Iowa field hockey closes out season with loss in Big Ten Tournament

Taylor McNitt, [email protected]

October 30, 2017

FILE – Iowa midfielder Katie Birch advances towards the circle during a field hockey game against Fairfield at Grant Field on Friday, September 2, 2016. The Hawkeyes defeated the Stags 4-1. (The Daily Iowan/Joseph Cress)

On Sunday, the Iowa field-hockey team was dealt one final loss to end the season, this one coming in the Big Ten Tournament.

The Hawkeyes entered postseason play ready to tackle Penn State; however, Penn State wasn’t having any of it, taking down Iowa, 5-1.

Prior to the Hawkeyes’ rematch against the Nittany Lions, head coach Lisa Cellucci seemed confident about her team’s ability to hang in the conference tournament.

“We started out way slower than we would have imagined or wanted to, but I think we have some great momentum now going into the postseason,” she said.

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The Hawkeyes had crushed Michigan State the weekend before and followed up with a victory over Ohio State. They had momentum, but against Penn State, they lost it.

Penn State came out right away in the eighth minute of the first half with a goal against Iowa on a penalty corner. Iowa kept the rest of the half at a stalemate, thanks to senior goalkeeper Katie Jones’ 8 saves.

Penn State battered the Hawkeyes with 16 shots in the first half and 8 in the second. Jones made a career high 10 saves in her last game with the Hawkeyes.

But in the second half, Penn State came out with fire. The Nittany Lions scored again, and again, and again. By the 60th minute of the game, the score sat at 4-0.

The Hawkeyes didn’t give up, though; taking advantage of a penalty stroke, sophomore Katie Birch put the ball in the back of Penn State’s net.

After Birch’s goal, the Hawkeyes needed to score 3 more goals in the next nine minutes in order to send the game into overtime, but they were unable to tally even 1.

To make a final statement, Penn State added its 5th goal in the 69th minute, and that was that.

Overall, Penn State had 10 penalty-corner opportunities during the game, while Iowa had only four, unable unable to capitalize on any of them. Iowa also fell short on shots, only tallying 7.

It’s safe to say that the game against Penn State didn’t go as the Hawkeyes had hoped, and this time, there isn’t another chance to prove themselves.