IOWA CITY, Iowa – Two University of Iowa field hockey student-athletes earned Big Ten Conference weekly recognition it was announced Tuesday. Freshman Dionne van Aalsum was named Freshman Player of the Week, while sophomore Mia Magnotta is the Defensive Player of the Week. It is the first time either have received this honor.
The duo earned the distinction after leading the Hawkeyes in an undefeated opening weekend at the ACC/B1G Challenge, which included a shutout victory over No. 12 Wake Forest and a 3-2 overtime victory at No. 1 North Carolina. It was the third straight year that Iowa has knocked off the No. 1 ranked opponent (3-1 vs. No. 1 North Carolina in 2021, 2-0 vs. No. 1 Northwestern in 2022 and 3-2 vs. No. 1 North Carolina in 2023).
Van Aalsum earned this honor recording back-to-back multi-goal games in the first two games of her collegiate career. She found the back of the net twice in a 4-0 win against Wake Forest. The Castricum, Netherlands native was the key player in sending the matchup against North Carolina into overtime after scoring her second goal of the game with six minutes left in regulation.
Magnotta posted both wins in goal, recording her first shutout of her career vs. Wake Forest. The Forty-Fort, Pennsylvania native tallied a career high six saves against No. 1 North Carolina in her fifth career start.
No. 7 Iowa will travel to Albany, New York on Friday to face Fairfield at 1 p.m. (CT).