Iowa lacks depth, and that could be an issue during the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
By Mario Williams
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The Iowa field-hockey team will begin the regular season this weekend when it heads to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to take part in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
The Hawkeyes will compete against No. 11 Wake Forest on Saturday and No. 2 North Carolina on Aug. 30, both at 10:30 a.m.
Competing against two fierce ACC teams is something second-year head coach Lisa Cellucci looks forward to. “We love the competition, and it gets the team’s attention right away,” she said. “It’s hard because you don’t always come away with two victories. Maybe not even one. But it lets us know where we are and what we need to improve on immediately.”
The Big Ten/ACC Challenge isn’t anything new for the Hawkeyes; they have competed in the event for the last 13 years.
Last season, the team came home with a 1-1 finish by knocking off the Demon Deacons, 4-1, but falling short against the Tar Heels, 4-1.
“It’s going to be tough, but we’re putting our best foot forward, and we’re going to do everything we can to try to get the result we want,” Cellucci said. “We threw everything we had at Wake Forest last year to get the win, and then we were fatigued against North Carolina.”
Fatigue will likely still be an issue, because it is almost unavoidable given Iowa’s lack of depth this season.
Of the 19 athletes listed on the Iowa roster, five are newcomers, and seven are sophomores.
“We’re definitely going to take a different approach to our tactics against UNC if we can get the result against Wake Forest on Saturday,” Celluci said. “We really need to build upon the defense, and we need to have a lot more grit.
“We really need to be able to rely on some people to be able to play more minutes.”
Giving athletes more minutes and playing different positions is something the Hawkeyes will need to assess quickly.
And one young player is ready for the challenge.
“I honestly think being a young team is pretty cool,” sophomore Mallory Lefkowitz said. “Showing what we got with our young numbers is awesome.”
One athlete in particular won’t compete in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge she has played in for the past three years.
Redshirt senior Cafone is out for the season because of a shoulder injury. With her out, someone else will be on every team’s scouting report — Stephanie Norlander.
The junior was a big key for the Hawkeyes’ success last season. The returning second-team All-American started in all 18 games, scoring 35 points on 15 goals and 5 assists.
“It’ is going to be a tough weekend,” Norlander said. “I think we can do everything we can. We’ll just try hard at practice, get everything ready to go, and put it all out there in Michigan.”
