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IOWA CITY, Iowa — The eighth-ranked University of Iowa field hockey team defeated No. 24 Michigan State, 5-0, at Grant Field on Sunday. The Hawkeyes improve to 7-2 on the season and 2-0 in conference play.
HOW IT HAPPENED
In their second Big Ten Conference matchup of the weekend, the Hawkeyes came out strong early in the first period with a goal from junior Ellie Holley. The fourth-minute, unassisted goal propelled Iowa into a succession of scoring drives later in the first half.
Sophomore Lokke Stribos was the next Hawkeye to strike, scoring on a corner play after an assist from senior Katie Birch. Just before half, Holley furthered the lead with her second goal of the match in the 29th minute.
Iowa came out of halftime ready to play, making an aggressive push in the third period. The team put up 13 shots on goal. Junior Maddy Murphy scored in the 37th minute, and Holley earned her first hat trick with a goal in the 38th minute. The back to back goals pushed Iowa’s lead to 5, which the team held the rest of the match.
“It was great to get a good win,” Holley said. “We passed the ball and played well and had great transitions on defense. It was a good team effort. The hat trick felt awesome, but my teammates were the ones who passed me the ball. It’s great to start in the Big Ten.”
HEARING FROM HEAD COACH LISA CELLUCCI
On Ellie Holley’s play…
“Ellie was great today. She capitalized on her opportunities in the circle, and tried to keep the ball low to work the goalkeeper on both sides. She did a great job doing that. She was fantastic.”
On starting 2-0 in the Big Ten…
“That was our goal, to start 2-0. We’ve got a long and intense season ahead of us. We wanted to defend Grant Field which we did very well. Now we’re on to Rutgers.”
NOTABLES
Holley’s hat trick is the first of her career and the second hat trick for the team this season.
Iowa dominated the Spartans statistically, putting up 32 shots to Michigan State’s seven, allowing only four Spartan players to get a shot off.
UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes are home again next weekend, hosting Rutgers on Friday, Oct. 4 at 2 p.m. (CT) and UC Davis on Sunday, Oct. 6 at 12 p.m. (CT). Admission is free.
