The 2023-24 season was a successful one for head coach Lisa Cellucci and the Iowa field hockey team, but important decisions needed to be addressed in the offseason.
Cellucci and her coaching staff were fortunate to have two fifth-year athletes in Esme Gibson and Sofie Stribos a year ago — veteran presences that combined for just under 200 starts for the Black and Gold.
Both graduated following the season, leaving Cellucci searching for new candidates to step up and fill their shoes. An early candidate for the position is third-year defender Milly Short, a versatile athlete who is in her second consecutive season starting for Cellucci’s defense.
“Last spring we identified a handful of people that had great influence on the team and great credibility,” Cellucci said. “We really needed to challenge them to use their words. [Short] has just always led by her actions, but we needed her to be a better verbal communicator and address difficult situations.”
Short’s collegiate career was in jeopardy before it even started three years ago, with her initial plan revolving around medicine and not field hockey. She eventually decided to play for Cellucci and Iowa but was met with adversity in her first season due to an injury.
“One of the reasons she did get hurt her freshman year is because she goes so hard in every situation,” Cellucci said. “She was just busting it and ruptured her quad because she was working so hard.”
Short’s injury was an obvious setback, but the time away from the field caused her to learn more about the technicalities of the sport while watching it from a different perspective.
“I really wanted to integrate myself,” Short said. “But to be honest, it was fine. I had a great time and learned a lot from being on the sideline and watching. I experienced it all. Yes, I did miss playing, but I still learned a lot. I inserted myself into the team, too, and it worked out okay.”
The injury gave Short ample time to prepare for her sophomore campaign and to establish herself as one of the more consistent players on the Iowa defensive unit.
In her second season with the Hawkeyes, Short has logged the second most minutes on the team with 1,127, playing 60 minutes or more in 15 of the team’s 19 contests.
“Her physical fitness has really gone off the charts,” Cellucci said. “She got multiple [personal records] this August, and that has absolutely changed her game and just her position within the conference and nationally, too, being looked at as a center back that’s just really capable and able to play a high level for 60 to 70 minutes.”
As the season hits its final stretch, Cellucci wants to see improvements in leadership and vocality.
“It’s not an easy thing at this age, especially young women, to hold each other accountable,” Cellucci said. “But she is one of the better ones I have seen in years.”