Notes: Week 11 Vs. Duke (NCAA Tournament)

THIS WEEK
The seventh-seeded University of Iowa field hockey team heads to College Park, Maryland this week. The Hawkeyes will face Duke in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament on Friday, Nov. 13, at 1:30 p.m. (CT). 

FOLLOW LIVE
• The game will be streamed on ESPN+ (subscription required).
• Iowa field hockey fans can follow all contests via live stats on hawkeyesports.com.  Game updates are also available on X/@iowafieldhockey.

IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Iowa is ranked No. 7 in the Week 11 NFHCA poll. The Hawkeyes have appeared in 114 consecutive polls dating back to 2016.

SERIES RECORD
• The Hawkeyes are 3-7 against Duke since the teams first met in 1986.
• The teams met once in 2025 with Iowa falling to Duke in the Sweet Sixteen, 2-1. 
• Iowa holds a one-goal advantage, 21-20 over the Blue Devils going back to 1986.
• The two teams are tied 2-2 when playing at neutral sites.

SCOUTING DUKE
• The Blue Devils are 12-5 this season.
• They are currently ranked seventh in the NFHCA poll
• Duke went 6-2 this season during ACC play.
• Fifth-year Alaina McVeigh leads the team with eight goals this season and three game winners.
• Goalkeeper Kaiya Chepow has allowed 22 goals and made 47 saves while posting six shutouts.

NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
•The Hawkeyes have made 30 NCAA Tournament appearances — the most of any school as a member of the Big Ten Conference — and have reached 12 NCAA Final Fours, including winning the 1986 NCAA Championship.
• Iowa is 30-29 all-time in NCAA Tournament play. The program’s 30 NCAA Tournament victories and 12 Final Four appearances are the most of any Big Ten school.

DYNAMIC  DUO
Fréderique van Cleef and Dionne van Aalsum have been on fire this season, combining for 37 goals and 11 assists through 18 games with an impressive .622 SOG%.
• Van Cleef is tied for second in the nation in goals per game with 1.06 and points per game (2.56). 
• Van Aalsum averages 1.00 goals per game and is fourth in the nation. She also averages 2.17 points per game and is ninth in the nation.

COMEBACK KIDS
The Hawkeyes have authored six comeback victories this season. Iowa erased a three-goal deficit against No. 7 Wake Forest with less than 18 minutes remaining and rallied for a 4-3 double-overtime victory. Two days later, the Hawkeyes overcame a 2-0 deficit to defeat No. 2 North Carolina, 3-2. Against Miami (Ohio), Iowa entered the fourth quarter trailing 1-0 before scoring the tying goal with 9:09 remaining and the game-winner, with 5:04 left. Against Ohio State, Iowa trailed 2-1 at halftime before winning 3-2. At Michigan State, Iowa trailed 3-2 with 11 minutes left in the game before scoring back-to-back goals to win 4-3. Iowa fell behind Penn State, 1-0 in the Big Ten quarterfinals before scoring two unanswered goals to win 2-1.

B1G POSTSEASON AWARDS
• Fréderique van Cleef and Dionne van Aalsum were both named unanimous first-team All-B1G, as well as being named to the B1G All-Tournament Team. 
• Second-year Jordan Byers was also named to the first-team All-B1G
• Fourth-year Gia Whalen and second-year Tea Fortpied were named to the second-team All-B1G
• Reine van Hoof notched a spot on the B1G All-Freshman Team
• Rounding out the B1G postseason awards, second-year Niamh De Jong brought home the Sportsmanship Award.

B1G HONORS
Four Hawkeyes have collected Big Ten honors so far this season: Fréderique van Cleef, Dionne van Aalsum, Reine van Hoof and Julia Claessens.
• Van Cleef was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week three times.
• Van Aalsum has claimed Offensive Player of the Week once this year.
• Claessens has notched two Big Ten Freshman of the Week awards so far. 
• Van Hoof has notched one Big Ten Freshman of the Week award so far. 

HAWKEYES TO WATCH
Four Hawkeyes made their way onto preseason watch lists this season.
• Fréderique van Cleef, Dionne van Aalsum and Jordan Byers were named to the Big Ten Players to Watch List.
• Byers, van Aalsum, van Cleef and Gia Whalen were named to the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Watch List.

LAST SEASON
The Iowa Hawkeyes ended their 2025 season with a 14-6 record after falling to No. 8 Duke, 2-1, in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament. 
• Iowa went 6-3 at home, 5-1 away, and 3-2 in neutral play. 
• The Hawkeyes went 5-3 in Big Ten play.

2026 TEAM INFORMATION
Letterwinners Returning/Lost 16/2
Starters Returning/Lost 9/2
7 Gia Whalen (20 starts, 919 min., two goals, one assist)
10 Dionne van Aalsum (19 starts, 921 min., 28 goals, three assists)
24 Fréderique van Cleef (19 starts, 896 min., 12 goals, five assists)
5 Lieve van Kessel (19 starts, 840 min., five goals, three assists)
23 Téa Fortpied (18 starts, 1109 min., two assists)
20 Jordan Byers (17 starts, 989 min., one goal, four assists)
2 Rachel Herbine (14 starts, 794 min., five assists)
14 Lauren DeRose (14 starts, 703 min.)
4 Niamh de Jong (9 starts, 688 min., one assist)
Newcomers: 6

ALL-AMERICANS
• Two standout Hawkeyes earned NFHCA All-American honors for the 2025 season: Dionne van Aalsum and van Cleef
• van Aalsum earned her second career All-America nod as she led the nation with 28 goals and 1.40 goals per game and was second with 59 points and 2.95 points per game.
• van Cleef earned her first All-American of her career as she finished second on the team in both goals and assists playing in every game, tallying 12 goals and five assists.

5 HAWKEYES EARN ALL-WEST REGION HONORS IN 2025
• Five Hawkeyes earned All-West Region recognition for the 2025 season: Jordan Byers, Mia Magnotta, Milly Short, Dionne van Aalsum, and Fréderique van Cleef. 
• Van Aalsum and van Cleef were named to All-West Region first team.
• Magnotta, Short, and Byers were named to All-West Region second team.

7 HAWKEYES EARN BIG TEN HONORS IN 2025 
• Seven Hawkeyes earned Big Ten recognition for the 2025 season: 
• Dionne Van Aalsum and Fréderique van Cleef were named to the All-Big Ten first team.
• Jordan Byers, Téa Fortpied, and Milly Short were named to the All-Big Ten second team. 
• Byers, Fortpied, and Felecia Zonnenberg were selected to the All-Freshman Team.
• Lieve Van Kessel was Iowa’s Sportsmanship Award nominee.

HOME SWEET HOME
Iowa has received approval from the Iowa Board of Regents to move forward with plans to construct a new field hockey operations building adjacent to Grant Field. Construction has begun, with the Hawkeyes expecting to open the doors to their new facility prior to next season.
• Designed to better support student-athletes and bring team activities together in one building specifically for their needs, the project carries an estimated budget of $8.65 million and will be funded entirely through donor support.
• The new facility creates a centralized location that supports the full range of team activities. Planned features include home, visitor, and staff locker rooms, coaches’ offices, film room, conference room, and a multi-purpose space. Additional amenities will include an athletic training room, lobby, mudroom, and dedicated storage.

DIONNE VAN AWESOME
Dionne van Aalsum leads all active NCAA players with 83 career goals in 75 games. 
She also leads active D1 players averaging 1.11 goals per game and  2.39 points per game.
• She led the nation with 28 goals as a freshman before scoring nine goals as a sophomore. 
• She totaled a national best 28 goals in 2025 and averaged 1.40 goals per game in 2025.

TOP 5 ACTIVE GOAL SCORERS (NCAA D1):
1. Dionne Van Aalsum – Iowa – Sr. – 75 Games – 83 Goals  
2. Ryleigh Heck , North Carolina - Sr. - 98 Games - 77 Goals
3. Charly Bruder - North Carolina - Sr. - 82 Games - 76 Goals
4. Clara Larripa - Richmond - Sr. - 77 Games - 70 Goals
Ashley Sessa - Northwestern - Sr. - 85 Games - 70 Goals

TOP 5 ACTIVE GOALS PER GAME LEADERS (NCAA D1):
1. Dionne van Aalsum – Iowa – Sr. – 75 Games – 1.11 GPG  
2. Amber Fairon – Massachusetts – Fr. – 18 Games – 1.06 GPG
3. Malena Sabez – Miami (OH) – So. – 40 Games – 1.03 GPG
4. Niamh McKenzie – Massachusetts – Sr. – 20 Games – 1.00 GPG
5. Liz Klompmaker – California – Jr. – 49 Games – 0.94 GPG

TOP 5 ACTIVE POINTS PER GAME LEADERS (NCAA D1):
1. Dionne van Aalsum – Iowa – Sr. – 75 Games – 2.39 PPG  
2. Ashley Sessa – Northwestern – Sr. – 85 Games – 2.31 PPG
3. Malena Sabez – Miami (OH) – So. – 40 Games – 2.18 PPG
4. Clara Larripa – Richmond – Sr. – 77 Games – 2.17 PPG
5. Justina Intzes – Miami (OH) – So. – 40 Games – 2.03 PPG

RECORD BOOK WATCH
Dionne van Aalsum is now third all-time in program history for career goals:
1. Kristy Gleason – 132 Goals (1989–93)
2. Annie-Marie Thomas – 88 Goals (1979–82)
3. Dionne van Aalsum – 83 Goals (2023–Present)
4. Marcia Pankratz – 76 Goals (1982–85)
Erica Richards – 76 Goals (1986–89)