Iowa Field Hockey gearing up for the '25 season

Last season was not up to standard. The numbers didn’t tell the whole story for the Iowa Field Hockey team, but they told enough. A 9-9 overall record kept the Hawkeyes out of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017 and broke a streak six straight tournament appearances. The message over the offseason was pretty clear. A .500 finish and no postseason is not an acceptable result for a season at Iowa, and they are determined to get back on track this season.

“We talked about that a lot early on in the offseason because it isn’t (the standard),” said Lisa Cellucci who enters her 12th year as head coach of the Hawkeyes. “Our goal every year is to be in the NCAA Tournament, pushing to get to the Elite Eight, the Final Four. It’s definitely something we talked about with our returners.”

Although the .500 record and 2-6 mark in Big Ten play doesn’t look great on paper, the Hawkeyes were closer, rather than further away. They began the season with a dramatic shootout victory over #18 Wake Forest, but they ended up finishing with a 1-5 record in games that needed extra time, including three shootout defeats. Those close losses were the difference in the season but it’s also a sign that a little better execution and a bounce or two going in their direction could go a long way this year.

“We lost a lot of close games and there were just a couple of key plays with some defensive penalty corners, attacking penalty corners and shootout execution that we’ve addressed. (The record), I don’t think tells a complete story of the season. We were close and we stayed ranked in the top 20 all year, so there were a lot of positives.”

At the end of the day, Cellucci says that the nail-biting defeats don’t count for anything and they only thing people will notice is the final record, as well as the fact that there will be no “2024” on their NCAA Tournament banner.

“Ultimately, what people read in the newspaper, and what doesn’t go up on the banner, that’s what sticks with you.”

Defense, a hallmark of Iowa Field Hockey, remains a strength

Two veterans that know the standards of Iowa Field Hockey very well, defender Milly Short and goalkeeper Mia Magnotta, return to anchor the Hawkeyes defense this season. In ’23 when Iowa went 13-6, opponents averaged 1.05 goals and 4.68 shots on goal in regulation. Despite falling to 9-9 last season, the defensive numbers were very similar, allowing 1.16 goals and 5.44 shots on goal in regulation. In goal, Magnotta recorded a career-high 88 saves, while her 79.3% save percentage ranked fifth amongst goalkeepers that faced at least 100 shots.

The defense does lose five-year starter Harper Dunne to graduation, while three-year starter Lieve Schalk transferred to California after missing last season with an injury. Still, Lisa Cellucci believes they have the pieces for a strong defensive unit.

“Very confident. Mia has had a great summer, and she’s been playing great during the preseason. Milly is the fittest she has ever been. She broke all sorts of Iowa field hockey records with our fitness assessment, so we could not be happier and proud of where she’s at.”

“Their leadership has been unbelievable; their organization of the defense and their communication of our tactics have been fantastic and now we have even more supporting pieces (around them).”

Hawkeyes looking for a bounce back in the goal scoring department

As a true freshman in ’23, forward Dionne van Aalsum was a goal scoring machine, leading the country with 28 goals scored, which helped Iowa rank third in the country in goals per game (3.11). Last season, van Aalsum tallied just nine goals, and the Hawkeyes dropped all way to 59th, averaging just 1.56 goals per game.

This year, they return their top two scorers, van Aalsum (9) and Lieve van Kessel (5), as well as Rachel Herbine who was second on the team with five assists last season. Those pieces, plus a few new faces added to the roster has the coaching staff believing they can be a stronger threat this season.

“The other person (along with Milly Short) on our team who has made the biggest strides is Dionne. She’s the fittest she’s ever been, she’s the strongest she’s ever been, she’s injury free, and she’s been on a scoring tear in preseason,” said Cellucci. “She carried a lot of pressure last season, and all eyes were on her.”

“We have compliments around her that are really going to help her be able to pick up her goal scoring, and at the very least, we have others that are going to be able to contribute.”

The all-important midfield has more depth and experience

Arguably the most important position group on the field, midfielders help on both ends of the field. They play a critical part of the offensive attack, bridging from the initial build up to the final third of the field, while they also must get back and defend. Last year, they were exceptionally young with sophomore Gia Whalen being thrust into the role as leader of the group after making 19 starts as a freshman. Now, they return Whalen who is entering her third year as a starter, as well as junior Lieve van Kessel (18 starts), sophomore Sabrina McGroarty (18 starts), junior Rachel Herbine (16 starts) and Lexie Haig (15 games).

“It’s our engine room. I’m going to keep using the word depth, but we have many more people who are going to be able to play quality minutes in the midfield,” Cellucci said. “We really have seven for five spots, and that’s a lot for us from what we’ve had in the past, so their ability to be able to do the running, to execute the simple plays, and continue to build our attack and transition in defense is going to be huge. We’ve been really, really pleased with what we’ve seen so far.”

Season Outlook

The expectation for the Hawkeyes is to get back to the NCAA Tournament this season. Matchups against Wake Forest and North Carolina in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge on opening weekend will be good measuring stick games, as will a trip to Louisville in early September. Big Ten play has few, if any nights off, which means they’ll likely find themselves in plenty of close contests. Last year, six of their nine losses came by a single goal or in extra time, which can sometimes point to better fortunes for the following season. Lisa Cellucci is confident they can turn things around.

“I think we have a high capacity for great potential, and that, as a coaching staff, is what we’re so excited about. We’ve already started at a higher level than we did last year, so we feel like, as long as we can really be hitting our stride going into Big Ten play and put all the pieces together, we have a great opportunity to have a lot of success.”

The Hawkeyes open the regular season on August 29th with a Big Ten/ACC Challenge matchup against Wake Forest at Grant Field in Iowa City.