Olympic Spotlight: Iowa Field Hockey Downs #1 North Carolina

It's almost Labor Day, which means college sports are finally back. Iowa is poised for another big year across the athletic department and we'll be here each week to highlight some of the best from Hawkeye Olympic sports.

This week, the spotlight is on Iowa field hockey, a perennial powerhouse. After a heartbreaking finish to last season (losing a penalty shootout to eventual NCAA runner-up Northwestern in the quarterfinals), the Hawkeyes saw the departure of several longtime leaders and key contributors. Like all the best teams, though, the Hawks never rebuild, they simply reload, and now they're back and looking as strong as ever.

Let's take a closer look.

Iowa field hockey started the season with a bang, posting a pair of ranked wins, including an OT thriller over #1 North Carolina. The #7 Hawkeyes kicked off the weekend with a dominating win over #12 Wake Forest, winning 4-0.

Freshman Dionne van Aalsum was the star of the opening game, starting the scoring with an 11th-minute goal before adding a second in the 50th minute. Miranda Jackson, another freshman, joined the fun with a 42nd-minute goal and veteran Sofie Stribos put away a 52nd-minute shot to put an exclamation point on the game. Wake Forest generated just four shots, only one of which was on goal.

It was a picture-perfect start for a team that was looking to retool after losing some key contributors, including three-time All-American defender Anthe Nijziel, All-Region midfielder Lokke Stribos (who started over 100 consecutive games to close out her career), and goalie Grace McGuire.

Game two of the weekend was a marquee matchup against #1 North Carolina, and the match did not disappoint. The Tar Heels struck first, taking a 1-0 lead in the 11th minute, but the Hawks answered back in short order when van Aalsum continued her blistering start to the season and tied the game at one in the 27th minute.

The teams remained deadlocked until late in the third quarter when UNC pulled ahead 2-1. Iowa fought for an equalizer and finally broke through late in the fourth quarter, when van Aalsum again came through, tying the game and sending the teams to overtime.

Overtime lasted less than two minutes. After a Tar Heel player was shown a green card, putting the Hawks on the power play, freshman Lieve van Kessel fired a shot into the top corner, giving the Hawks the upset win and a season-defining moment.

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Upsetting the #1 team in any sport is rare, but it's becoming commonplace for Hawkeye field hockey. Iowa has now beaten the #1 ranked team in three straight seasons. Even more promising for this group, all but one goal on the weekend was scored by freshmen players. Dionne van Aalsum looks like an instant star, and Iowa still has All-American Esme Gibson and Sofie Stribos, two 5th-year seniors and team leaders over what has been an incredibly successful period for Hawkeye Field Hockey.

Iowa's #7 ranking to start the season actually represented a step back for a program (yes, I understand the absurdity of that statement) that many thought would be in transition as new faces tried to fill some big shoes. Instead, the Hawks look as potent as ever and are likely to be in the mix on a national level all season. A road win over the #1-ranked team in the first weekend will create lofty expectations, but it looks as though this team is more than ready to live up to them.

Perhaps the best performance by a Hawkeye last week came from former Iowa track and field star Laulauga Tausaga, who won gold at the World Championships in the discus last week. Tausaga, a five-time Big Ten champ and eight-time All-American threw a personal-best 69.49m to earn the first-ever women's discus gold medal for the United States at the World Athletic Championships. It was an absolutely incredible performance and one of the best moments from an electric World Championships.

Iowa soccer kicked off their season with a trio of victories, besting Florida Gulf Coast 1-0 in the opener, Kansas City 2-0 in the second game, and then earning the first victory of this year's Cy-Hawk Series by beating Iowa State 2-1. Against Florida Gulf Coast, Iowa put up ten shots in the first 25 minutes and found the back of the net when Meike Ingles slotted home a low shot.

In the win over Kansas City, Iowa scored twice in the opening half and peppered the opposition with 17 shots on the night. The Hawks shut out FGCU and Kansas City, allowing only three shots against Kansas City.

Iowa followed a similar blueprint for their rivalry game against the Cyclones, again scoring first when Kenzie Roling found the back of the net in the 34th minute. The Hawks extended their lead on an Elle Otto goal early in the second half and held on for the 2-1 victory.

These Hawks are starting to see some of the dividends from 2020's Cinderella run to the Big Ten Tournament title. Stars of that tournament like Meike Ingles and goalie Macy Enneking are now upperclassmen. They know what it takes to succeed and are helping to bring along newcomers like Millie Greer and transfer Kellie McGroarty, who are already contributing early in the season. It's a bit early to draw conclusions, but the Hawks are taking care of business early and looking like an exciting team while doing it.

Iowa volleyball started their season by competing in the Sacramento State Invitational, finishing with a 1-2 record. The Hawks started strong, topping Cal Poly in four sets. Anna Davis notched eight kills, Caitlan Buettner put together a double-double, and Delaney McSweeny pitched in ten kills of her own. The Hawks blew out Cal Poly in set one, 25-16, won a hard-fought set two, 25-23, lost a nailbiter set three, 27-25, and then came back with an emphatic set four win, 25-12, to claim the match.

The Hawks were unable to grab a set against Sacramento State in the second match, falling 3-0. The Hawks hung around with the Hornets, but couldn't get over the hump, losing set one 25-19 and sets two and three 25-21. Buettner again notched a double-double and Bailey Ortega earned 13 assists.

Sunday's match against Nevada will gnaw at the Hawkeyes for a while, as they fell 3-2 after taking the first two sets. Ortega set a season-high 34 assists and Buettner put together another double-double, 16 kills and 20 digs. In the first two sets, the Hawks jumped out to early leads and held off the Wolfpack, but big runs doomed the Hawks in the final three sets. Nevada scored nine straight in set three, five straight in set four, and took a 5-1 lead in the decisive fifth set.

Hawkeye volleyball is certainly still in rebuilding mode and that was on full display over the weekend. The Hawks played well on Friday, struggled on Saturday, and then let one slip away on Sunday. There will be growing pains with a group that's still trying to establish its identity while incorporating a slew of transfers and freshmen.

There will be nights, especially early in the season, when the team looks disjointed. There were undoubtedly signs of growth throughout the weekend. The next step is putting everything together for a full match.

One more excellent moment from the start of the school year happened last week when senior Hawkeye gymnast Aubrey Nick earned a full scholarship. It's always gratifying to see these athletes get rewarded for their dedication after spending countless hours training and practicing.

The joy on her face and the emotion in her voice as she surprised her parents is enough to get the waterworks going in even the driest of rooms. Congratulations to Aubrey and her entire family on the well-deserved achievement.