3 October 2025 

The Iowa Hawkeyes had been idle for nearly two weeks when they encountered the Northwestern University Wildcats. Despite a close call against Louisville, they had won every match thus far this season.  Iowa had endured one loss, at the start of the season against North Carolina. But though Louisville and Indiana gave the Hawks good matches, they were yet to face another top team. For me, as an Iowa fan and a keen follower of the game, fear and hope overcame me in turn. I wanted to see us win, but also eager to watch two of my  favorite ’Cats in actions, both Olympians on the United States Women’s National Team, midfielder Maddie Zimmer and forward Ashley Sessa. I had encountered Ashley in person at the Sportscentrum in Antwerp during the Pro League matches n May 2024. Realistically, Iowa was unlikely to prevail. A loss by North Carolina to Wake Forest had put the ’Cats securely atop the national rankings. But a respectable showing would auger well for the remainder of the season.  

The match began at five in the afternoon and I was in distinguished company. Sitting next me in the bleachers was Joe Parker, the assistant athletic director at the University of Iowa. He reminded me that we had met the previous April at a friendly spring season match with Northwestern in Evanston. I’m not sure whether Joe joined me for my field hockey comments or simply was filling an empty space, but I enjoyed having a companion to share my insights. It was a Hawkeye blackout match but instead of a black shirt with Hawk logo, I was wearing a black Durham University t-shirt our ex-Iowa field hockey player Harper Dunne gave me, so I chatted about Harper and my planned trip to England in November to watch Durham University play in the England Premier League.  

Half-way through the first quarter, Iowa got a chance to score when Niamh de Jong took the ball into the Northwestern scoring circle and Iowa was awarded a penalty corner. Dionne van Aalsum’s shot was blocked by the Northwestern goalkeeper. Three minutes later van Aalsum took the ball into the circle. Her shot was weak, blocked by the goalie, but Iowa’s Jordan Byers got another corner. Felicia Zonnenberg injected and Rachel Herbine trapped the ball for van Aalsum, who hit a shot on goal. A goalkeeper sees the striker taking a backswing knows the ball must cross the goal line below knee high or be ruled dangerous. ’Cat goalie Julia Boone (pronounced Bone) threw herself on the ground like a log and would have blocked the shot, but it took a lucky bounce over her legs and into the goal. The Hawks were a goal up over the number one team in the nation.Northwestern came back quickly and got a penalty corner themselves, but Iowa rusher Jordan Byers blocked their shot.  

In the second quarter, momentum belonged to Northwestern. Two minutes in, the ’Cats won another penalty corner, but their tricky routine failed. They continued to press, but Iowa’a defense held. I loved seeing the speed and hockey nous of Ashley Sessa and her matchup with Iowa’s Milly Short. I was struck by the physical contrast between the diminutive Sessa and the powerful Short, reputed the strongest player on the Iowa team, but also one of the fastest and able to keep up with Sessa at pace. Finally, Iowa had a chance to score a penalty corner in the last two minutes. This time Iowa tried something cute. Zonnenberg’s injection went to van Aalsum, who instead of taking a shot, dribbled the ball towards the goal, vainly attempting to pass back to the injector. An opportunity wasted. 
 
At the half I felt totally exhilarated after watching one of the most exciting half hours of hockey I had ever seen at Grant Field, but an Iowa win still felt a long reach. Joe left me, saying “I’ve got to talk to Beth.” As the second half began, play went back and forth with circle penetrations by both Iowa and Northwestern on two long aerials, but Northwestern’s Olivia Bent-Cole took the ball at midfield and took the ball all by herself to the Iowa circle. Though not the best goalscorer, Bent-Cole is brilliant at threading her way into the opponents’ circle and drawing corners. Which she did. The ’Cats drew up at the edge of the Iowa circle like wolves around a sheepfold. Sessa injected, as she does for the USWNT, Bent-Cole trapped, and I watched with a mixture of dread and admiration as Ilse Tromp executed a perfect drag flick into the Iowa goal for the equalizer.  
 
Iowa came back on the counterattack and won a penalty corner for themselves. Van Aalsum’s first shot was blocked by a Northwestern defender, but the ball looped dangerously high in air to give Iowan another chance. Van Aalsum’s second attempt, low on the ground, was easily kicked away by Boone. The rest of the quarter found neither team able to score, though Bent-Cole achieved another brilliant penetration. At nearly the last minute, van Aalsum was struck on the leg twice by shots from Northwestern’s Zivojnovic and a loud fan behind me was screaming that the Northwestern player should get a card. I said to Joe, “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” and added, “I think field hockey players are the toughest athletes in women’s sport.” He said he had heard the same from our athletic trainer. 
 
So, we entered the final quarter even with the best university team in the country, Iowa soon hadtheir chance when Zonnenberg ran the ball into the Northwestern and hit the ball off the shin of Tromp to get the PC. to get the PC. Zonnenberg injected to Fortpied, whose shot went wide of the goal. The Wildcats returned to the attack. With ten minutes to go, they were given a penalty corner when Iowa’s Gia Whalen failed to allow room for Zimmer to restart. Ilse Trom scored again with another perfectly executed drag flick. Iowa had a chance to equalize with a shot by van Aalsum, but it was blocked by Boone. Then Ashley Sessa, who had been well marked by Iowa for most of the match, made a brilliant run to the Iowa circle and passed the assist to Piper Borz, who scored the insurance goal. Effectively that was the match. Iowa received another corner in the very last seconds, too late to make any difference, and van Aalsum’s shot rolled wide. The strong pressure Northwestern had put on the Iowa defense eliminated the option of pulling the goalkeeper for Iowa. 

After the match, as I was awaiting a chance to chat for a moment with Ashley Sessa and congratulate her on her brilliant goal two weeks before at Louisville, I overheard a Hawk fan saying, “The final score did not reflect how we played.” 
“No,” I said, “It didn’t. We were minus one drag flicker.”  

That was the match. Team Statistics bring that out. Iowa had six penalty corners and converted only one, on a lucky bounce. Northwestern had seven and completed two with perfectly executed drag flicks. The drag flick may be the most difficult skill in hockey to master, but as it allows shots into the top of the net to score, it makes defending much harder for the goalie. If Iowa is serious about winning, we have to learn it. Currently I can think of only two American players with reliable drag flicks—both on the national team— Caroline Ramsay, formerly at Cornell, and Princeton captain Beth Ramsay. Most NCAA drag flickers are imports, like Tromp. Otherwise, the quality of Iowa field play was very high, and the Hawks gave the ’Cats a real match. That augured well.