Iowa Field Hockey: Fairfield/Albany Preview
The Iowa Field Hockey team got off to hot start last week with a 2-0 weekend at the Big Ten/ACC Challenge down in Chapel Hill, NC. The Hawkeyes scored three second half goals to take down #12 Wake Forest 4-0 in the season opener. Then on Sunday, Lisa Cellucci’s squad shocked top ranked North Carolina 3-2 with an overtime goal from freshman Lieve Van Kessel. It was the first ever win for Iowa in Chapel Hill and just the second time that they have gone 2-0 in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
“Impressed with the team from Friday, all the way through Sunday. Unbelievable poise and resilience coming back from down against UNC at two different times,” said Cellucci. “Two really great opponents that are going to have great seasons and for us to come out 2-0 was unbelievable.”
The goal scoring came almost entirely from the freshman class. Forward Dionne van Aalsum scored two goals in each game of the weekend, while forward Miranda Jackson and midfielder Lieve Van Kessel each had a goal. Fifth-year senior Sofie Stribos was the only non-freshman to score with a goal in Friday’s season opener. Lisa Cellucci said prior to the season that she felt the team had the pieces, both returning and incoming, but the fact that it came together right away in week one was a bit of a surprise.
“To be honest, a little bit (surprising), but from Northwestern scrimmage, I was like, okay, we have something here,” said Cellucci. “We are playing so much more as a team than I’ve seen us play in a couple of years…we were going forward very aggressively, much quicker than we normally do. A lot of times we play the ball back and then to skip a couple of lines and we just don’t have the personnel to be able to do that this year. I think we were able to really build the ball in smaller ways and go forward and be really effective.”
Now, the Hawkeyes turn their focus to the second week of the season and will look to keep the momentum rolling. Iowa travels to Albany, NY for a pair of games against solid field hockey teams, including a ranked matchup on Sunday.
Friday– vs Fairfield / 1:00pm CT
Sunday- at #19 Albany / 11:00am / America East TV
Friday’s matchup will be just the third all-time meeting between the Hawkeyes and Stags, with Iowa leading the series 2-0. The last meeting was in 2016 during Lisa Cellucci’s third season as head coach. The Hawkeyes won that matchup 4-1 in Iowa City. Meanwhile, Sunday’s matchup against Albany will be just the second all-time meeting between the Hawkeyes and Great Danes. The first matchup came back in 2012 when Lisa Cellucci was an assistant coach. Iowa won that game 2-1 in Iowa City.
Fairfield Stags (1-0)
Last Week: W at Hofstra 4-0
The Stags finished with an 11-9 record last season, including a 5-2 record in Northeast Conference play. Fairfield was 0-5 against NCAA Tournament participants, but did advance to the NEC Championship where they fell to Rider in overtime.
The Stags are spending the early part of the season trying to replace NEC Player of the Year Nora Amme (7 gls, 11 ast), but they do return a bunch of pieces from a team that nearly made the NCAA Tournament a year ago. With their season opener coming on Tuesday, it makes the Hawkeyes preperation a little different.
“We have played them in the past and they typically do very well in their conference and they typicaly have a lot of international players,” said Lisa Cellucci. “Our biggest message to our team is just getting better against ourselves and I think if we can continue to do that, we’ll be okay.”
The Fairfield offense is a curious case. They return just 43.2% of their 44 goals scored last season and lose their top two goalscorers, but return five players that had at least three goals a year ago. That starts with forwards Alex Senior and Carmel Van Dijk. Senior scored five goals last season, while Van Dijk earned Second Team All-NEC honors with three goals and seven assists.
“We know they bring back some of their key players and they can score goals,” said Cellucci. “In the past they’ve been dangerous in transition and they’ve had very good penalty corners, so we’ll key in on those areas.”
In the midfield, the Stags return Second Team All-NEC selection Konni Hofmann (3 gls, 3 ast) and Agustina Casteluchi (4 gls). On the defensive, it’s a pair of Second Team All-NEC selections leading the way. Frances Mirabile (3 gls, 6 ast) and Madison Milhous return in the field, but the Stags have an underrated goalkeeper. In her first year as a starter last season, Payton Rahn owned a 72.1% save percentage (35th) and made 98 saves over 20 games. She recorded a career-high ten saves against Louisville.
#19 Albany Great Danes (1-1)
Last Week: L/OT vs UMass 3-2, W vs Stonehill 5-0
Albany finished with a 16-5 record last season, including an America East Tournament Championship and an upset win over #4 Michigan in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The Great Danes were 1-3 against Big Ten teams and 2-4 against ranked teams.
“I think they’re really dangerous in all lines and they’re just really experienced,” said Cellucci. “I think they’re probably getting better at a really fast pace. We are going to have to play a great game at their place to be able to compete.”
The Great Danes lost forward Luisa Knapp (7 gls, 7 ast) and defender Julie Rodijk (7 gls), who were both All-America East selections, but the key returner is midfielder Alison Smisdom. She earned First Team All-American honors after totaling 15 goals and nine assists. Smisdom took 34.9% of Albany’s shots last season and has already taken 35.7% of shots through two games. After facing Ryleigh Heck on Sunday, the Hawkeyes are set to face another elite goalscorer.
“The good thing is we’ve already seen that so far in two games. Wake Forest and UNC and some of their stars, so it’ll be defense by committee,” said Cellucci. “Our counter defense structure go so much better in both games (last weekend) and that’s what we have to key in on. If we have good structure, good shape and then we do our job with discipline and footwork, we’ll be okay.”
Smisdom may make of a good portion of the Albany offensive attack, but the Great Danes have talented players surrounding her. America East All-Freshman Team forward Sophia Schoonmaker (7 gls, 2 ast) and forward Charlotte Triggs (4 gls, 4 ast) each have a pair of goals already this season after combining for 11 a year ago.
The midfield is their strength, as the All-American Smisdom is joined by Third Team All-American Old Dominion transfer Delphine Le Jeune (12 gls, 3 ast) and First Team All-America East selection Floor de Ruiter (5 gls). Lisa Cellucci says that they have to be prepared for a number of different things during Sunday’s game.
“I think they’re strong distributors. They’ll move the ball well. They have a lot of numbers behind the ball. I think they’re disciplined with their individual defense, so they are going to be hard to penetrate,” said Cellucci. “We’re going to have to be prepared for all sorts of tactics and how we’re going to move the ball, but we’re just going to have to play a really solid game.”
In between the goal posts it is a bit of question mark as to who the Great Danes will go with. 2022 America East Tournament MVP Hannah Mangan has started to the first two games of the season, but has split time with Lara Behn. Mangan held opponents to 1.17 goals per game last season and made 71 saves. Her 74.7% save percentage ranked 24th in the country. As for Behn, she started 16 games back in 2021 and was named to the America East All-Freshman team, but played in just four games a year ago. Through two games, Mangan has played 72 minutes and Behn has played 57 minutes.
Final Thoughts
After a 2-0 start last weekend against #12 Wake Forest and #1 North Carolina, there no arguing that the Hawkeyes will be the favorites to do the same this weekend. It’s no secret that the Big Ten/ACC Challenge at Karen Shelton Stadium in Chapel Hill has a different feel than this weekend’s game at Alumni Turf in Albany will have. However, Fairfield has advanced to the NCAA Tournament three times in the last eight years, while Albany made headlines for upsetting #4 Michigan in last year’s NCAA Tournament.
“I think the difficult piece is making sure out team is as amped up as they would be playing against Wake Forest and North Carolina because that’s when you can get yourself in trouble,” said Cellucci. “That’s why we’re taking this one day at a time because you can’t have a weekend like we just did and then falter.”
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