|
No. 15 Iowa Blanks Saint Louis, 7-0
Junior
Stephanie Norlander recorded her third career hat-trick in what was a
dominant performance by the University of Iowa field hockey team Sunday
afternoon at Grant Field. The Hawkeyes scored seven goals for the
second consecutive game, while picking up their first shutout of the
season in a 7-0 win over Saint Louis. “It
felt great to get another win today,” said UI head coach Lisa
Cellucci. “Yesterday and today have really given us the momentum
and confidence we need heading into next weekend’s Big Ten opener.” Iowa’s
scoring frenzy began in the ninth minute with sophomore Veronique
Declercq. Declercq teed off on a ball that was set up perfectly
by sophomore Melissa Progar, who corralled a send in from freshman
Makenna Grewe off a penalty corner. The goal was the first of
Declercq’s Hawkeye career. At the 18 minute mark, Norlander scored her first goal of the game via penalty stroke, putting the Hawkeyes up 2-0. Shortly
after, in the 20th minute, junior Chandler Ackers joined the party,
notching her third goal of the season. Grewe and Progar set
Ackers up perfectly off another penalty corner -- Iowa had 18 penalty
corners in Sunday’s contest. With
16 seconds left before halftime, Norlander scored her second goal of
the game, giving Iowa a 4-0 lead heading into the break. In
the 45th minute, it was Norlander again, scoring her third goal of the
game and conference leading ninth goal of the season to put Iowa up,
5-0. Two minutes later, Ackers extended Iowa’s lead with her second
goal of the game. Iowa’s
final goal came off the stick of sophomore JoElla Guagliardo in the
49th minute. Junior Sophie Plasteras drove by a pair of Billiken
defenders before sending the ball over to a waiting Guagliardo, who was
there for the score. The
Hawkeyes went deep into the bench against the Billikens as 18 players
saw playing time. Sophomore Katie Jones made her season debut,
splitting time with junior Alexandra Pecora at goal. Pecora was
credited with the shutout; the third of her career. “To
have 42 shots and 18 penalty corners is unbelievable,” said Cellucci.
“We had a lot of players playing in different spots today, but we
still need to execute. Our forwards and midfielders played some good
defense today, and to hold them (Saint Louis) to just two shots was
great.”
|
Contact us