The Hawkeyes will take at the top-ranked Wildcats in a rematch of final season’s Elite Eight matchup.
Jerod Ringwald
Iowa defender Anthe Nijziel passes the ball all the way through a field hockey fit between No. 6 Iowa and No. 22 Massachusetts at Grant Field in Iowa City on Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022. Nijziel recorded one purpose within the sport. The Hawkeyes defeated the Minutewomen, 2-0.
Last season, the No. 1 Iowa field hockey workforce snapped a program-record win streak to Northwestern.
After a 16-0 get started, the upstart Wildcats took down the undefeated Hawkeyes, 3-2 at Grant Field on Oct. 29. Following the loss, the Hawkeyes dropped 3 in their final 4 video games — together with a first-round go out within the Big Ten Tournament.
Iowa drew Northwestern as an opponent within the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. Once once more, the Hawkeyes fell brief, dropping 1-0.
On Friday, the Hawkeyes could have a possibility to damage their two-game dropping streak to the Wildcats. Undefeated, top-ranked Northwestern will play host to No. 5 Iowa at Lakeside Field in Evanston, Illinois.
Northwestern boasts an 8-0 checklist this season, together with wins over No. 9 Virginia, No. 11 Liberty, and No. 8 Princeton.
Iowa head trainer Lisa Cellucci mentioned her squad is greater than accustomed to the Wildcats, and he or she understands this sport has a bit extra that means than another video games up to now this season.
Iowa and Northwestern play in a closed scrimmage forward of each season.
“We probably know Northwestern better than anybody,” Cellucci mentioned. (*6*)
Cellucci wired the significance of workforce protection against Northwestern’s high-scoring offense. The Wildcats boast the fifth-most targets within the NCAA this season, with 29 in 8 video games.
“They’re lethal in transition, but we play fantastic team defense,” Cellucci mentioned. “It’s going to be a matter of who can get on the board and then be able to finish the game on top. They have world class goal scorers, so top to bottom, our defense will have to be fantastic.”
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To forestall Northwestern’s high-octane offense, and Wildcats ahead Bente Baekers, is the “Great Wall of Iowa” protection. Baekers leads the NCAA in targets in keeping with sport, netting 13 targets in 8 video games for a 1.62 purpose in keeping with sport moderate.
The Hawkeye again line stars two-time Big Ten Player of the Year Anthe Nijziel, fifth-year senior Lokke Stribos, and goalie Grace McGuire preserving down the citadel. The workforce sports activities the seventh-best scoring margin within the country and has pitched 3 shutouts all the way through its present five-game win streak.
This week, the Hawkeyes have a slight merit over Northwestern with a longer restoration length. Iowa didn’t agenda its standard Sunday sport final weekend, giving the workforce a possibility to leisure and recover earlier than its largest problem of the season.
“We’re going to treat this week as a two-game weekend,” Cellucci mentioned after the Hawkeyes’ Sept. 16 victory over Indiana. “On Sunday, we’ll play a bit and watch some film. We’ll have our normal prep for Northwestern, because we want to try to keep it as consistent as possible, but it does provide us with a little more rest time than a Sunday game would give us.”