By Michael McCurdy
Coming into the weekend, the Iowa field-hockey team had a perfect opportunity to put itself back in the hunt for the Big Ten crown.
With two tough road games against No. 9 Northwestern and No. 12 Michigan, the Hawkeyes were almost able to get back in the conversation but ultimately fell short.
On Oct. 14, the Hawkeyes traveled to Evanston for what turned out to be a barnburner of a game. Northwestern got on the board first, thanks to a goal from Elena Curley. Iowa had a tough time answering until freshman Katie Birch struck the net off a penalty corner that was assisted by junior Melissa Progar.
The game remained tied at the end of regulation forcing overtime, a situation the Hawkeyes have been familiar with this season. For the most part, the story this season has the Hawkeyes play teams tough, but then they run out of gas at the end and come up short.
This time, the narrative was different in Evanston — roughly two minutes into overtime, the Hawkeyes got a penalty corner and were able to capitalize. Freshman Katie Birch fired the slapshot and missed, but freshman roommate Sophie Sunderland was there to score off the rebound.
The Hawkeyes beat the No. 9 Wildcats, 2-1.
Iowa head coach Lisa Cellucci said she could not have been more pleased with her team’s overall effort and sense of urgency toward the end.
“The team did a good job sticking to the game plan,” said Cellucci in a release. “We made some huge defensive saves and executed on our penalty corners. I am very proud of the effort, intensity, and urgency that the team displayed today.”
The team’s momentum carried into Sunday, where the Hawkeyes traveled up to Ann Arbor to take on No. 12 Michigan. The Hawkeyes were the first to get on the board, thanks to redshirt senior Natalie Cafone and her impressive ability to get by defenders.
The game was statistically even between the Hawkeyes and Wolverines, forcing another overtime. If Iowa had enough left in the tank after a hard-fought win two days prior to secure the victory, they would have completed one of the best road trips in college field hockey this season.
But Iowa’s lack of depth and experience caught up and the team was unable to capitalize and grab the victory in overtime. Cellucci said the loss was a gut-wrencher, but in the end she could not have been more pleased with her team’s fight in the close contest.
“This was a heartbreaking loss,” said Cellucci in a release. “We played a great game and unfortunately couldn’t capitalize in overtime. I was very proud of the effort and intensity we played with.”
The Hawkeyes are now 10-6 overall with a 2-4 Big Ten record. Iowa has proven this year that it can compete with anyone in the country, but time and time again its lack of depth has come back to hurt.
Iowa is still a dangerous team moving forward, but those close losses will need to start turning into narrow victories.
Follow @MMccurd for more information on Iowa field hockey.
