THIS WEEK
The 11th-ranked University of Iowa field hockey team will face third-ranked Northwestern in the Elite Eight on Sunday afternoon. The game is set to start at 1 p.m. (CT) at Lakeside Field in Evanston, Illinois.
• A win would send the Hawkeyes to their 13th Final Four in program history and second in three seasons.
FOLLOW LIVE
• Sunday’s game will be streamed live on B1G+. The stream will be available free of charge.
• 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
• The Hawkeyes have punched their ticket to the Elite Eight four consecutive years and for the 21st time in program history.
• Iowa will face Northwestern for a third straight season in the NCAA quarterfinals. The Wildcats won last season courtesy of a 60th-minute goal and Iowa was victorious in the spring 2021 season, winning 3-1. The Hawkeyes have faced the Wildcats 12 times in NCAA Tournament play.
• The Hawkeyes downed Northwestern, 2-0, on Sept. 23 at Lakeside Field. The loss was the Wildcats’ first of the season and came when Northwestern was ranked No. 1 in the nation.
• The Hawkeyes made their fifth straight and 27th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history — the most of any team as a member of the Big Ten Conference.
• Iowa is ranked 11th in the Week 10 Penn Monto/NFHCA Coaches’ poll on Nov. 8. It is the first time this season the Hawkeyes have fallen outside of the top 10 of the national rankings.
• Fifth-year seniors Anthe Nijziel and Lokke Stribo made their 100th consecutive start against No. 5 Virginia on Friday in the NCAA Tournament.
• Three Hawkeyes — Anthe Nijziel (first-team), Lokke Stribos (second-team) and Esme Gibson (second-team) earned All-Big Ten recognition for the 2022 season.
• Nijziel earned NFHCA Division I Defensive Player of the Week and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors for her play in Iowa’s 1-0 win against Michigan State on Oct. 28. It was Nijziel’s second Big Ten honor this season (seventh of her career) and her third career national honor.
• The Hawkeyes earned four Big Ten weekly honors during the regular season – Grace McGuire (Defensive, Sept. 26) and Alex Wesneski (Offensive, Sept. 26).
• The Hawkeyes are 6-7 against nationally ranked opponents in 2022.
• Iowa won its 10th game of the season with its 2-1 come-from-behind win over No. 17 James Madison on Oct. 9. It is the sixth straight year and the seventh time in head coach Lisa Cellucci’s tenure that Iowa has reached the 10-win mark.
• Iowa is outscoring its opponents, 40-21, this season.
• The Hawkeyes have posted six shutouts this season. Iowa didn’t allow a shot or penalty corner in a 2-0 win over No. 22 UMASS on Sept. 11.
• 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 280 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 seven of her nine 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
