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IOWA CITY, Iowa — The sixth-ranked University of Iowa field hockey team travels to face No. 2 Maryland (Friday, 3 p.m. CT.) in College Park, Maryland. and Penn State (Sunday, 11 a.m. CT.) in University Park, Pennsylvania, this weekend.
FOLLOW ON THE WEB
• Iowa field hockey fans can follow all contests via live stats on hawkeyesports.com. Click on the “Live Stats” link found on the field hockey schedule page.
• Fans can also follow @IowaFieldHockey on Twitter for live in-game updates.
• Friday’s game will be streamed live on BTN+ (subscription), and Sunday’s game will be televised on BTN.
WEEKEND RECAP
• No. 7 Iowa extended its winning streak to five games after defeating No. 18 Rutgers, 2-1, and UC Davis, 3-1, at Grant Field last weekend, improving its overall record, 9-2 (3-0). It’s the second straight season Iowa has had a winning streak of at least five games.
• Sophomore Leah Zellner continued her hot streak, netting four goals in the last three games. The sophomore posted one goal each against Rutgers and UC Davis.
• Against Rutgers, Lokke Stribos and Leah Zellner scored Iowa’s two goals. Each team notched four corners, and the Hawkeyes shot eight shots to Rutgers’ seven. Sophomore Grace McGuire made her first start of the season in goal, accumulating three saves.
• Against UC Davis, the Hawkeyes dominated possession through four periods. Iowa put up 24 shots to UC Davis’ solo shot, and totaled five corners to the Aggies’ one. Leah Zellner, junior Nikki Freeman, and sophomore Anthe Nijziel each tallied a goal in the win. Senior Katie Birch, junior Ellie Holley, and Lokke Stribos each recorded an assist.
SCOUTING NO. 2 MARYLAND (11-1, 3-0)
• Maryland is 11-1 (3-0) on the season, facing top-25 competition against No. 13 Boston College (W, 3-1), No. 3 Duke (L, 0-1), No. 6 Virginia (W, 3-2), No. 24 Penn State (W, 3-1), No. 10 Princeton (W, 4-3), No. 18 Rutgers (W, 2-1), No. 5 Northwestern (W, 2-1), and No. 3 UConn (W, 2-0).
• Sophomore Linda Cobano leads the team in goals (7) and freshman Bibi Donraadt leads the team in assists (5).
• Senior goalkeeper Noelle Frost has 38 saves on the season.
• Maryland’s coaching staff is headed by Missy Meharg, who is in her 32nd season, leading the team to seven national titles (1993, 1999, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011) and 25 total conference titles. The program has won four of the last five Big Ten Conference titles.
IOWA VS. MARYLAND — THE SERIES
• The Hawkeyes trail 3-14-1 in the series all-time against Maryland. Iowa is 0-4 against Maryland in College Park.
• Iowa’s last matchup against Maryland came in last season’s Big Ten Tournament title game. The Hawkeyes nearly clawed their way back from a 2-0 deficit, but fell 2-1.
SCOUTING PENN STATE (2-8, 1-1)
• Penn State holds a record of 2-8, facing top-25 opponents No. 3 Duke (L, 4-1), No. 11 Virginia (L, 2-1), No. 16 Delaware (L, 3-1), No. 5 Princeton (L, 2-1), No. 3 Maryland (L, 3-1), and No. 6 Louisville (L, 3-0).
• Sophomore Anna Simon leads the Nittany Lions in goals (6). Grace Wallis and Paityn Wirth are tied with three assists, followed by Simon, Alexis Horst, and Abby Myers who have two assists.
• Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Brie Barraco has accumulated 51 saves this season, with a 62% save percentage, which ranks second to last in the Big Ten.
• Head coach Charlene Morett-Curtiss enters her 33rd season at the helm for Penn State, her 36th overall season as a coach. In her time, she has posted a 529-210-17 overall record. Morett-Curtiss also boasts 33 NCAA Tournament appearances and three Big Ten Conference titles in the last eight years.
IOWA VS. PENN STATE — THE SERIES
• Iowa leads a tight series 27-25-1 against the Nittany Lions since its initial meeting in 1981.
• The last matchup between the two programs came in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament last year, where the Hawkeyes posted a 3-2 victory against a then No. 7 Penn State team in University Park, Pennsylvania, to advance to the semifinals. It was Iowa’s second victory over Penn State on the season after also taking the regular season matchup 3-2 at Grant Field.
WHERE THEY’RE RANKED
• Iowa not only ranks sixth nationally, but holds high marks among statistical categories across the NCAA.
• Iowa holds top ten stats in scoring margin (4th), scoring average (6th), points per game (6th), goals per game (6th), total assists (8th), and least goals against (9th).
• Iowa sits in second place of the Big Ten standings (3-0), and lead the conference in points (107) and goals (39).
• The Hawkeyes rank second in the Big Ten in assists (29) and shots (215).
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
• Seniors Sophie Sunderland and Katie Birch, junior Maddy Murphy, and sophomore Leah Zellner lead the team in goals (5), followed junior Ellie Holley and sophomores Anthe Nijziel and Lokke Stribos with four. Five additional Hawkeyes have multiple goals.
• Twelve Hawkeyes have scored at least one goal this season.
• Birch leads the team and ranks second in the Big Ten in assists (8), followed by Maddy Murphy (6), and Ellie Holley (4).
• Birch also ranks fourth in the Big Ten in points (18) and sixth in shots (37), while Murphy ranks sixth in points (31) and 10th in shots (31).
• Two Hawkeyes have recorded hat tricks this season including Sunderland and Holley. Sunderland recorded hers in the 11-0 win against Central Michigan and Holley’s was against Michigan State in Iowa’s 5-0 win.
• Senior goalkeeper Leslie Speight has 20 saves this season and has allowed only 10 goals in nine games. Sophomore Grace McGuire recorded four saves in her start over No. 18 Rutgers.
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE
• Iowa is 7-1 at Grant Field this season with its only loss coming to No. 2 Duke in double overtime.
• Since 1989, the Hawkeyes own a 244-72 overall record at home, and a 72-33 conference record at home.
B1G COMPETITION
• The Big Ten Conference boasts six ranked programs in the latest 2019 Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll: No. 2 Maryland, No. 6 Iowa, No. 8 Northwestern, No. 11 Michigan, No. 18 Ohio State, and No. 19 Rutgers.
ROSTER AT A GLANCE
• The Hawkeyes return 18 letterwinners from last season.
• Ten of Iowa’s 18 letterwinners saw action in all 21 contests during the 2018 season.
• Iowa welcomes four freshman, including Amy Gaiero, Sofie Stribos, Esme Gibson, and Ellie Flynn.
LOOKING AHEAD
Iowa travels for another road weekend, this time facing Indiana in Bloomington on Friday, Oct. 18 at 2 p.m. (CT) and No. 5 Lousiville in Kentucky on Sunday, Oct. 20 at 12 p.m. (CT). The matchup at Indiana will be televised on BTN.
