Field Hockey: No. 3 Buckeyes fall to No. 16 Iowa 3-0, drop first home game of season

After a scoreless two quarters, the Iowa Hawkeyes found their rhythm to hand Ohio State its first loss at Buckeye Varsity Field this season.

On the heels of a shutout by Hawkeyes redshirt junior goaltender Mia Magnotta, No. 16 Iowa (98-7, 21-5 Big Ten) upset the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes (13-3, 4-3 Big Ten) 3-0 Sunday.

Despite a pair of penalty-corner shots taken by Iowa, the game remained scoreless in the first quarter, with the Hawkeyes outshooting the Buckeyes 2-1.

Buckeyes head coach Jarred Martin said he thinks mistakes from the Buckeyes, coupled with Iowa’s strong defensive play, resulted in a scoreless first quarter.

“Iowa is always a really good defensive team. They have some good upperclassmen that I think help them play as a unit,” Martin said. “We did a good job starting our offense. We got some good passes. We honestly just had too many skill breakdowns — you know, as we got to our attack 25 — that kind of let some opportunities slide away.”

The stalemate between the Buckeyes and the Hawkeyes continued through the second quarter. This time, however, it was Ohio State that failed to find success with its penalty corners.

When the second half kicked off, Iowa had a quick start, getting on the scoreboard with an unassisted goal from graduate forward Alex Wesneski.

Moments later, Hawkeyes sophomore midfielder Lieve Van Kesse made Iowa’s lead 2-0 with yet another unassisted goal.

Ohio State junior back Katie Fichtner said Iowa’s swift offensive attacks allowed the Hawkeyes to build their second-half lead.

“I think they were just striking quick,” Fichtner said. “I think we had the ball a lot of the time, but they were just able to step up and go quickly with the ball, and they found some breakdowns in our defense.”

The fourth quarter saw the Buckeyes’ efforts become desperate when Martin pulled senior goaltender Abby Danson in order to play another defender in her place.

Despite the Buckeyes’ extra field player, Iowa found the back of the empty net at the hands of sophomore midfielder Dionne van Aalsum, who finalized the score at 3-0.

The Buckeyes will travel to Evanston, Illinois, to face No. 1 Northwestern 3 p.m. Friday, followed by a 1 p.m. Saturday game against Central Michigan at Buckeye Varsity Field. Both games will be available for broadcast on Big Ten +.