THIS WEEK
The eighth-ranked University of Iowa field hockey team returns to Iowa City on Friday for its last regular season matchup against No. 3 Rutgers at 4 p.m. (CT). After the game, Iowa will recognize seniors Sammy Freeman, Mary Jane McNary, Kelly Rose, Sophie Stribos and Esme Gibson.
FOLLOW LIVE
• Friday’s game will be broadcast 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
• Iowa is ranked No. 8 in this week’s NFHCA poll. The Hawkeyes were ranked No. 1 for four weeks straight (Sept. 5 – Oct. 2) for the second time in program history (2021). Iowa has been ranked in 80 consecutive polls dating back to the 2016 season.
• The Hawkeyes ranks second in shutouts (8) and shutouts per game (.50). Iowa ranks third in scoring margin (2.25), fourth in goals against average (0.94), and fifth in goals per game (3.19), goals (51) and scoring average (3.19).
• The Hawkeye seniors being recognized on Friday have won 70 games, two Big Ten regular season championships and one Big Ten tournament title. They have competed in three NCAA Elite Eights and the 2021 NCAA final four.
• Freshman Dionne van Aalsum was named NFHCA Offensive Player of the Week on September 13. The Castricum, Netherlands, native was also named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week three times this season (Sept. 11, Sept. 18, Oct. 16) and Big Ten Freshman of the Week three times this season (Aug. 26, Sept. 5, Sept. 11). Van Aalsum ranks second in the nation with 24 goals, 54 points, 1.56 goals per game, and 3.44 points per game.
• Sophomore Mia Magnotta has recorded 56 saves and has been in goal the duration of the season including all of Iowa’s eight shutout victories. The Forty-Fort, Pennsylvania, native was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week on August 29 and NFHCA Division I Defensive Player of the week on August 30.
• 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’ have downed five ranked opponents this season – No. 12 Wake Forest, No. 1 North Carolina, No. 19 UAlbany, No. 14 Michigan, and No. 5 Louisville. Iowa is 5-4 against ranked foes.
• 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.
• Head coach Lisa Cellucci is in her tenth season at the helm of the Hawkeye field hockey program and her 24th season overall. Cellucci has been a part of 289 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.
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.
• 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.
SENIOR SPOTLIGHT
Hawkeye seniors – Sammy Freeman, Mary Jane McNary, Kelly Rose, Sophie Stribos and Esme Gibson – have won 70 games, two Big Ten regular season championships and one Big Ten tournament title. They have also competed in three NCAA Elite Eights and the 2021 NCAA final four in their time in black and gold.
• On the field, this class has earned two All-America, three all-region, two all-conference and two Big Ten all-tournament team honors.
• In the classroom, these scholars have accounted for 12 NFHCA national academic squad honors, 10 academic all-Big Ten selections, and multiple dean’s/president’s list honors.
IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Iowa is ranked No. 8 in this week’s NFHCA poll. The Hawkeyes have been ranked in 80 consecutive polls dating back to the 2016 season.
• The Hawkeyes were ranked No. 1 for four weeks in row earlier this season (Sept. 5 – Oct. 2). It was the second time in program history (2021) the Hawkeyes have been ranked No. 1 by the NFHCA.
DIONNE VAN AWESOME
Van Aalsum ranks second in the nation with 24 goals, 54 points, 1.56 goals per game, and 3.44 points per game.
• The Castricum, Netherlands, native was named NFHCA Offensive Player of the Week on September 13, Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week three times this season (Sept. 11, Sept. 18, Oct. 16) 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.
ALL ABOUT THE DEFENSE
Iowa has surrendered 15 goals in 16 games, and the Hawkeye defense has allowed 134 shots and 72 shots on goal.
• The Hawkeyes have recorded eight shutouts in 16 games, three being against ranked opponents. Iowa shutout No. 14 Michigan in its Big Ten opener.
• Iowa’s defense ranks second in the nation in shutouts (8) and shutouts per game (.50), and fourth in goals against average (0.94).
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 nine-for-16 in multi-goal games in collegiate career, and she has scored at least one goal is 12 games.
• 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 goal keeper Mia Magnotta has played the duration of all 16 games this season. She has only allowed 15 goals, tallied 57 saves, and has been part of eight Hawkeye shutouts. The Forty-Fort, Pennsylvania native tallied a career high eight saves against No. 2 Northwestern breaking her previous career high six saves she recorded in win over No. 1 North Carolina at the beginning of the season.
• Magnotta ranks fourth in the nation in goals against average (.94) and ninth in save percentage (.792).
• 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 36 assists on its 51 goals this season with eight different players tallying at least two assists. Six different Hawkeyes have at least four assists on the year.
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 has started in over 70 consecutive games.
• Senior Harper Dunne started in 65 consecutive games before a season ending injury.
CONSECUTIVE STARTS
Sofie Stribos – 74
Leive Schalk – 54
Esme Gibson – 30
Mia Magnotta – 19
Milly Short – 18
Dionne van Aalsum – 16
Gia Whalen – 16
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 RUTGERS
• Rutgers is ranked third in the NFHCA poll with an overall record of 15-1 and conference record of 6-1.
• The Scarlet Knights are coming off their lone loss of the season against Northwestern.
• Guillerm Causarano leads the team with 12 goals, seven assist, and 31 points.
SERIES RECORDS
• Iowa is 10-3-1 all-time against Rutgers.
• The Hawkeyes have won the last four contests against the Scarlet Knights. Iowa’s last loss came in 2018.
UP NEXT
Iowa travels to Ann Arbor, Michigan for the 2023 Big Ten Tournament on November 2nd.