Friday’s field-hockey game is the last at Grant Field for seniors.
By Michael McCurdy
On Friday, the Iowa field-hockey team will host a must-win game against Michigan State, but more importantly, it will be the last time the seniors will play on Grant Field.
This senior class has been very special to the program through its years at Iowa, so much that field-hockey head coach Lisa Cellucci had a tough time trying to describe the players’ impact in words.
“It’s hard because this group has done so much for our program, more than I can even explain,” Cellucci said. “They’ve been a great group for four years, and I’ve been so proud to go on the journey with them.”
Senior Day in sports is a sentimental moment because for the seniors, it is the end of a major chapter in their lives. One of the few things the seniors have known the past four seasons is going out to Grant Field and practicing together, traveling to away games with each other, and experiencing college as a group.
That is why on Friday, seniors Sophie Plasteras and Chandler Ackers said they expect to be emotional, but they will focus on trying to bottle in that emotion until after the game because it is a must-win situation.
“It’s definitely going to be emotional because I never really thought the day would actually come, and to have my parents there in the stands will make it a lot of fun,” Plasteras said. “But once the game gets going, my attention will quickly shift to that, and then, after we hopefully win, the celebration can begin.”
Ackers agreed.
“It’s like, Wow, I cannot believe these four years went by so fast,” Ackers said. “If I had any advice to tell anybody, it would be to rise up their freshman year, don’t take anything for granted, and just live it through.”
Over the past four seasons, the Hawkeyes have had many highlights on the field. This makes it difficult for the seniors to select their favorite memories.
For senior Alexandra Pecora, the game most special to her was 2014’s home contest versus No. 4 Penn State, when the Hawkeyes shut out the Nittany Lions, 4-0.
“Senior Day our sophomore year, Penn State came in as a very heavy favorite, and we shut them out 4-0,” Pecora said. “That was a great memory, and I cannot forget the Northwestern game from last Friday, which was such a great win. It’s just so hard to narrow it down because there have been so many good times with those four girls.”
Last season, redshirt senior Natalie Cafone expected to graduate with her class of seniors, but she was sidelined the whole season because of an injury. She was granted a medical redshirt and the opportunity to play one more season with a different group of seniors. But to her, that did not matter, because they have long been good friends.
“I’ve been super close friends with them my entire time here,” Cafone said. “So joining their class was exciting; there were no doubts in my mind that there would be any issues. We’ve all become so close, so it’s been a great extra senior year for me.”
