Iowa field hockey falls to Northwestern, beats Cal

No. 13 Iowa fell to No. 14 Northwestern before defeating No. 25 Cal this weekend.

Iowa+forward+Leah+Zellner+fights+for+control+of+the+ball+during+a+field+hockey+match+against+Penn+on+Friday%2C+Sept.+14%2C+2018.+The+Hawkeyes+defeated+the+Quakers+3%E2%80%930.

David Harmantas

Iowa forward Leah Zellner fights for control of the ball during a field hockey match against Penn on Friday, Sept. 14, 2018. The Hawkeyes defeated the Quakers 3–0.

Sarah Altemeier, Sports Reporter

Northwestern ended Iowa field hockey’s six-game winning streak this past weekend, but the Hawkeyes bounced back against California.

On Sept. 21, No. 14 Northwestern came out on top against No. 13 Iowa, 2-0, after a scoreless first half, but the Hawkeyes topped No. 25 Cal, 4-1, 24 hours later in Evanston, Illinois.

After neither team could find the back of the net for the first 56 minutes of play, Northwestern scored the way the Hawkeyes often do: on a penalty corner. Junior captain Katie Birch hit a shot above the goal in the 63rd minute, but 30 seconds later, the Wildcats scored a second goal.

Northwestern outshot Iowa, 7-4, and was awarded 8 penalty corners; Iowa had 3. Hawkeye goalkeeper Leslie Speight recorded 3 saves and allowed 2 goals for the first time since Aug. 26, when Iowa faced North Carolina.

Four different Hawkeyes scored in their 4-1 victory over Cal. Birch got the Hawkeyes rolling, scoring her sixth goal of the season in the 11th minute of the game.

In the 26th minute, junior Ryley Miller assisted sophomore Maddy Murphy on a two-on-one opportunity. Murphy leads the team in goals scored with 8. Cal added a goal before the first 35 minutes of the match were up, ending the half, 2-1.

In the second half, freshmen Lokke Stribos scored an unassisted goal, the first of her career. Senior Makenna Grewe added one of her own in the 65th minute, sealing the win.

“We maximized our opportunities today on attacking and scored some great goals,” head coach Lisa Cellucci said in a release. “It was a battle for 70 minutes, and Cal kept us on our toes with their dangerous counterattack. I am really proud of the team’s resiliency to bounce back after a tough game [Sept. 21].”

RELATED: Cellucci finds success twice with Iowa field hockey

The Hawkeyes outshot the Golden Bears, 9-6, and both teams had 3 penalty corner opportunities. Speight registered 4 saves, the most that she’s tallied since Sept. 2 against Ball State. Speight holds a .833 save percentage and has allowed 0.69 goals per game.

The Hawkeyes are now 2-2 against top-25 teams, beating Wake Forest earlier in the year and Cal and falling to North Carolina and Northwestern.

In the past 10 games, the Hawkeyes have outshot their opponents, 144-63, while also outscoring them, 29-7. Twenty-two of Iowa’s 29 goals have been assisted, with Birch leading the team with 6 assists. Iowa has been rewarded 64 penalty corners — a key factor to dominating a match. They have given up just 35.

The Hawkeyes will continue their Big Ten play on Friday in East Lansing against Michigan State. On Sept. 30, Iowa will travel to Columbus to take on their fourth Big Ten opponent and fifth ranked team of the season, No. 23 Ohio State. After this weekend, Iowa is currently 1-1 in the Big Ten, 8-2 overall.