Iowa field hockey returns to Grant Field for senior day

The Hawkeyes finish out their home slate of games for 2019 against Northwestern on Saturday.

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Raquele Decker

Iowa’s team huddles before the UC Davis field hockey game on October 6, 2019.

Jahlynn Hancock, Sports Reporter

No. 8 Iowa field hockey returns to Iowa City for a ranked Big Ten matchup against No. 10 Northwestern at noon on Saturday.

The Wildcats are 12-5 on the season after facing multiple top 15 teams throughout the season. Four of their wins have come against ranked teams like Wake Forest, Ohio State, Michigan, and Boston College.

Freshman Bente Baekers leads Northwestern and the Big Ten with 22 goals compared to Iowa junior Maddy Murphy, who leads her team with 10.

Senior Kristen Mansfield of Northwestern currently leads the Big Ten with 14 assists on the season. Iowa senior Katie Birch leads the Hawkeyes with 10.

Junior goalkeeper Florien Marcussen has 71 saves on the season, while Iowa’s Leslie Speight only has 28.

The Hawkeyes are coming off of a 6-1 win against Indiana a week ago. The game featured Murphy’s second career hat trick and Iowa’s third for the season. The team totaled 19 shots in the match with seven of those coming in the first period.

Iowa then faced No. 5 Louisville and lost 3-2 in the final minute of the match.

Northwestern leads the all-time series 53-25, with 24 of those wins coming at Grant Field. Iowa’s last win against Northwestern was in 2016.

This is the final game at Grant Field this season and will be senior day for the Hawkeyes. They next travel to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to close out the regular season against the Wolverines on Nov. 3.