Notice the position of van Aalsum’s hands as she dribblrs with her stick reversed.

18 September 2025
The two-match series with the Indiana Hoosiers was Iowa’s first Big Ten conference encounter as well as the first I attended, not in Bloomington, but only online. The Hawks were playing Indiana twice, on Friday and Sunday. The Sunday match would not count for standing in the conference, but the winner would get a boost in Rated Performance Index, used by the NCAA for National Tournament selection. Though Bloomington is an easy day’s drive from Iowa City, making the trip would entail paying for an additional day’s lodging. Watching online video has advantages. In person I like to be close to the action at pitch-side, but team formations, off-ball movement, and the melee of penalty corner action are hard to follow from the touchline. (Some coaches, such as USA’s David Passmore, prefer to watch from high in the bleachers.) In international hockey, we often have the accompany of expert commentary, but in America commenters are trained to chatter continuously whether they know what is going on or not. This weekend’s were mixed. As Friday’s match would be televised, we had someone who understood the game in the commentary box, former Michigan field hockey player Kara Lentz. On Sunday the match was online on Big 10 plus, and the commentators were two males, probably Indiana undergraduates, who knew practically nothing about field hockey.

Indiana and Iowa are alike in that their high-school students are deprived of an opportunity to play field hockey, so both university’s entire rosters are imported from out-of-state, some from overseas. Indiana featured Emma Thompsom from New Zealand at back, a striker from Spain Celia Arroyo Cabezudo, and Charlotte Glasper from Shaker Heights, Ohio, their injector for penalty corners. Over the years, the Hoosiers seemed perpetual doormats in the Big Ten, but recently they have been getting stronger, and last year humiliated Iowa by winning a tie-breaker in Iowa City. Thus far this season they had close loses to Boston College and Louisville, traditionally strong teams, and victories over weaker but respectable Maine and Drexel, as well as walk-over victories against Lock Haven and Saint Francis. Friday afternoon was bright and sunny, exactly the kind of day I most miss being pitch-side, but instead I was staring at a computer screen.
Iowa was using a 3-4-3 formation, with the all-Dutch trio of attackers van Cleef, van Aalsum, and Zonnenberg, supported in mid-field by van Kessel, Whalen, de Jonh, and Byers. Team captain Milly Short anchored the backline, with Téa Fort-Pied and Lauren DeRose. And outstanding Mia Magnotta in the goal. Five starters were freshmen, by now used to working together. The first quarter felt tentative, with the Hoosiers pressing high and keeping the Hawks mostly at their own end of the field, and neither team managing a shot. Three minutes into the second quarter, the action heated up. Indiana penetrated the Iowa circle and was awarded a penalty corner. Shot blocked by Hawkeye defense. Second penalty corner blocked. Then with under eight minutes to go, van Aalsum penetrated the Hoosier circle but her shot was saved by the Indiana goalie. The Iowa’s Zonnenberg got a penalty corner. Van Aalsum took the injection at L1, the far end of the shooting circle, but shot was blocked. A couple of minutes later Whalen penetrated the circle but shot blocked. Half a minute later, Iowa had another penalty corner but attempt by van Aalsum, blocked. Another penalty corner, also van Aalsum also blocked. And another, bad trap and loose ball but van Kessel batted it into the goal with an overhand smash and Iowa had their first goal. In the last three minutes Iowa had another penalty corner but van Aalsum’s shot was too high and dangerous. So the half ended with Iowa 1 Indiana nil.
Two minutes into the second half, Indiana equalized with a beautiful field goal by Charlotte Glasper, a forehand shot into the keeper’s upper left, impossible to reach. But Iowa counterattacked immediately with a pass into the Indiana circle from van Cleef to van Aalsum, who scored. The quarter proceeded without scoring chances, though watching online I suspected Iowa had more momentum though one really cannot feel it except in person. But in the last minute, Indiana got a penalty corner. Would they equalize? Arroyo Cabezud’s first shot was blocked. Another penalty corner, but this time her shot went wide of the goal. Two minutes into the final quarter, Zonnenberg carried the ball up the middle and passed to van Cleef, who scored.

It was delightful, not just to have an insurance goal but to see Iowa with a new scoring pattern, not relying on van Aalsum all the time. But the Hoosiers persisted. With just under nine minutes to go, they got a penalty corner. Mijintje Hagen’s shot was saved by Mia Magnotta. The was a huge melee right in front of the goal, the area goalkeepers call “the ugly zone” and resulting in another penalty corner. Indiana’s shot was saved, not by the goalkeeper but by Milly Short at left post, a position requiring tremendous courage as she has only her stick to block the shot. Milly resembled a baseball player laying down a bunt, but as Milly is English, I wondered if instead she had played cricket in school at home. Then Iowa got a penalty corner, injection went to Milly on the circle and her shot was blocked by Emma Thompson and went high off her stick. I noticed that time Indiana used a 2-2 penalty corner defense, something you don’t see often in Division I and international hockey, where the 3-1 is usual. With a 2-2 the defenders form a kind of box. It is more passive, but useful if you think the attackers are going to try something tricky and pass the ball before taking a shot. But with four minutes to go Indiana got a last chance with a penalty corner. First attempt blocked but another foul. Second shot wide off an Iowa foot so another. I was feeling agonized. Third corner shot and goal with three and a half minutes to go? Would they force the game into overtime? More suspense but that was how the match ended, Iowa 3 Indiana 2. Statistically Indiana had enjoyed more opportunities, but Iowa had used theirs better and played excellent defense.

I was struck too by commentator Kara Lentz’s mentioning the match Iowa played last year against Maryland at the Big Ten tournament, where the Hawks held a stronger Terrapin side to a nil-nil tie through the sixty minute regulation period and two ten minute overtime periods before succumbing to a shootout. I had been there and wrote about that match and I think it did, for those Hawkeyes who remained, a springboard to a better season this year. And now Iowa had won three successive matches against teams that could give a good account of themselves. Boded well for the season.

21 September 2025

On Sunday the Hawks and Hoosiers returned for their second encounter of the weekend, but this time the match would not count in their Big Ten standing. With the Hawkeyes’ principal objective this season being to recover their national reputation, this game was still a must-win for Iowa. They had demonstrated superiority last Friday, but not by much and the one-goal difference could easily have been reversed. Again I would watch remotely from Iowa City, but this time Big Ten Plus was carrying the match and the commentators were a pair of male Indiana students whose knowledge of hockey was minimal.
In the second minute of play Iowa gained a penalty corner. Zonnenberg injected, Herbine trapped, and van Aalsum hit the ball into the goal, a quick advantage for the Hawks. Despite the disappointing start, the Hoosiers counterattacked and scarcely two minutes later Arroyo Cabezud broke into Iowa scoring circle and fired a shot into the goal. But instead of lining up to restart with an Iowa push back, both teams withdrew to the sidelines and the umpires conferred in front of a video screen. The commentators were utterly clueless, rabbiting on about how Indiana had tied the game even as the teams returned to the field and Iowa restarted with a free at the edge of their circle, totally unaware that Iowa had requested a video referral and the goal disallowed. Both sides continued to penetrate each other’s circles, but without scoring. After the end of the quarter, one of the commentators remarked, “I don’t think that Indiana goal we saw counted,” and I thought, “Duh!” They were oblivious there had been a video review.

The midfield video camera was angled to give me a good view of the battle for possession midfield and it was a pleasure to watch Iowa’s Gia Whalen and Milly Short in action. The second quarter remained by scoreless and neither goalkeeper had to make a save. In terms of individual skills the two teams seemed fairly even but only Iowa’s van Cleef had a shot, which went wide. In the third quarter momentum shifted to Iowa, who put early pressure on the Indiana goal with another shot by van Cleef. But five minutes in the Hoosiers got their first penalty corner. Indiana tried some tricky passing but the shot was blocked by Iowa’s goalkeeper and Iowa counterattacked and van Cleef scored to give us a very welcome insurance goal for a two-nil lead.

In the last quarter, Iowa had the first opportunity with a penalty corner, but van Aalsum’s shot was blocked by the Indiana goalie. Then it was the Hoosiers’ chance with a penalty corner, Hoosier injection by Glasper passed to Garcia Prado but blocked by Iowa’s goalkeeper Magnotta. Second penalty corner shot by Stutte blocked by Iowa’s Byers at right trail. Iowa cleared but Indiana quickly got another penalty that led to a video review with seven minutes left. (The commentators again were oblivious to what was occurring, thinking it was “a quick time out”!) The referral went for Iowa who immediately attacked but failed to score. Indiana countered but Ricci’s shot was saved. Then with less than five minutes to go, Indiana won another penalty corner. Stutte’s shot was saved but Iowa failed to clear and Indiana won another penalty corner. This time Cabezud scored. With just over four minutes to go, the Hoosiers were but one goal down. Would they equalize and send the match into overtime? The Indiana coach decided to take their goalkeeper off the field and substitute an extra field player. Indiana quickly attacked and got into the Iowa circle, but after some exchange Iowa’s van Cleef got the ball and carried it into the Hoosier circle, where she was fouled and it was Iowa’s penalty corner, this time with with no keeper in the Indiana goal. That is the risk a coach takes removing the goalie. If the opponents gaina penalty corner, only field players can defend the goal, with only their sticks to stop the offensive’s shots. Surprisingly, van Zonnanberg’s shot was blocked by an Indiana field player protecting the goal. (I have to admit that I love to see that when my team does it. Indiana attacked and got another corner. Shot went into the melee in the “ugly zone” in front of the goal and Iowa cleared. Again back and forth and then in the final seconds Iowa’s van Cleef carried the ball into the Indiana circle, which rolled into the goal in the very final second before the hooter sounded to end the match.
Officially Iowa won 3-1, but it was definitely a much closer match than that final score suggests. With all those penalty corner opportunities, even giving credit to the very brave and capable Iowa defense, it was mostly good luck that prevented the match from going into an overtime tie-breaker which could easily have ended 2-3 in Indiana’s favor.

So, how strong are the Hoosiers? The next Friday, whilst Iowa was idle, Indiana faced Northwestern, who proceeded to humiliate them thoroughly with their ferocious offensive—Sessa, Zimmer, Bent-Cole, and drag flicker Tromp. And it would be the Hawkeyes’ turn next to face those same ‘Cats!