#7 Iowa Field Hockey blanks Fairfield to stay unbeaten
Early in the week, head coach Lisa Cellucci said that she wanted to see her Iowa team come out and attack today’s game against Fairfield the exact same way that they did last weekend in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
“I think the difficult piece is making sure out team is as amped up as they would be playing against Wake Forest and North Carolina because that’s when you can get yourself in trouble…you can’t have a weekend like we just did and then falter.”
The Hawkeyes didn’t get themselves in trouble and they didn’t falter, but despite dominating the game with 20 shots and 15 penalty corners, Iowa came away with just a 3-0 victory. The win gives them just their sixth 3-0 start since 1999, but the Hawkeye players and coaching staff likely departed from the field feeling like they left a lot of chances out there.
Iowa got out in front in the first minute on a goal from forward Annika Herbine. Dionne van Aalsum stole a lazy pass from a Fairfield back and attacked into the circle just ten seconds into the game. She fired a shot on goal that was saved by GK Payton Rahn, but Herbine put the rebound in the goal for her first of the season just 16 seconds into the game. It was the first goal in the opening minute since Sofie Stribos scored 43 seconds into the game against Providence last season.
Iowa extended their lead early in the second quarter in the 19th minute. Annika Herbine inserted on a penalty corner and Sofie Stribos’ shot at the goal was tipped by Dionne van Aalsum into the goal for her fifth of the season. At that point, it felt like the Hawkeyes were going to roll a five or six goal victory. They went into the half with an 11-2 shot advantage, but converting just one of ten penalty corners stood out.
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In the second half, the Hawkeyes continued to threaten on the offensive end of the turf, but just could not find the goal. They racked up another five penalty corners and eight shots on goal, but the advantage stuck at two goals. Credit to the Fairfield defense and GK Payton Rahn, they did a respectable job. The Stags recorded six blocked shots, while Rahn saved seven shots. Still, Iowa would have liked to put up a couple more goals to pay off all the chances they had.
Finally, in the 59th minute, Dionne van Aalsum dribbled into the circle and beat the Stags goalkeeper with a right angled shot to the far post for her second goal of the game. It’s her third straight game to start the season with two goals. The Hawkeyes finished out the final 62 seconds and picked up the 3-0 victory.
Iowa dominated play with a 20-2 shot advantage, including a 10-0 advantage in shots on goal. They earned 15 penalty corners for the game, but were able to convert just one.
Up Next, the Hawkeyes face #19 Albany on Sunday. It is just the second all-time meeting between the Hawkeyes and Great Danes. The game is set to start at 11:00am CT on America East TV.
