NOTES – No. 3 Iowa Set for Top 5 Matchup

THIS WEEK
The third-ranked University of Iowa field hockey team continues Big Ten play in Iowa City welcoming #2 Northwestern on Friday at 3 p.m. (CT). Friday’s top-five matchup will be the Hawks Supporting Hawkeyes game.

FOLLOW LIVE
• Friday’s games will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.
• 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. 3 in this week’s NFHCA poll. The Hawkeyes were previously ranked No. 1 for four weeks in a row for the second time in program history (2021). Iowa has been ranked in 77 consecutive polls dating back to the 2016 season.
• No. 3 Iowa leads the nation in goals (45), goals per game (4.09), goals against average (0.55), points (123), points per game (11.18), scoring average (4.09), and scoring margin (3.55). The Hawkeyes rank second in shutouts (7), shutouts per game (.64), and goals allowed (6), third in winning percentage (.909), and fifth in assists per game (3.00) and assists (33).
• 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 has only allowed six goals this season and has recorded 22 saves. She has been in goal the duration of the season including all of Iowa’s seven shutout victories.
• 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 288 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.

IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Iowa is ranked No. 3 in this week’s NFHCA poll. The Hawkeyes have been ranked in 77 consecutive polls dating back to the 2016 season.
• The Hawkeyes were ranked No. 1 for four weeks in a row previous to this week. It is the second time in program history the Hawkeyes have been ranked No. 1 (2021) by the NFHCA.

ALL ABOUT THE DEFENSE
Iowa has surrendered six goals in 11 games, and the Hawkeye defense has only allowed 72 shots and 29 shots on goal.
• The Hawkeyes have recorded seven shutouts in eleven games, three being against ranked opponents. Iowa shutout No. 14 Michigan in its Big Ten opener.
• Iowa’s defense leads the nation in goals against average (0.55) and ranks second nationally in shutouts (7), shutouts per game (.64), and goals allowed (6).

DIONNE VAN-AWESOME
Freshman Dionne van Aalsum leads the nation with 23 goals, 50 points, 2.09 goals per game, and 4.55 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 ten-for-11 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 11 games this season. She has only allowed six goals, tallied 22 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 second 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 33 assists on its 45 goals this season with eight different players tallying at least two assist. Six different Hawkeyes have at least three assists on the year. The Hawkeyes rank fifth nationally in assists per game (3.00) and assists (33).

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 67 consecutive games.
• Senior Harper Dunne started in 65 consecutive games before a season ending injury.

CONSECUTIVE STARTS
Sofie Stribos – 69
Leive Schalk – 49

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 NORTHWESTERN
• Northwestern is ranked 2nd in the NFHCA poll.
• The Wildcats are 11-1 overall and 4-0 in Big Ten play.
• Senior Peyton Halsey and sophomore Maja Zivojnovic lead the team in scoring with nine goals a piece.
• Northwestern ranks second nationally, behind Iowa, in goals against average (.58).

SERIES RECORDS
• Iowa is 57-28-6 all-time against Northwestern.
• The Hawkeyes shutout the No. 1 Wildcats in last year’s regular season game before falling to the Wildcats in an Elite Eight shootout battle.

UP NEXT
Iowa continues Big Ten play facing Indiana at 2 p.m. on October 13th in Bloomington, Indiana.