NOTES – No. 5 Iowa Hosts Big Ten Opener

THIS WEEK
The fifth-ranked University of Iowa field hockey team opens Big Ten Conference play, hosting Indiana on Friday at Grant Field to wrap up its five-game homestand. The game is set to start at 4 p.m. (CT) and it will be a Gold Out for Childhood Cancer. Admission is free.

FOLLOW LIVE
• Friday’s game will be streamed live on B1G+.
• Iowa field hockey fans can follow all contests via live stats on hawkeyesports.com. Game updates are also available on Twitter/@iowafieldhockey.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
• Iowa moved up one spot to fifth in the Penn Monto/NFHCA Coaches’ poll on Sept. 13 after winning five of its first six games to open the 2022 season. The Hawkeyes are outscoring their opposition, 20-4.
• Fifth-year senior Anthe Nijziel was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 12 — the sixth Big Ten weekly honor of her career.
• Iowa has posted three shutouts in its last four games. The Hawkeyes have allowed 11 shots (five shots on goal in their last four games. Iowa didn’t allow a shot or penalty corner in a 2-0 win over No. 22 UMASS on Sept. 11.
• The Hawkeyes are third in the Big Ten with 19 goals and second with 22 assists. Junior Alex Wesneski is second in the league with seven goals, while sophomore Annika Herbine is tied for the league lead with three game-winning goals.
• Iowa ranks third nationally in assists per game (3.67), fourth in shutouts per game (0.50), sixth in goals against average (0.79) and 10th in points per game (10.00). Wesneski is seventh nationally in goals per game (1.17), while Grace McGuire is seventh in goals against average (0.86).
• The Hawkeyes are 2-1 this season against ranked foes with wins over No. 20 Wake Forest and No. 22 UMASS. Iowa’s lone loss came against No. 2 North Carolina when the Tar Heels rallied from a 2-0 deficit to win 3-2 in overtime.
• The Hawkeyes return eight starters and 18 letterwinners from a team that finished 17-3, claimed an outright Big Ten title and advanced to the Elite Eight for the 19th time in program history in 2021.
• Head coach Lisa Cellucci is in her ninth season at the helm of the Hawkeye field hockey program and her 23rd season overall. Cellucci has been a part of 273 Iowa victories and in 2020, she led the program to the Final Four for the 12th time — the first since 2008. Iowa has posted double digit win totals in six of her eight seasons. The Hawkeyes have won three Big Ten titles (2019, 2019 (BTT), 2021) under her watch.
• Cellucci earned her third straight Big Ten Coach of the Year honor in 2021. She is the first coach in Big Ten history to be named Coach of the Year in three consecutive seasons.
• Iowa returns two-time Big Ten Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year Anthe Nijziel. The defender is the third player in Big Ten history to earn multiple Player of the Year honors.
• Iowa welcomes back three All-Americans (Nijziel, Grace McGuire and Esme Gibson), four NFHCA All-Region honorees (Nijziel, McGuire, Gibson, Lokke Stribos) and four All-Big Ten selections (Nijziel, McGuire, Stribos, Gibson).

CELLUCCI REACHES MILESTONE
Head coach Lisa Cellucci — the three-time reigning Big Ten Coach of the Year — earned her 100th career victory on Aug. 26 when the Hawkeyes downed No. 20 Wake Forest in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The ninth year head coach is the fourth Hawkeye head coach to reach this 100-win milestone.

IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
The Hawkeyes jumped one spot to No. 5 in the Week 4 Penn Monto/NFHCA National Division I rankings. Iowa was also ranked fifth in the preseason poll. The team has been ranked in 64 consecutive polls dating back to the 2016 season.
• Last season, Iowa finished the year ranked third after being ranked No. 1 for six straight weeks heading into the postseason. The team made its debut at No. 1 on Sept. 28, marking the first time in program history the team had been atop the NFHCA poll.

NOTHING DOING
The Hawkeyes held No. 22 UMASS without a shot or penalty corner in Iowa’s 2-0 victory on Sept. 11. It was the first time since the 2021 spring season against Michigan State that Iowa’s defense completely shut down the opposition.

WES-GOAL-SKI
Junior Alex Wesneski has scored in five of Iowa’s first six games of the 2022 season as she leads the team with seven goals entering Big Ten play. The seven strikes are second in the Big Ten and tied for second nationally.
• Wesneski posted back-to-back multi-goal games in wins over Boston and Saint Louis on Sept. 2 and Sept. 4. The multi-goal game was the third of Wesneski’s career (vs. Maryland, spring 2021). She is the first Hawkeye since Maddy Murphy to have back-to-back multi-goal games in the spring of 2021.
• Wesneski’s offensive outburst has nearly doubled her career scoring output. The Pennsylvania native had four goals entering the 2022 season.

ANNI & GAME WINNERS
Sophomore Annika Herbine has scored in four of Iowa’s six games this season, giving her five strikes — second-most on the team. Herbine has a team-best three game-winning goals (Wake Forest, Saint Louis and Providence), which are tied for the most in the Big Ten.
• Herbine had her first career multi-goal game against Providence College on Sept. 9 — a 3-1 Hawkeye win.
• Herbine is also Iowa’s top assister, as she has four assists this season.

STOUT DEFENSE
The Hawkeyes’ defense has been superb during its home stand, posting three shutouts in the four contests. Iowa has allowed just one goal on 11 shots in the four games with five being on goal.
• Iowa’s defense has given up five or fewer shots in 15 of the team’s last 26 games dating back to the 2021 season.

CIARA X 2
Senior Ciara Smith scored her first two goals of the season in Iowa’s 6-0 shutout win of Saint Louis on Sept. 4 at Grant Field. The Virginia native had a team-high 10 goals in 2021.
• It was Smith’s first career multi-goal game in the regular season. She scored twice last season in the NCAA Tournament win over American and two times in 2019 in the Sweet 16 win over Duke.

MCGUIRE IN GOAL
Fifth-year senior Grace McGuire has started 44 consecutive games for the Hawkeyes in goal. The Missouri native has won 35 games, posted 20 shutouts and made 103 saves during her career.
She has a 0.81 career goals against average.
• McGuire is 5-1 with a 0.86 goals against average with 17 saves and two shutouts in 2022. She made a career-high 11 saves against No. 2 North Carolina on Aug. 28.
• Last season McGuire made 46 saves in 20 games with an NCAA-best 11 shutouts. She had a program-record eight consecutive shutouts from Sept. 4-26.
• McGuire went 17-3 with a 0.75 goals against average and a 0.754 save percentage. She led the Big Ten and ranked second nationally in goals against average.
• The reigning All-American didn’t allow a goal in 561:03 minutes from the second quarter against No. 1 North Carolina on Aug. 29, 2021, to the fourth quarter of the Oct. 1 game at No. 6 Rutgers.

HELPING THE CAUSE
Iowa has 22 assists on its 19 goals in six games this season with 10 different players tallying at least one assists. Seven different Hawkeyes have at least two assists on the year. Iowa is third nationally as a team with 3.67 assists per game.

B1G PLAYERS TO WATCH
Three Hawkeyes — fifth-year seniors Anthe Nijziel and Lokke Stribos and senior Esme Gibson — have been named to the Big Ten Preseason Players to Watch List. It is the third straight season Nijziel and Stribos have been included on the list.

TEAM CAPTAINS
Iowa’s team captains for the 2022 season are seniors Anthe Nijziel, Leah Zellner and Esme Gibson and junior Ellie Flynn.

DEFENDING BIG TEN CHAMPS
The Hawkeyes claimed the outright Big Ten regular season title for the first time since 1999 during the 2021 season. It was the program’s second regular season title in three years and the 16th in program history.

THE B1G BEST RETURNS… AGAIN
Senior Anthe Nijziel added to her trophy collection in 2021 as the defender was named the NFHCA West Region Player of the Year, Big Ten Co-Player of the Year and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. It was her second straight year earning both Big Ten honors. She was also a NFHCA first-team All-American, and NFHCA first-team All-West Region and a unanimous first-team All-Big Ten selection.
• Nijziel was the third player and fourth Hawkeye to earn the NFHCA Regional Player of the Year accolade, joining Natalie Cafone (2014, 2016) and Katie Birch (2019).
• She was the third player in Big Ten history and third Hawkeye all-time to earn the Big Ten Player of the Year honor more than once, joining Liz Tchou (1986, 1987) and Kristy Gleason (1992, 1993).
• Nijziel was the second Hawkeye and eighth Big Ten student-athlete to earn multiple Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honors.

A STOUT D RETURNS
The Hawkeyes return three defenders — Anthe Nijziel, Harper Dunne and Lieve Schalk — and goalkeeper Grace McGuire from a defense that led the NCAA with 11 shutouts in 2021 — the most for the program since 1993 when it had 16 shutouts.
• The unit posted a program record eight consecutive shutouts from Sept. 4-26 where it surrendered just 12 shots on goal in the eight games.

THE “O”
The Hawkeyes return nine different players that scored at least one goal during the 2021 season, including leading goal scorer Ciara Smith. The Virginia native had a team-high 10 goals while playing primarily as a reserve forward a season ago.
• Iowa’s offense was prolific, scoring 66 goals in 20 games to tie for fourth nationally. The Hawkeyes scored three or more goals in 12 of their 20 games.

ROAD WARRIORS
The Hawkeyes finished the 2021 season with a 7-0 record away from Iowa City with victories at No. 5 Louisville, No. 6 Rutgers and No. 7 Maryland. The seven road wins were the most since 1999.
• Iowa has won eight consecutive road games dating back to the 2021 season.

THE INVITEES
Four Hawkeyes — Olivia Frazier, Annika Herbine, Jacey Wittel and Mia Magnotta — earned invitations to USA Field Hockey’s 2023 U-21 and Development Squad Selection Camp. The camp will take place in December 2022 or Jan. 2023.

EXPERIENCE GALORE
For a second straight year, the Hawkeyes boast a roster with 14 upperclassmen, including seven fifth-year seniors, three seniors and four juniors. Over the past four seasons, Iowa’s fifth-year seniors have won 64 games.
• Fifth-year seniors Anthe Nijziel and Lokke Stribos have started all 87 games of their Hawkeye careers. Three additional Hawkeyes — Sofie Stribos, Harper Dunne and Grace McGuire– have started 40 or more consecutive games.

CONSECUTIVE STARTS
Anthe Nijziel – 87
Lokke Stribos – 87
Sofie Stribos – 46
Harper Dunne – 44
Grace McGuire – 44
Leive Schalk – 26

A STORIED HISTORY
• The Hawkeyes have made 27 NCAA Tournament appearances in program history — the most of any school as a member of the Big Ten Conference.
• Iowa has made 12 NCAA Final Four appearances, including winning the 1986 NCAA Championship.
• The program’s 28 NCAA Tournament victories and 12 NCAA Final Fours are the most of any school as a member of the Big Ten Conference.

SCOUTING INDIANA
• Indiana enters the weekend with a 5-2 overall record. The Hoosiers are currently riding a five-game winning streak after posting two wins at home last weekend, downing Ball State (5-0) and Bellarmine (6-3).
• The Hoosiers have scored 19 goals in seven games, while surrendering 10 goals. Jemima Cookson leads the team with five strikes.
• Indiana opened its season with two losses, falling 1-0 in overtime against Kent State and 2-0 against No. 6 Liberty.

SERIES RECORDS
• Iowa leads the all-time series over Indiana, 24-7. The Hawkeyes have won six straight in the series dating back to 2016. Iowa has outscored the Hoosiers, 19-5, during the winning streak with three shutouts.
• Indiana’s last win came in 2015 in Bloomington, 3-1. The Hoosiers last win in Iowa City was in 2009 (2-1).

UP NEXT
Iowa will return to action on Sept. 23, traveling to Evanston, Illinois, for a top-five showdown against No. 1 Northwestern.