THIS WEEK
The top-ranked University of Iowa field hockey team returns to Iowa City to continue Big Ten play. The Hawkeyes will host Ohio State at 3 p.m. (CT) on Friday before welcoming Michigan State to Iowa City at noon on Sunday. Friday’s matchup will be a black out and Sunday’s contest will be a pink out.
FOLLOW LIVE
• Both Friday and Sunday’s games will be live streamed on B1G+.
• Iowa field hockey fans can follow all contests via live stats on hawkeyesports.com. Game updates are also available on X/@iowafieldhockey.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
• The Hawkeyes are ranked No. 1 in this week’s NFHCA poll for the fourth week in a row. It is the second time in program history the Hawkeyes have been ranked No. 1 (2021) by the NFHCA. Iowa has been ranked in 76 consecutive polls dating back to the 2016 season.
• No. 1 Iowa leads the nation in winning percentage (1.000), shutouts (7), shutouts per game (.78), scoring margin (4.23), scoring average (4.56), goals (41), goals per game (4.56), goals allowed (3), goals against average (0.33), and points per game (12.33). The Hawkeyes rank third in assists per game (3.22) and fourth in assists (29).
• Sophomore Mia Magnotta was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week on August 29 and NFHCA Division I Defensive Player of the week on August 30. She recorded her 18th save and seventh shutout in the Hawkeye’s Big Ten Opener against Michigan.
• Freshman Dionne van Aalsum was named NFHCA Offensive Player of the Week on September 13. She was also named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week twice this season (Sept. 11, Sept. 18) and Big Ten Freshman of the Week three times this season (Aug. 26, Sept. 5, Sept. 11).
• Iowa has defeated the top-ranked team in three straight seasons (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).
• The Hawkeyes return seven starters and 14 letterwinners from a team that finished 12-8, advancing to the Elite Eight for the 21st time in program history in 2022.
• 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.
• Fifth-year senior Esme Gibson (second-team) earned All-Big Ten recognition for the 2022 season.
• Head coach Lisa Cellucci is in her tenth season at the helm of the Hawkeye field hockey program and her 24rd season overall. Cellucci has been a part of 287 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 eight of her ten 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.
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
• The Hawkeyes are 29-27 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
• Iowa has qualified for five straight NCAA Tournaments — the longest streak since making a school record 15 consecutive tournaments from 1982-96.
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, 2022 when the Hawkeyes downed No. 20 Wake Forest in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The tenth year head coach is the fourth Hawkeye head coach to reach this 100-win milestone.
TOP OF THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
The Hawkeyes are ranked first in the Week 1 Penn Monto/NFHCA National Division I rankings for the fourth week in a row. The team has been ranked in 76 consecutive polls dating back to the 2016 season.
• In 2021, Iowa was 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.
ALL ABOUT THE DEFENSE
Iowa has surrendered three goals in nine games, and the Hawkeye defense has only allowed 54 shots and 18 shots on goal.
• The Hawkeyes have recorded seven shutouts in nine games, three being against ranked opponents. Iowa most recently shutout No. 14 Michigan in its Big Ten opener.
• Iowa’s defense leads the nation in shutouts (7), shutouts per game (.78), goals allowed (3), and goals against average (0.33).
DIONNE VAN-AWESOME
Freshman Dionne van Aalsum leads the nation with 21 goals, 46 points, 2.33 goals per game, and 5.11 points per game.
• The Castricum, Netherlands, native was named NFHCA Offensive Player of the Week on September 13. She was also named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week twice this season (Sept. 11, Sept. 18) and Big Ten Freshman of the Week three times this season (Aug. 26, Sept. 5, Sept. 11).
• She scored eight goals in wins over Western Michigan and UMass Lowell to became the first Hawkeye to record a hat trick since Maddy Murphy vs. Indiana in 2019 and the first Hawkeye with four goals in a game since Kim Scraper vs Brown in 2016.
DOWN GOES NO. 1 FOR THE THIRD STRAIGHT SEASON
Freshman Lieve van Kessel’s first career goal in overtime sent the seventh-ranked University of Iowa field hockey team to an upset victory over top ranked North Carolina, 3-2, on the Tar Heels home turf on August 27, 2023. Dionne van Aalsum was the key player in sending the matchup into overtime after scoring her second goal of the game with six minutes left in regulation.
• This was the Hawkeyes’ first win against UNC in Chapel Hill.
• This is the second time in program history that Iowa went 2-0 in ACC/Big Ten Challenge (since 2002).
• This was only North Carolina’s third loss in Karen Shelton Stadium which opened in 2018.
• This was the first loss for the Tar Heels since November 2021, and their first regular season loss since October 2021.
• The Hawkeyes have downed the No. 1 team in the nation three years in a row (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).
• Prior to 2021, Iowa hadn’t defeated a No. 1 ranked team since 2008. The win snapped Northwestern’s 12-game winning streak dating back to last season.
FRESHMAN, FRESHMAN, FRESHMAN
• Six of Iowa’s seven goals in opening weekend were scored by freshmen, including all three against No. 1 North Carolina.
• The three-time Big Ten Freshman Player of the Week Dionne van Aalsum has gone eight-for-nine in multi-goal games in collegiate career.
• Freshman Miranda Jackson has recorded two goals against ranked foes, No. 12 Wake Forest and No. 14 Michigan. She has recorded four goals this season ranking second in the Hawkeye offense.
• Freshman Rachel Herbine recorded her first career goals and first multi-goal game against Merrimack College.
• Freshman Lieve van Kessel’s first career goal was in overtime against the No. 1 Tar Heels.
MAGNOTTA IN GOAL
Sophomore goalie Mia Magnotta has played the duration of all nine games this season. She has only allowed three goals, tallied 18 saves, and has been part of seven Hawkeye shutouts. The Forty-Fort, Pennsylvania native tallied a career high six saves against No. 1 North Carolina in her fifth career start.
• Magnotta ranks first in the nation in goals against average (.33) and third in save percentage (.857).
• Magnotta was Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week on August 29 and NFHCA Division I Defensive Player of the Week on August 30.
IRON HAWKS
Four returning Hawkeye position players played the duration of last season and rarely leave the field — Harper Dunne, Esme Gibson, Sofie Stribos, and Lieve Schalk.
HELPING THE CAUSE
Iowa has 29 assists on its 41 goals this season with eight different players tallying at least one assist. Seven different Hawkeyes have at least two assists on the year. The Hawkeyes rank third nationally in assists per game (3.22) and fourth nationally in assists (29).
EXPERIENCE GALORE
• For a third straight year, the Hawkeyes boast a roster with 14 upperclassmen, including two fifth-year seniors, five seniors and six juniors.
• Fifth-year senior Sofie Stribos and senior Harper Dunne have started in 60 or more consecutive games.
CONSECUTIVE STARTS
Sofie Stribos – 67
Harper Dunne – 65
Leive Schalk – 47
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 30 NCAA Tournament victories and 12 NCAA Final Fours are the most of any school as a member of the Big Ten Conference.
SCOUTING OHIO STATE
• Ohio State is ranked 11th in the NFHCA poll.
• The Buckeyes are 9-2 overall and 2-1 in Big Ten play.
• Makenna Webster leads the team with 32 points tallying 13 goals and six assists. Julie Rodijk and Brenna Bough follow with 14 points, six goals, and two assists a piece.
SCOUTING MICHIGAN STATE
• Michigan State is not ranked in the NFHCA poll.
• The Spartans are 3-5 overall and 1-1 in Big Ten play. The most recent wins have both been shutouts – Indiana 1-0 and Central Michigan 3-0.
• Emma O’Neill leads the team with six points tallying three goals.
SERIES RECORDS
• Iowa is 20-5 all-time against Ohio State and 24-7 all-time against Michigan State.
• The Hawkeyes have won the last nine contest against the Spartans dating back to 2014.
• The Hawkeyes have won nine of the last 10 games against the Buckeyes. Their most recent loss came last year, 0-2, in Columbus.
UP NEXT
Iowa continues Big Ten play in Iowa City hosting Northwestern at 3 p.m. on October 6.