• The first match ever played between the two schools was in 1987 in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes won, 1-0.
• Iowa and James Madison last met in 2009. The Hawkeyes outlasted the 11th-ranked Dukes 3-2 in Iowa City.

LAST TIME OUT
The Hawkeyes opened the 2015 season last weekend at the 14th annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Iowa defeated No. 11 Wake Forest on Saturday with a 2-1 overtime victory. Freshman Makenna Grewe scored her first career goal to give the Hawkeyes a early 1-0 lead, but the Demon Deacons would tie things up right before halftime. The Hawkeyes would eventually win in overtime after junior Stephanie Norlander poked in a shot that had bounced off Wake Forest’s goalkeeper. In Iowa’s Sunday matchup with No. 2 North Carolina, the Hawkeyes fell, 2-1. Iowa’s lone goal came in the second half from junior Chandler Ackers. Grewe and Norlander were credited with the assist.

IN THE RANKINGS
Released on Aug. 25, the Penn Monto/National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division I Preseason Poll has the Hawkeyes ranked 17th heading into the 2015 season. Iowa garnered 225 points in the rankings and is one of six ranked Big Ten schools — Maryland (No. 3), Penn State (T-7th), Northwestern (No. 10), Michigan (No. 14), and Michigan State (No. 19). Iowa has been ranked in the polls each week dating back to Sept. 6, 2011.

A HOMECOMING FOR 4
Four Hawkeyes will be returning to their home state of Virginia this weekend. Senior Isabella Licciardello hails from Fredericksburg, Virginia, while sophomores Katie Jones, Taylor Omweg, and Melissa Progar are from Virginia Beach and Yorktown.

TO BE THE BEST YOU HAVE TO PLAY THE BEST
Of Iowa’s 18 opponents in 2015, eight are ranked in the NFHCA’s Division I Preseason Poll released on Aug. 25, including five Big Ten schools — No. 3 Maryland, No. 7 Penn State, No. 10 Northwestern, No. 14 Michigan, and No. 19 Michigan State.

THE CELLUCCI JAMES MADISON CONNECTION
Before returning to the UI coaching staff in 2000, Cellucci was an assistant coach at James Madison, where she helped the Dukes to a 15-7 record and a spot in the NCAA Tournament in 1999.

BIG TEN PLAYERS TO WATCH LIST
Three University of Iowa field hockey players — Chandler Ackers, Stephanie Norlander and Alexandra Pecora — have been named to the 2015 Big Ten Players to Watch List, announced by the league office.

Ackers, a junior from White Haven, Pennsylvania, started all 18 contests in 2014, accounting for 11 points on two goals and a team-high seven assists. She was named to the 2014 All-Big Ten Tournament Team, while also garnering Academic All-Big Ten honors. Ackers was also named to the NFHCA Academic Squad for the second-straight year.

A two-time Player to Watch, Norlander was a second-team NFHCA All-American and first-team All-Big Ten honoree in 2014. She started in all 18 contests, scoring 35 points on 15 goals and five assists during her sophomore campaign. The North Vancouver, Canada, native ranked third in the Big Ten and 13th nationally in goals per game (.83), while ranking fifth in the Big Ten and 19th nationally in points per game (1.94). Norlander also scored four game-winning goals last season. In 2013, Norlander was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year in addition to earning NFHCA West Region All-America second-team honors.

Pecora appeared in 17 contests in 2014, starting each game at goalkeeper. The Marlton, New Jersey, native posted a 10-7 mark as a sophomore, collecting 78 saves and recording a .722 save percentage. Pecora tallied a career-high 13 saves at No. 2 Maryland on Nov. 1, and was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 28 following her performance in a 4-0 shutout over No. 5 Penn State.

WHAT A SUMMER IT WAS
A second-team NFHCA All-American and first-team All-Big Ten honoree in 2014, junior Stephanie Norlander highlights what was a busy summer for several Hawkeyes. A native of North Vancouver, Canada, Norlander competed for the Canadian National Field Hockey Team at the World League 3 semifinals in Valencia, Spain as well as the 2015 Pan American Games, where she helped the Canadians to a third place, bronze medal finish. She scored three goals in Canada’s Pan Am opener against the Dominican Republic en route to a 12-1 victory.

Juniors Chandler Ackers and Alexandra Pecora and sophomores Melissa Progar and Taylor Omqeg were each selected and competed in the USA Women’s National Championship at the USA Training Center in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Ackers and Pecora were also selected and participated at the Junior National Team Camp and Trials held at the Spooky Nook Sports Complex also in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Sophomore Veronique Declercq competed for the Belgium U21 Team in various tournaments over the course of the summer.

HAWKEYES IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
The Hawkeyes have been selected to the NCAA Tournament 22 times in program history — the most of any school as a member of the Big Ten Conference. The Hawkeyes are 26-23 all-time in tournament play, including 9-5 in first round match-ups and 11-6 in second round contests. Iowa has advanced to 11 NCAA Final Fours, winning the 1986 national championship. The Hawkeyes 26 tournament victories and 11 NCAA Final Fours are the most of any school as a member of the Big Ten Conference.

IOWA NEWCOMERS
Iowa’s 2015 roster features a lot of youth. Of the 19 student-athletes listed on Iowa’s roster, 12 are either freshmen or sophomores. Iowa’s five freshmen include Lara Bampfield (F), Isabella Brown (MF), Makenna Grewe (MF), Riley Kniptash (F/MF), and Avery Semler (F/MF).

CAFONE REDSHIRTING
The 2014 Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and first-team All-American will redshirt during the 2015 season due to injury. Cafone dislocated her shoulder last November and re-injured it during the spring.

WELCOME BACK, JESS
Head coach Lisa Cellucci announced the addition of former Hawkeye Jessica Barnett to her staff in late July. Iowa’s 2012 and 2013 Female Athlete of the Year, Barnett will serve as a volunteer assistant coach. A four-year starter for the Hawkeyes from 2009-12, Barnett was a two-time All-American and a three-time All-Big Ten, All-Region, and Big Ten All-Tournament team selection. She helped the Hawkeyes earn back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 2011-12.

LOOKING AHEAD
The Hawkeyes return to Iowa City on Sept. 10 for their home opener against No. 6 Stanford. Iowa will remain at Grant Field for its following four games — Kent State (Sept. 12), Saint Louis (Sept. 13), Rutgers (Sept. 18), and Missouri State (Sept. 20).

HAWKEYES ON BTN
Throughout the 2015 season, two Hawkeye contests will be televised live on Big Ten Network — Iowa’s home contest against Michigan State (Oct. 16) and away matchup at Penn State (Oct. 23) –, while five additional matches will be streamed live on the BTN Plus. All four quarterfinal matches (Nov. 5) of the 2015 Big Ten Tournament, hosted by the University of Indiana, will be streamed on the BTN Plus. Both semifinal contests (Nov. 6) and the championship match (Nov. 8) can be seen live on BTN.

2014 IN REVIEW
In her first season as head coach of the Hawkeyes, Lisa Cellucci directed an Iowa team that ranked as high as seventh nationally and averaged more than three goals per game. Natalie Cafone and Stephanie Norlander earned NFHCA Division I All-American accolades, becoming the 86th and 87th Hawkeyes in program history to earn national distinction.

LINK UP WITH THE HAWKEYES
For an inside look at the Iowa field hockey program and to access exclusive coverage, “like” The University of Iowa Field Hockey Team on Facebook and follow @IowaFieldHockey on Twitter and Instagram.

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