Iowa Field Hockey falls to #5 Maryland
Coming off a huge win over 17th-ranked Penn State on Friday, the Iowa Field Hockey team came into Sunday hoping to continue the momentum with a good showing against a top five Maryland Terrapins squad. Instead, the Terps dominated, putting four second half goals on the board en route to a 5-0 victory. It’s the second time this season the Hawkeyes have suffered a five-goal defeat against a top five opponent.
“Our preparation was good, and We felt we had a good plan, but we didn’t meet the moment,” said head coach Lisa Cellucci. “It was a really poor day for us.”
The opening quarter of the match was pretty evenly matched. The Hawkeye defense defended against an early Maryland penalty corner, while Mia Magnotta came up with a pair of good saves to keep the game scoreless. Iowa got a penalty corner opportunity in the 9th minute, but Terps GK Alyssa Klebasko made a good save on a shot from Dionne van Aalsum. The 0-0 score did not stick long into the second.
Just 90 seconds into the second quarter, Maryland started mounting up penalty corner opportunities. In the 17th minute, on their sixth corner of the game, the Terps broke through. Forward Hope Rose sent a shot towards the far post and Ella Gaitan was able to get her stick on the ball to redirect it into the goal.
On the other side, the Iowa offensive had moments where they were able to put some pressure on the Maryland back line, but the execution the final third was not there. The Hawkeyes were only able to total just three shots.
“We wanted to be able to change our shape, create some overloads and try to put the goalkeeper under pressure. There were moments, but we have to be better in the final third,” said Cellucci. “That has been haunting us all season long. Too many balls off the end line, too many balls into the goalkeeper, we stood and watched a lot today.”
In the second half, the defense started to suffer some breakdowns, and the game got out of hand. In the 35th minute, an Iowa turnover on the back line allowed Alina Gerke to set up teammate Annemijn Klijnhout in front of the goal for her first of the season. That made it 2-0, and a big hill to climb for the Hawkeyes.
“(Maryland) didn’t really change much about what they were doing,” said Cellucci. “We just didn’t meet the moment, and we didn’t match their intensity or their speed.”
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The Terrapins got another goal from Ella Gaitan on the penalty corner in the 41st minute, while goals from Maci Bradford (55th) and Hope Rose (59th) turned the game into a blowout. Maryland outshot Iowa 10-3 and held a 7-2 advantage in penalty corners. Less than 48 hours after putting together a spirited defensive effort against Penn State, the Hawkeyes struggled to defend the Terps.
“There’s definitely been some inconsistency. It’s been a continual problem for us,” said Cellucci. “We have had a little bit of a lesser performance in a lot of our Sunday matches. Little bit of fatigue and some inconsistency,”
“We just need to be better with our individual discipline defensively and then, collectively, we didn’t do a very good job with our layers and being able to engage in the line, and that was a big part of our plan.
Looking ahead on the schedule, the Hawkeyes sit in a three-way tie for sixth place in the Big Ten standings. One of those teams, Indiana, will come to Grant Field on Friday for an important match that will have Big Ten Tournament qualifying implications. Following the Hoosiers are non-conference matches against Monmouth, UC Davis and #20 California. All very important games for the Hawkeyes NCAA Tournament hopes.
“This has to hurt, and it does hurt, so we have to take this personally,” said Cellucci. “We need to get back to the drawing board and then we have to perform on Friday. That’s essential for us to continue this season and then we’ll have some great opponents (after).”
Up Next: The Hawkeyes will host the Indiana Hoosiers on Friday afternoon at Grant Field. The game is set to get underway at 2:00pm CT on BTN+.
