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IOWA CITY, Iowa — No. 17 Hawkeyes defeated New Hampshire, 7-1, on Sunday afternoon at Grant Field. Sophomore Katie Birch recorded the second hat trick of her career in the victory.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Hawkeyes got on the board early, scoring in the second minute. Senior Taylor Omweg scored her first goal of the season, tipping in Birch’s shot of a penalty corner. Birch’s first goal came in the 33rd minute off of a penalty corner to give Iowa a, 2-0 lead. New Hampshire got on the board in the 34th minute to pull within one, 2-1, at the half.
Iowa scored five unanswered goals in the second half. Birch got her second goal of the day off a penalty stroke in the 36th minute, and completed the hat trick in the 43rd minute when she scored off a penalty corner. Freshman Madeleine Murphy also found the back of the cage twice in the second half, scoring in the 45th and 65th minute to secure the 7-1 victory for the Hawkeyes.
QUOTING HEAD COACH LISA CELLUCCI
“Today was a great effort from everyone on our team. We were dominant in our press with our team defense and we were 100 percent on our penalty corners, which is outstanding. This is the way we know this team can play and I’m happy that we showed it today.”
QUOTING KATIE BIRCH
“I was feeling really good today. Before each game we always ask who is going to score, and I raised my hand today and I said I will. We always practice our corners so it was good to be successful on all of them.”
NOTABLES
- Katie Birch’s hat trick marks the second of her career. Her first hat trick came against Saint Louis last year. Birch leads the Hawkeyes with nine goals on the season.
- Madeleine Murphy scored her first goal at Grant Field on Sunday. Murphy’s two goals mark the first multiple goal game of her career. The freshman is second in goals for the Hawkeyes with five.
- The Hawkeyes converted all five of their corners in the victory.
- Melissa Progar tallied her first goal of the season in the 41st minute off a penalty corner.
- Birch, Lucie Daman, Makeena Grewe, Murphy, and Ellie Holley all recorded assists in the win.
- Senior goalkeeper Katie Jones made two saves in her third victory of the season.
- The Hawkeyes registered 11 shots in the match. Birch and Murphy lead the way with four shots each.
UP NEXT FOR THE HAWKEYES
The Hawkeyes begin Big Ten play next weekend as they take on No. 3 Penn State at 5 p.m (CT) on Friday in University Park, Pennsylvania. Iowa then travels to Philadelphia to take on Penn at noon on Sunday.
