Iowa Field Hockey grinds out a 1-0 win over Delaware

It was, at times, a bit nervy for the Iowa Field Hockey team, as Delaware put pressure on and threatened, several times, to tie the game late. However, the Hawkeyes were able to hang on and grind out a 1-0, shutout win over the Blue Hens on Alumni Day at Grant Field. Iowa has now won 31 straight games against non-ACC non-conference opponents dating back to the 2017 season.

“That’s a very good Delaware team. They’re going to win a lot of games, and I’m sure they’ll be champions of the CAA,” said head coach Lisa Cellucci. “I feel really good about getting out of it with a shutout and getting the win. We had a really good scout on them, and when we played to the plan, the team did a really good job.”

There was only one goal scored in the entire match, but it was a good one off the stick of forward Annika Herbine in the 18th minute. She got the feed from Lieve van Kessel on the outer edge of the circle, drove towards the goal and chipped one past Delaware GK Cecile van Eijck to put the Hawkeyes in front. It’s the 15th goal of her career.

“It was a great ball from Lieve (van Kessel) into the top of the circle, and I was going to pass it across the goal because I saw my sister (Rachel) running in. I chose to just dribble in and pull right around the goalkeeper to put it in,” said Herbine.

“She scored it from the left side, and she never scores from the left side, so that was fantastic,” said Cellucci. “It was a really nice play across goal and a great finish. Annika is just so handy in the circle and she was in the right position.”

Annika gets us started. 👏

No. 6 Iowa 1, Delaware 0#Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/6MkuRojK34

— Iowa Field Hockey (@iowafieldhockey) September 15, 2024

A mostly quiet third quarter got interesting in the closing minutes. The Hawkeyes nearly extended their lead on a penalty corner in the 42nd minute. Milly Short redirected the shot from Dionne van Aalsum, but it hit squarely off the crossbar and Delaware was able to clear it out of harm’s way. Iowa earned 16 penalty corners over the weekend, but were unable to turn any of the set plays into an immediate goal.

“We have to increase our penalty corner execution. We had some open looks, but we just missed the mark,” said Cellucci. “Had a really nice play there in the second half that hit the crossbar, but that’s going to be an area of focus for us. We have to be cleaner with our execution.”

The crossbar rejection kept the Hawkeyes lead to a single goal. It kept the door open for the Blue Hens and they put some pressure on the Iowa defense in the later stages of the game. Delaware got credit for just three shots and one shot on goal for the game, but that does not paint the entire picture.

“We’re choosing to cause some stress in some certain situations that we don’t need to, so we’ll address that, but that’s going to happen with our youth at times,” said Cellucci. “We’ve been tested in a lot of different ways in the first five games and it’s going to prove to help us really well going into Big Ten play.”

In the final seconds of the third quarter, the Blue Hens sent a long-range pass into the circle and it appeared to get deflected into the goal. The official deemed one of two things, either the ball did not get deflected, or that an Iowa stick caused the redirect. Either way it was no goal and Delaware did not have a referral remaining to send the play to review.

Minutes into the fourth quarter, the Blue Hens threatened again. A ball into the circle found forward Lulu Fulton wide open, but she swiped it over the crossbar and failed to even challenge Iowa goalkeeper Mia Magnotta. Delaware opted to pull their goalkeeper in the final two minutes and forced some late pressure, but the Iowa defense hung on to secure the 1-0 victory.

“We just wanted field position, and we want possession (in those late moments),” said Cellucci. “You want the ball in your ball handlers’ hands, and you want in the right or left corner. I think we got a little goal hungry, saw an open goal and wanted to try to play to it. We just have to do what’s needed in that situation.”

Iowa outshot Delaware 9-3 and held a 7-1 advantage in shots on goal. They also earned six penalty corners to just one for the Blue Hens. Dionne van Aalsum led the way with five shots on goal, but was unable to find the net for her third goal of the season.

“I’m ecstatic about getting two wins at home. Those are two great teams, and right now, our strength of schedule is ranked number one in the country. Every game you play is going to be tough, we know that, but we’re being tested for the Big Ten. I feel like we’re getting better each week.”

Up Next: The Hawkeyes will travel to Evanston on Friday for a matchup against the top-ranked Northwestern Wildcats. The game is set to get underway at 3:00pm CT on BTN+.