No. 6 Iowa Field Hockey Shutout No. 19 Nittany Lions on Senior Day

IOWA CITY, Iowa — The sixth-ranked University of Iowa field hockey team secured a 1-0 shutout victory over No. 19 Penn State on Sunday afternoon at Grant Field.

“I think we did a really good job keeping possession,” said head coach Lisa Cellucci “Defensively what we talked about was just collective pressure, sliding as a unit, and making sure we only had one cover. And we did a much better job at that today, because they they really catch teams in transition, and I thought we limited the transition.”

After a scoreless first half that saw both defenses hold firm, the Hawkeyes broke through early in the third quarter. Dionne van Aalsum netted her 17th goal of the season at the 31:33 mark, converting off an assist from Amber Millard-Smith on a penalty corner to give Iowa the decisive 1-0 advantage.

Penn State pushed for the equalizer late in regulation, earning consecutive penalty corners in the final minute, but Iowa's defense and goalkeeper Julia Claessens stood tall to preserve the clean sheet. Claessens finished with three saves to earn the shutout victory in goal.

With the win, Iowa improved to 12-3 overall and 4-3 in Big Ten play, while Penn State fell to 11-5 overall and 5-2 in conference action.

Of Note

• Claessens is now 6-2 in goal for the Hawkeyes.
• The shutout was the first of Claessens' career.
• Van Aalsum scored her 17th goal of the season.
• Iowa outshot Penn State, 15-7.

Up Next

The Hawkeyes return to action Friday, Oct. 30, against Maryland at noon CT in College Park, Maryland. The game will be streamed on B1G+.