#1 Iowa Field Hockey earns a bounce back win over Michigan State
The Hawkeyes needed a bounce back performance. After dropping their first game of the season on Friday to Ohio State, Iowa was in need of a win to get things right and wash away any negative thoughts about the weekend. They got just that, as they took down Michigan State, for the tenth straight time in the series by a final score of 3-1. Head coach Lisa Cellucci was encouraged with the team’s performance after an uncharacterstic outing against the Buckeyes.
“Friday was very uncharacterstic for us and we needed to have a rebound game,” said Cellucci. “We got the outcome today, so that was great. Definitely some things we have to still fix and clean up, but we were able to get some goals on the board, so that’s always positive.”
Neither side wasted time to give the Sunday afternoon crowd some action to watch. It was the Hawkeyes that got on the board first in the 6th minute on the fourth goal of the season from forward Alex Wesneski. The play started with Annika Herbine forcing an MSU turnover and attacking towards the circle. She sent a bouncing ball towards the goal, but it was kicked out to Jacey Wittel. She slashed one towards the goal and Wesneski redirected it past the Spartans GK for the opening goal of the game.
The lead did not last for very long. Michigan State defended against a pair of Hawkeye penalty corners and then put together their first offensive attack of the game in the 9th minute. Ellie Rutherford received a pass from teammate Hannah Jarvie and worked her way into the circle looking for a shot. She got a look, front and center, and sent a reverse shot past GK Mia Magnotta to tie the game.
Unfortunately for the Spartans, as quickly as they tied the game, the Hawkeyes were able to get back in front. Just minutes later in the 13th minute, Iowa was back on the attack, as midfielder Esme Gibson earned a penalty corner after taking a hard foul from MSU midfielder Celina Riccardo. On the ensuing corner, it was Dionne van Aalsum with a well struck shot from the top of the circle that beat the MSU GK for a goal. Her NCAA leading 23rd goal put Iowa up 2-1 after the first quarter.
“I thought the energy was awesome. We were creating moments in the circle. Some missed opportunities, but we were right there knocking on the door, and I thought, offensively, we were a lot more connected,” said Alex Wesneski.
“We had much more of a willingness to join the play and we did the work up front,” said Lisa Cellucci. “We really framed the goal well, which is what led to that first goal and actually gave us some great opportunities with the corners that we drew to, so that was much better. That was what we addressed in practice yesterday.”
The action quieted down in the second quarter, but both teams had chances to get back on the scoreboard. In the span of 26 seconds in the 20th and 21st minute, both Dionne van Aalsum and Alex Wesneski had looks at the goal, but two shots went just wide of the goal.
Moments later, it was Michigan State with a threatening chance in the circle. Celina Riccardo sent a long pass into the circle for forward Emma O’Neill. The pass was behind O’Neill, but a crafty touch allowed her to spin towards the goal. However, before she could challenge Mia Magnotta with a shot, Lauren DeRose tipped it away and Esme Gibson chipped it out of harms way. Lisa Cellucci said that she was looking for a bit more from her teams transition defense to shut down an attack like the one MSU nearly scored on.
“Where we’re struggling is our counter defense structure, so that really is a just a breakdown in our communication and organization,” said Cellucci. “We have to address that because if we don’t, we have a dangerous Northwestern team (coming up) that just loves to thrive in transition.”
As the game moved into the second half, it was clear that if the Hawkeyes could put another goal on the board, that they were going to win the game. The Spartans came into the day averaging just 1.11 goals per game. However, the longer the score stayed 2-1, the longer MSU stayed in the game. Iowa challenged the Spartans defense with six shots, including four shots on goal over the first 10.5 minutes of the half, but GK Cecily Charles made some fantastic saves to keep it close.
“She did a great job and they actually changed their corner defense from Friday,” said Cellucci. “Usually the goalkeeper stands up, so we thought we’d have a little bit more of a look at the goal, but they did a great job defending.”
The effort from the MSU goalkeeper went unrewarded, as the Hawkeyes were given a penalty shot after a stick violation in the circle from Ashley Harlock. Forward Hillary Cox played just nine minutes, but was called off the bench, as a penalty shot specialist and she did not dissapoint. Cox beat Cecily Charles with a hard, low shot in the left corner of the goal to make it 3-1 Hawkeyes. She is now 2/2 on penalty shot attempts this season.
Trailing by two goals, Michigan State put some pressure on in the 51st minute, with a penalty corner. Celina Riccardo had her initial shot blocked by Esme Gibson, but it bounced high in the air towards the goal, which kept the corner alive. The ball arced down and forward Lulu Fulton took a swing at it, but it sailed harmlessly out of play. That was the last real chance the Spartans had to keep the game alive and the Hawkeyes were able to hang on for the 3-1 victory.
“We talked about giving ourselves 24 hours after the game on Friday and really focused on what we could do better and where we were slow on Friday,” said Alex Wesneski. “I thought we came out today, just looking to play us versus us out there. We still have some things that we need to work on, but it was definitely a lot better energy, from the sideline to on the field.”
The final stats were skewed heavily in favor of the top ranked Hawkeyes. They led the way in all categories, including shots (19-7), shots on goal (9-2) and penalty corners (7-3). The nations top scoring offense looked more like the one that got Iowa out to their 9-0 start.
“I think we did create a lot of opportunities,” said Wesneski. “It’s that lass pass in the circle and keeping our sticks strong on the ball and that kind of killed us a little bit. We’re right there and it’s good to see going into next week.”
Up Next, Iowa will welcome the #3 Northwestern Wildcats to Iowa City for arguably the biggest game of the season for either side. The Wildcats come into the matchup with an 11-1 record, including wins over Michigan State and Michigan this weekend. HawkeyeReport will have full coverage of the matchup coming later in the week. The game is set to start at 3:00pm and will be televised on the Big Ten Network.
“I think Northwestern has a great chance to go to number in the poll this week,” said Cellucci. “A huge regional game. A huge Big Ten game, so we’re going to be excited…We have to focus first and foremost on Tuesday on us and what we need to fix before we even look at the game plan for Northwestern.”
