24 Hawkeyes to Watch 2018-19 | Hawkeye Fan Shop — A Black & Gold Store | WEEK 3 NOTES (PDF)
THIS WEEK
The 14th-ranked University of Iowa field hockey team travels to Durham, New Hampshire, to face Providence on Saturday and New Hampshire on Sunday. Both games are at 12 p.m. (CT).
FOLLOW ON THE WEB
Iowa field hockey fans can follow all contest via live stats on hawkeyesports.com. Click on the “Live Stats” link found on the field hockey schedule page to access the live stats feed.
WATCH LIVE
Sunday’s game against New Hampshire will be streamed live on http://americaeast.tv/.
SCOUTING PROVIDENCE
• The Providence Friars are 2-3 this season with wins over Brown (1-0) and Bryant University (4-1) in their last two games. Last season, Providence finished 11-8.
• Providence is led by Diane Madl, who is in her 17th season as head coach. Madl has gone 24-14 in the last two seasons and has advanced to the four-team Big East Championship eight of the last 12 seasons.
• Four different Friars have scored goals this season, while junior midfielder Allyson Parker leads the team with 13 shots.
• Lydia Rice, who has 13 saves in three games with seven goals allowed, is Providence’s primary goalkeeper.
• The Friars have netted five goals on 29 shots on goal and average 1.25 goals per game.
• Iowa is 6-0 all-time against Providence. The Hawkeyes last faced the Friars in 2011, resulting in a 4-1 Iowa victory.
SCOUTING NEW HAMPSHIRE
• The New Hampshire Wildcats are 1-2 this season. New Hampshire won its first game of the season, 3-2, over UMass, but the Wildcats have lost their last two games.
• New Hampshire is led by Robin Balducci, who is in her 28th season as head coach. Balducci is New Hampshire’s all-time winningest coach and was inducted in the NFHCA Hall of Fame in 2017. Balducci’s career record is 261-259-4 with a 99-66-2 conference record. She led the Wildcats to a 9-12 record last season.
• Four different Wildcats have scored goals this season, while goalkeeper Kelsey Rudert has made 15 saves in three games, while allowing 10 goals.
• Iowa is 12-2-1 against New Hampshire, dating back to 1980. The Hawkeyes went 1-1 against New Hampshire last year, winning the second matchup 7-1.
WEEKEND RECAP
The Hawkeyes went 2-0 on their home opening weekend, outscoring their opponents 13-1. On Friday against Dartmouth, Katie Birch registered her fourth career hat trick, while goalkeeper Leslie Speight recorded her first career shutout to lead Iowa to a 6-0 victory. On Sunday against Ball State, Iowa scored six first-half goals and Sophie Sunderland registered her first career hat trick to beat the Cardinals, 7-1.
BACK-TO-BACK HAT TRICKS
Juniors Katie Birch and Sophie Sunderland registered hat tricks in back-to-back games this past weekend. Birch’s fourth career hat trick came against Dartmouth in Iowa’s 7-0 win. Birch completed her hat trick in the 54th minute. Sunderland’s hat trick came in the first 20 minutes of action against Ball State. Two of Sunderland’s goals came off deflections.
HAWKEYE HIGHLIGHTS
• Iowa moved up six spots to No. 14 in the Penn Monto/NFHCA Rankings.
• The Hawkeyes scored six or more goals in back-to-back games for the third time in the last five years.
• Junior goalkeeper Leslie Speight is 3-1 on the season with 23 saves — the second most in the Big Ten. Speight’s .852 save percentage is also the second best in the Big Ten.
• Sophomore Maddy Murphy leads the team in points (12) with four goals and four assists.
• Birch and Murphy have four goals apiece, best for the second most in the Big Ten.
• Sophomore Ellie Holley was credited with three assists against Dartmouth on Aug. 31, which was two shy of Iowa’s single game record.
• Four Hawkeyes — Sunderland, Birch, Murphy, and Makenna Grewe — have scored at least two goals on the season.
• All seven freshmen — Meghan Conroy, Anthe Nijziel, Lokke Stribos, Leah Zellner, Makenna Maguire, Cat Nicholson, and Ciara Smith — have seen action this season.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
• Iowa is outscoring opponents 16-4 this season.
• Of Iowa’s 68 shots this season, 48 have been on goal for a .706 shot on goal percentage. Thirty-eight of Iowa’s 68 shots have come in the first half.
• The Hawkeyes have averaged 17 shots per game, while holding opponents to 10.2 shots per game on average.
NATIONALLY SPEAKING
Seven Big Ten schools — No. 3 Maryland, No. 5 Penn State, No. 7 Michigan, No. 9 Northwestern, No. 14 Iowa, No, 22 Ohio State, and No. 23 Rutgers — are ranked in the latest Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll. The Hawkeyes are set to face nine top-25 ranked opponents in the regular season.
B1G PRESEASON HONORS
• Katie Birch, Maddy Murphy, and Sophie Sunderland earned preseason All-Big Ten recognition, announced by the conference on Aug. 20.
• Birch, a junior midfielder, started all 18 games in 2017. She scored a team-leading 14 goals — the third most in the Big Ten — and recorded eight assists for a total of 36 points. The York, England, native registered two hat-tricks in route to NFHCA third team All-America honors, NFHCA first team All-West Region honors, and first team All-Big Ten honors last season.
• Murphy, a sophomore forward, started all 18 games last season. She led the team with three game-winning goals and was second on the team with 11 goals and 25 points. In games against New Hampshire and Northwestern, she scored two goals. Last season, she was an NFHCA second team All-West Regional selection, second team All-Big Ten selection, and was named to the NFHCA Division I National Academic Squad.
• Sunderland, a junior midfielder, started all 18 games and scored four goals on 10 shots, best for third on the team. The Ipswich, England, native has started all 37 games of her career.
ROZ ELLIS RETURNS
Former two-time first team All-Big Ten selection and three-time Big Ten Tournament Champion, Roz Ellis, is back with the Hawkeyes as an assistant coach. Ellis started all 83 games of her career, scored 14 goals, and recorded 11 assists from 2005-08. Ellis was an assistant coach at five different schools before returning to her alma mater. As a senior and team captain in 2008, Ellis anchored a Hawkeye defense that reached the Final Four, which was Iowa’s first appearance since 1999.
4 HAWKEYES SELECTED FOR YOUNG WOMEN’S NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
• Sophomores Mya Christopher, Nikki Freeman, Emily Deuell, and Grace McGuire were selected to compete at the 2018 Young Women’s National Championships from June 25-29.
• The Young Women’s National Championship is a high-level, international structured competition that serves as the selection avenue to the Junior National Camps, U.S. U-21 Women’s National Team and the U.S. Women’s National Development Squad Camp.
BIRCH COMPETE INTERNATIONALLY
Junior Katie Birch, a York, England, native, competed for the England U21 National Team in a series against Ireland in Belfast, Ireland in mid August. Birch was selected to the national team after participating in a development training camp. England won the series.
LOOKING AHEAD
Iowa returns home next week for Alumni Weekend. The Hawkeyes face Penn on Friday, Sept. 14 at 2:30 p.m. (CT) and Indiana on Sunday, Sept. 16 at 12 p.m. (CT). Admission is free. Saturday’s game will be streamed on BTN Plus, while Sunday’s game will be televised on BTN.
LINK UP WITH THE HAWKEYES
For an inside look at the Iowa field hockey program, “like” The University of Iowa Field Hockey Team on Facebook and follow @IowaFieldHockey on Twitter and Instagram.
