PREVIEW: #1 Iowa Field Hockey vs #11 Ohio State
The Iowa Field Hockey team enters week six of the season with an undefeated record, while they sit at #1 in the NFHCA Coaches Poll for the fourth straight week. Last weekend, the Hawkeyes just had a single game on the road in Ann Arbor against #14 Michigan. It was a hard fought battle and the Wolverines pressed Iowa on both ends of the field, but in the end, the Hawkeyes picked up the 2-0 shutout victory.
“They challenged us all over the field. We saw a different look than we’ve seen yet this season,” said head coach Lisa Cellucci. “They were unbelievable interceptors that put us under unbelievable pressure and we found a way to come out with a 2-0 shutout, which was fantastic. We’ve learned a lot from the game.”
Up next is another big one in Big Ten play. The Hawkeyes will welcome 11th ranked Ohio State to Grant Field on Friday. The Buckeyes come into the matchup with a 9-2 record, including wins over #15 Michigan and America East leader New Hampshire. Their losses were one-goal defeats against #3 Northwestern and #5 Louisville.
It will be the 69th meeting between the Hawkeyes and Buckeyes, with Iowa leading the series 53-15. Ohio State got the best of the Lisa Cellucci’s squad last year in Columbus to break a streak of eight wins in a row in the series.
Ohio State Buckeyes Projected Lineup
Forwards: Makenna Webster, Brenna Bough, Hallie Brost
Midfielders: Julie Rodijk, Leanne Bough, Claudia Thomas, Anne Marie Krebs
Defenders: Katie Fichtner, Delaney Lawler, Sarah Richards
Goalkeeper: Abby Danson
Iowa Hawkeyes Projected Lineup
Forwards: Annika Herbine, Dionne van Aalsum, Miranda Jackson
Midfielders: Sofie Stribos, Jacey Wittel, Gia Whalen
Defenders: Esme Gibson, Lauren DeRose, Lieve Schalk, Milly Short
Goalkeeper: Mia Magnotta
The Breakdown
Before we dive into breaking down the Ohio State lineup, let’s take a look at this matchup on paper. FieldHockeyCorner.com has the Hawkeyes ranked at #3 in their computer rankings, while the Buckeyes check in at #11. The RPI has Iowa ranked 5th, with Ohio State coming in five spots lower at 10th.
Offensively, Iowa is averaging 4.56 goals, 16.4 shots and 6.5 penalty corners per game. For Ohio State, they are averaging 3.64 goals, 18.4 shots and 10.0 penalty corners per game. The Buckeyes have put 64.5% of their 203 shots on goal, while the Hawkeyes have put 67.6% of their 148 shots on goal. You could argue this is a matchup of the top two offenses in the country. Defensively, Iowa is allowing just 0.33 goals, 6.0 shots and 3.6 penalty corners per game. For Ohio State, they are allowing 1.36 goals, 8.5 shots and 4.5 penalty corners per game.
Last season, when the two teams met up in Columbus, the final statistics were in favor of the Hawkeyes. Iowa led the game in shots (12-3), shots on goal (8-3) and penalty corners (5-1), but it was Ohio State that came away with the 2-0 victory. Now, the Buckeyes return seven of the 11 starters from that game and have built on some of the success they had a year ago.
“We definitely dominated (that game) statistically and I think we just didn’t put our foot on the gas until the fourth quarter, when it was a little bit too late and they capitalized on their opportunities,” said Cellucci.
“Ohio State has gotten better and better every year and to me, they’re a top ten team. They’re dangerous on both sides of the ball and are unbelievable in transition, probably one of the fastest teams in the NCAA. They have a great goalkeeper and a really solid defense.”
When you flip on the tape of Ohio State, Lisa Cellucci says there are a lot of similarities between last year and this year’s Buckeyes team. The one thing that she said stands out is that, not only do they return the majority of their key players, those key pieces are noticeably faster, stronger and playing to their plan better than last year.
Offensively, through 11 games, OSU is ranked second in the Big Ten in shots per game and goals per game, while they are atop the conference in shots on goal per game (11.91). One of the top offensive attacks in the country is led by the nations second leader in points, forward Makenna Webster. Also an ice hockey player at Ohio State, Webster has 13 goals and six assists this season, while she has put 26 of her 33 shots (78.8%) on goal.
“She’s aggressive. She’s unbelievably fast, she has a great sense around the goal and even her pressure on the defensive side of the ball, her pressing has caused so many turnovers in team’s defensive thirds, so we have to plan to play around her,” said Cellucci.
The Hawkeyes have had to face some high-level goal scorers over the last couple of years. Erin Matson, Ryliegh Heck, Sophia Gladieux, Bente Baekers and Alison Smisdom come to mind right off the bat, but Webster is another player that is incredibly hard to prepare for.
“I mean, it’s pretty hard (to prepare for her),” said Cellucci. “There’s some outstanding players across the country, but she’s definitely someone we’ve kept our eye on and this week in practice we’re doing a lot of things to counteract what she’s going to show us and the rest of their team as well. She’s not the only one they have.”
The Buckeyes do have several other players that are a threat to score goals, which is what makes them such a strong offensive team. Freshman F Brenna Bough (6 gls, 2 ast), MF Leanne Bough (4 gls), F Zella Bailey (3 gls) and F Hallie Brost (2 gls, 4 ast) round out the attack.
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“They’re fantastic in transition. They keep it really simple, but they execute a great 2v1, 3v1, and they just put people under pressure, so they cause a lot of turnovers and then capitalize,” said Cellucci. “We’re going to be doing a lot of work on our transition defense and then on outletting, so how we can outlet cleanly.”
The Buckeyes also added four-time All-America East midfielder Julie Rodijk from the transfer portal after she finished with seven goals and two assists for the Great Danes last season. This year, Rodijk has been a big part of the OSU penalty corner team and has six goals.
“Rodijk is dangerous on their set pieces. She’s just dangerous as far as a distributor, so she’s someone who will have our eye.”
Defensively, the Buckeyes are an intruiging bunch. They held #5 Louisville to three shots and zero penalty corners, while #15 Michigan managed just six shots and four penalty corners. On the other hand, #3 Northwestern (20 shots, 11 PC), Lehigh (10 shots, 9 PC) and Ohio (10 shots, 6 PC) were able to put quite a bit of pressure on the OSU defense. Overall, the Buckeyes are ranked 7th (of 9) in the Big Ten in shots on goal allowed and 8th in goals allowed. Consistency has been a bit of an issue, but when they are at their best, that’s what makes them such a dangerous team.
“I think there are pieces to their defensive unit, maybe their side backs that are a little bit on the weaker side. That’s where we’re going to try to expose them, on the outside if we can. We need to be able to draw penalty corners and try to put them under pressure.”
“They have a solid crew. What they do really well is, they have fantastic footwork, they’re super athletic, and they stay in the play, so they don’t eliminate themselves a lot.”
In goal for the Buckeyes it will be senior Abby Danson. She has started 49 games over her career and has started each of the last 30 games. A year ago, Danson ranked fourth in the Big Ten in goals allowed per game (1.12), first in save percentage (79.0%) and made 79 saves. Her save percentage is down to 72.5% through 11 games this year, but her performance in last year’s matchup is stuck in the mind of the Hawkeyes. Danson made eight saves, including five in the fourth quarter to help Ohio State to a 2-0 shutout win.
“She stood on her head last year and I was very impressed with her. I’ve seen so much film already that she’s done the same in a lot of games,” said Cellucci. “She was great against Northwestern and Michigan. What we’re going to have to do, she’s a bigger goalkeeper, we’re going to have to really challenge her laterally and we’re going to have to really frame the goal well, but we’re also going to have to get a lot of shots.”
Keys to Victory from Lisa Cellucci
1. Counter defense structure, so they can handle the Ohio State transition attack
2. Earn penalty corners in the attacking third
Final Thought
This is not an easy game to attempt to forecast for a couple of reasons. Ohio State is fourth in the country in goals per game and Makenna Webster is second in the nation in goals scored. The Iowa defense has arguably been the best in the country, but Friday will be their first game without defender Harper Dunne and it remains to be seen how that will affect them. Flip the field and the Hawkeyes have the nation’s top scoring offense and the top goal scorer in the country. They will be facing an Ohio State defense that has shown flashes of high-level play, but if they allow 20 shots like they did last Friday against Northwestern, the Hawkeyes will win by multiple goals.
Lisa Cellucci’s squad is the top ranked team in the country and they have looked like it over their first nine games. When Ohio State is playing at their top level, they are a top ten team that can compete with the Hawkeyes even when they are playing their best. I think this game has the chance to go either way, but in the end, I have to go with the team that is ranked #1 and has shown more consistency over the first six weeks, even with the injury concerns. The Iowa defense holds off the Buckeyes effort to tie things up late and the Hawkeyes add a late goal to make the score more comfortable looking. #1 IOWA 3 #11 OHIO STATE 1
