By Jordan Hansen
Three Iowa field hockey players — Chandler Ackers, Natalie Cafone, and Melissa Progar — received preseason Big Ten honors.
Cafone, coming off a redshirt season because of injury, was the 2014 Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and ranked fourth nationally that season in goals per game. She was named first-team All-American that season by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association and makes the Hawkeyes exponentially better.
It will be her last season on the field for Iowa, and it should be interesting to see what type of numbers she can put up this season.
In her absence, Ackers — who is also a senior — stepped up big time last year, receiving second-team All-Big Ten honors while scoring eight goals. She also tallied six assists and started all 19 games last season.
Progar also had a good run last season, starting every game. The junior had a number of assists, coming in second on the team in the stat.
Iowa starts its season Saturday as they travel to Wake Forest as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.