Six More Wins Against the ACC, Iowa Dominates
Field hockey takes six of eight ACC/Big Ten Challenge matchups, Iowa outscores opponents 17-0
Big Ten Field Hockey continued an impressive start to the season behind nail-biting victories in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge and a couple of non-conference blowouts in Iowa City.
‘Cats and Terps sweep in Newton
No. 1 Northwestern’s battle against No. 6 Duke on Friday was a sign of things to come over the weekend in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. After Ashley Sessa’s first goal of the year gave the Wildcats an early 1-0 lead, the Blue Devils responded with three first-half goals. Their lead lasted until the fourth quarter when Ilse Tromp took over. The reigning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year scored twice to send the game into overtime. Piper Borz found Sol Martinez for the game winner – her first collegiate goal – six minutes into the extra frame to deliver the Wildcats a top-10 victory. Northwestern went on to complete the weekend sweep on Sunday with a 2-0 shutout of Boston College behind goals from Sessa and Tromp. More from the Wildcats .
No. 13 Maryland also shut out Boston College 2-0 on Friday, setting up its own showdown with the Blue Devils on Sunday. Duke again started fast with two goals in the first quarter before Francisca Eschoyez scored to get the Terps on the board. The 2-1 deficit would last until the 59th minute, when freshman Ella Beach sent the game into overtime with the first goal of her career. After two scoreless overtime periods, Maryland found the back of the cage three times in the shootout to knock off Duke. Eschoyez bookmarked the day with the clinching shootout goal. See Maryland's weekend recaps .
Buckeyes and Scarlet Knights pull off upsets
Comebacks were the theme of the weekend, and it was no different for Ohio State and No. 20 Rutgers on Sunday afternoon. Both squads dropped their Friday matchups but rallied for upset victories on Sunday.
The Buckeyes trailed 1-0 heading into the fourth quarter against No. 5 Virginia, then lightning struck twice in the form of junior forward Siena Golden. With under 13 minutes to play, Golden redirected an almost head-high shot into the goal to tie it. Less than a minute later, Golden scored off of a penalty corner to give Ohio State the lead it'd never give back. More here .
Rutgers also trailed No. 12 Syracuse going into the fourth quarter. With under five minutes to play, Olivia Fraticelli was able to work her way past a slew of Orange defenders to tie the game at one . The Scarlet Knights scored four times in the shootout to register the upset win in Piscataway. Read the Scarlet Knights’ recap .
The Big Ten finished the ACC/Big Ten Challenge with a 9-3 record over the opening two weekends of the season.
Iowa dominates at home
Following two top-10 wins that vaulted the program to No. 4 in the country, Iowa continued to show why it’s a force to reckoned with over the weekend. The Hawkeyes beat Lehigh and Ball State by a combined score of 17-0 in their first two home games of the season. The one-two punch of Fréderique van Cleef and Dionne van Aalsum continued to shine. Van Cleef tallied two hat tricks and totaled six goals and two assists over the two games, while van Aalsum added five goals of her own, including a hat trick in Sunday’s win over Ball State. Iowa will return to ranked action next weekend against Miami [OH] and Louisville.
See the upcoming Big Ten Field Hockey slate here .
Photo via hawkeyesports.com .