The Iowa Field Hockey team needed a win.

A loss would have been a sour end to a night dedicated to celebrating the careers of six seniors.

A loss would have driven a stake into the heart of the Hawkeyes NCAA Tournament hopes barring a special run in the Big Ten Tournament.

Looking at the final stats, you would assume the Hawkeyes had won 4 or 5-0, but instead Iowa walked out of Grant Field with a 1-0 win over the Michigan State Spartans. Score aside, the win snaps a three-game losing streak and gives them a positive boost of momentum heading into the postseason.

“I think it was great. We held them to one shot and one penalty corner. We had momentum, we had control of the game the entire time and I think we easily could have put five or six goals on the board, so great to just get the win,” said Head Coach Lisa Cellucci.

The first half may have felt like a “here we go again” moment, as the Hawkeyes earned nine penalty corners and took eight shots, but just were not able to find the back of the net. They saw their scoreless streak grow from 187 minutes to 217 minutes, but they continued to push for a goal.

“I think we had some really good passes, building up the field which led to those corners,” said Anthe Nijziel. “That’s a great improvement from the last couple of games.”

Iowa kept the pedal down to open the second half and earned three more penalty corners in the opening couple of minutes. The third one and the 12th penalty corner of the game was the one that opened the scoring for the game in the 32nd minute. Sofie Stribos shot was saved by Michigan State GK Monique Jardell, but the ball leaked behind her, and Annika Herbine was able to poke it in to give the Hawkeyes a 1-0 lead.

Michigan State was unable to put any threatening attacks together and Iowa was able to pick up the 1-0 victory on Senior Night. While the Hawkeyes were expected to win, there were several takeaways that are positive with the postseason on the horizon. Over the last few games, the passing in the midfield has struggled mightily, however, tonight it looked like the Iowa team from earlier in the season.

“It is really just skill execution. It was so much better because we passed outside the line of Michigan State and we weren’t trying to play through people,” said Cellucci. “Our structure really helped us because we played a 4-3-3, so we have to keep doing that going forward.”

“Our decision making was just way better,” said Anthe Nijziel. “Choosing the simple option. That’s what made us so successful today. If we keep doing that, I think it will be good for us.”

With the win, Iowa moves to 11-6 on the season and they close conference play with a 4-4 record. The win locked up a #5 seed in the Big Ten Tournament and they will face #4 seed Michigan in the First Round in Columbus, Ohio. The Wolverines defeated Iowa 2-0 in Ann Arbor and 1-0 in Evanston this season.

“Hard to beat a team three times,” said Cellucci. “We made change from the first game to the second and we’re going to be on a neutral field again. We want another shot at them, and we’ll be ready to go.”

The game is set for 10:00am on Thursday and will be streamed on BTN+. The semifinals Friday and championship Sunday will be televised on the Big Ten Network.