It’s a new week.
It’s another top five battle for the Iowa Field Hockey team.
This week they take on the fourth ranked Maryland Terrapins on Friday.
Last week, the Hawkeyes went into Evanston and knocked off their rival and top ranked Northwestern by a final score of 2-0. This time, the big-time match-up comes to Grant Field in Iowa City.
“We’re celebrating 50 years of Title IX here at the university, so to have this type of game, top five matchup, we can’t ask for anything more,” said junior forward Alex Wesneski.
“We were talking a lot about the energy that we with our Michigan or UNC game at home last year,” said senior goalkeeper Grace McGuire. “We are looking forward to seeing if we can replicate that type of energy and have that many people come out.”
One thing that won’t be on their mind on Friday? Getting snubbed in this week’s top 25. Despite beating Northwestern on their home field, the Hawkeyes still sit at #3 in the NFHCA Coaches Poll behind the Wildcats who are at #2.
“We’re way too early to be caring about that stuff,” said junior Harper Dunne. “What really matters is what we’re looking at when we’re heading into the postseason.”
“The goal of the season is obviously to win a Big Ten Championship and actually make the NCAA Tournament,” said Grace McGuire. “At the end of the day that doesn’t really have anything to do with ranking.”
Iowa is welcoming a Maryland squad that has a 9-1 record on the season, including wins over #8 Michigan, #15 Harvard, #16 Boston College, #22 Duke and #24 Ohio State. Their lone loss came in 2OT against #9 Princeton on September 20th.
“The difficult thing about Maryland is that their so deep from top to bottom and they are dangerous in every line,” said Head Coach Lisa Cellucci.
The Terrapins are very dangerous on offense and are among the best in the country when it comes to scoring goals. They are tied with Liberty for the most goals scored with 41 and are averaging 4.1 goals per game. In five of their ten games, Maryland has scored 4+ goals and their offensive attack starts with 2021 Big Ten Freshman of the Year Hope Rose.
“She has unbelievable speed and athleticism,” said Cellucci. “She has great vision, and she really knows how to finish…just really have to try to limit her touches.”
Rose is tied with Alex Wesneski for second in the country with ten goals and has an additional seven assists. The Hawkeye defense stepped up and held Northwestern’s Bente Baekers to just two shots on goal last week and will have a similar goal in mind when facing Hope Rose. The Terrapins, however, are much deeper than Hope Rose on the offensive side. Seven players have scored at least three goals this season.
“It’s tough. (The defense) it’s going to be by committee, but they have so many people that can beat you. It’s not just taking one or two out,” said Cellucci. “That’s going to make it even more important that every single player on the field has discipline.”
Leah Crouse (7 goals), Emma DeBerdine (4), Bibi Donraadt (4), Danielle Van Rootselaar (4), Margot Lawn (3) and freshman Sophie Klautz (3) round out the Maryland attack.
“They are savvy in the circle and definitely can finish…their penalty corners, especially are really good,” said Grace McGuire. “We’re looking to do the best we can to limit any of that.”
Maryland averages 20.4 shots and 7.2 penalty corners per game, while the Hawkeye defense is allowing just 7.4 shots and 2.6 penalty corners per game. Even when they do allow shots, they don’t go in very often. Iowa is allowing one goal for every 9.57 shots faced.
Flipping over to the defensive side, the Terrapins are an intriguing group. They are allowing 1.40 goals per game, which is nearly double the rate of the Hawkeyes. The unit defense for Maryland, however, is very good, allowing just 6.0 shots and 3.1 penalty corners per game.
“They’re scrappy. They’re really physical, just like any other Big Ten team you play,” said Alex Wesneski. “They’re going to push you off the ball, so being able to be strong on ball, but not getting too caught up in the physicality piece of the game (is key).”
“They’re super mobile. They’re very good tacklers and I think we really have to do a good job trying to move them and wear them down,” says Cellucci. “That’s the only way you’re going to be able to get in behind them.”
The Hawkeyes do a really good job of taking advantage of minimal opportunities and scoring goals. They scored two goals on two shots against North Carolina and two goals on three shots against Northwestern. On the season, Iowa has scored on nearly 32.2% of their shot on goal attempts. Alex Wesneski says it can be attributed to facing really good players every day in practice. “Iron sharpens Iron” if you will.
“We practice goal scoring a lot during practice…For us to be able to practice against great and amazing defenders and goalkeepers is a real advantage for our forwards and midfielders.”
“I think it’s just seizing the opportunity and I think we train for situations of not having many opportunities and trying to be as pinpoint as possible,” says Coach Cellucci. “We practice our scoring a lot, so I’m glad to see it paying off in key moments.”
The one area that Iowa will try to take advantage of is the goalkeeping of the Terrapins. While Maryland does a great job of limiting chances, their opponents are scoring on 41.2% of shots on goal. Conversely, opponents are scoring on just 18.4% of shots on goal against the Hawkeyes. Senior GK Christina Calandra has started five games in goal for the Terps, but Paige Kieft has started seven games, including the last five contests. Kieft is allowing 1.73 goals per game and has .600 save percentage. Opponents have scored 10 goals on 25 shots on goal when facing Kieft.
“We’ve talked about just having to be able to move the ball with speed and get in behind and frame the goal,” said Cellucci. “I think if we can do that, we’re going to have our opportunities.”
Alex Wesneski says that Lisa Cellucci’s background as a former field hockey goalkeeper for the Hawkeyes is really beneficial. “She looks at the Maryland film and she can spot where the weaknesses are…It’s really nice to have her being able to tell us, this is where the goalkeeper is weakest. This is her strength.”
Shots per Goal Stats
Maryland Offense – 4.98 shots taken per goal (41 goals 204 shots)
Iowa Offense – 4.03 shots taken per goal (32 goals 129 shots)
Maryland Defense – 4.29 shots allowed per goal (14 goals 60 shots)
Iowa Defense – 9.57 shots allowed per goal (7 goals 67 shots)
The final keys to victory from Coach Cellucci?
1. Top to bottom recovery on team defense. Control their transition game.
2. Good cover D structure
3. Take advantage of penalty corner opportunities
Impact Players
-IOWA-
F Alex Wesneski: 10 goals (tied 2nd in the country)
F Annika Herbine: 6 goals, 6 assists
MF Esme Gibson: 3 goals, 4 assists
MF Lieve Schalk: 7 assists
D Anthe Nijziel: 5 goals, 3 assists, Big Ten DPOY
GK Grace McGuire: .806 Save Pct, 29 saves, 0.80 goals per game
-MARYLAND-
F Hope Rose: 10 goals (tied 2nd in the country), 7 assists, 29 shots on goal
MF Leah Crouse: 7 goals, 3 assists
MF Emma DeBerdine: 4 goals, 3 assists
MF Bibi Donraadt: 4 goals, 3 assists
MF Danielle Van Rootselaar: 4 goals, 2 assists, 24 shots on goal
GK Page Kieft: .600 Save Pct, 15 saves, 1.73 goals per game
Final Thought
Offense: Advantage Maryland
Defense: Advantage Iowa
Goalkeeper: Advantage Iowa
Much like Northwestern, the Maryland offense will test the Hawkeye defense. The Terps have a top-of-the-line goal scorer in Hope Rose and back her up with a number of weapons that can score. The Iowa defense was up to the task last Friday and held the Wildcats scoreless. On offense, the Hawkeyes will have to face a tough defense that doesn’t give up many scoring chances. What could decide the game? Goalkeeping. Grace McGuire is an All-American goalie and can keep teams off the scoreboard even if the opponent gets an open look. On the other side, the Hawkeyes do a great job of capitalizing on their scoring opportunities. Couple that with a Terps goalkeeper that has a tendency to allow some goals and it could spell danger for Maryland.
The game is at 4:00pm on Friday at Grant Field. It will be streamed on BTN+.
Prediction: Iowa 3 Maryland 1 - Iowa gets two goals in the first half and then puts in a late one as the Terrapins press to tie the game.
