The No. 13 Iowa field hockey team claimed a 2-0 victory over No. 19 Michigan in its home finale on Sunday. 

Both teams were in equal possession from the beginning with neither side gaining any real traction on offense. 

But as the game went on, the Hawkeyes slowly started to find ways to penetrate the strong Wolverine defense and claimed a penalty corner opportunity late in the first quarter. 

Iowa’s penalty corner opportunity would end up unsuccessful, however, as Michigan goalkeeper Hala Silverstein would block the Hawkeyes’ shot. 

One minute later, the Wolverines would find themselves with a penalty corner opportunity of their own, only for it too to be blocked by Iowa’s third-year Dionne Van Aalsum. 

The back-and-forth possessions would follow into the second quarter, only to see Michigan let another penalty corner opportunity slip away. 

Despite the gift, the Hawkeyes’ offense still struggled to gain momentum against the Wolverine defense. Neither team would score before halftime, leading both sides to start drawing up plans for the second half of play. 

“We just needed more layers to our attack,” head coach Lisa Cellucci said. “We had a lot of individual efforts, but needed more players joining from behind.”

Whatever message Cellucci said at halftime worked, as van Aalsum, Iowa’s leading goal scorer, quickly found the back of the net early in the third quarter to get the Hawkeyes on the board. 

With a one-goal lead, the Iowa could breathe a little bit easier, leading to a more methodical playing style, something they used in their win against Michigan State on Thursday. 

But with more sustained pressure comes the chance of getting tangled up with defenders. Early in the fourth quarter, Iowa’s graduate student Fréderique Van Cleef took a hard tumble after encountering a log jam with several Michigan defenders. The graduating senior would leave the game and wouldn’t return until there was four minutes left in the game, wearing a compression sleeve over her right knee.  

The Wolverines would pull their goalie with 30 seconds remaining, and Iowa third-year Gia Whalen put the finishing touches on a Hawkeye victory with an empty net goal. 

Iowa’s only two seniors on the squad, Milly Short and Mia Magnotta, were able to celebrate with their fellow Hawkeyes and family members on Senior Day following the final horn.

“I’m really happy with the win and with how the future for this season looks as well. We put everything out there today, and this win is just the cherry on top,” Short said. 

“It feels great for it to be me and Milly’s last game here on Grant Field, and everyone fought really hard, and we are just proud of the product we put out there,” Magnotta added. 

Up next 

Iowa, now 11-4 overall and 4-3 in Big Ten play, has one final regular season game against Ohio State on Oct. 31 before the Big Ten tournament begins in Bloomington, Indiana. 

“We know we still have business to finish, and we know Ohio State is a really good team,” Cellucci said. “But we have had a lot of success there.”