It was just 23 days ago that the Iowa Field Hockey team defeated #1 Northwestern in Evanston and it’s been just 19 days since the Hawkeyes moved up to #3 in the NFHCA Coaches Poll with an 8-1 record. Since then, it has been a struggle and things have gone downhill. A 2-0 loss to #10 Michigan in Ann Arbor today gives Iowa a 2-4 record since their 8-1 start.
The tough stretch has seen a lot of uncharacteristic play from the Hawkeyes. Bad passes, mistakes with and without the ball, as well as a drop in goals scored.
Today the Wolverines controlled possession of the ball and it was reflected in the final stats. Michigan out shot the Hawkeyes 21-3, including 13-3 in shots on goal and 10-3 in penalty corner opportunities.
After a quiet opening quarter, Michigan put pressure on the Iowa defense and broke through in the 28th minute on a Hawkeye error in the scoring circle. The Wolverines sent a pass into the circl and it found its way to Tina D’Anjolell after Lokke Stribos was unable to handle the ball on a pass intercept attempt. D’Antjolell shot it past GK Grace McGuire to give Michigan a 1-0 lead.
The Hawkeyes best scoring opportunity came early in the third quarter on a penalty corner opportunity. Anthe Nijziel put a shot on goal, but Michigan GK Anna Spieker made a great kick save to keep Iowa off the board.
After starting the game 0/7 on penalty corners, Michigan finally was able to take advantage of the chances they were given. In the 47th minute, the Wolverines were awarded a corner and while they didn’t score on the initial corner, they kept the pressure on. Lora Clarke was able to turn a rebound off a shot attempt into the nail in the coffin with just 13 minutes to play.
With the loss, the Hawkeyes fall to 10-5 on the season and 3-4 in Big Ten play, which has them in fifth place in the conference. Iowa will look to regroup as they have Friday off, before traveling to Evanston for a non-conference match-up on Sunday against Michigan. The game is at 11:30am, but is not currently scheduled to be streamed on BTN+.
