IOWA CITY — No. 2 Iowa Hawkeye field hockey saw its unbeaten start come to an abrupt halt Friday night as Indiana built a three-goal lead and handed the Hawkeyes a 3-1 loss in their Big Ten opener at Grant Field.
Fréderique van Cleef scored her team-leading 11th goal of the season in the fourth quarter, but Iowa couldn’t overcome the early damage in the September 18 matchup.
The setback followed an impressive nonconference run, including the Hawkeyes’ 4-2 victory over No. 14 Louisville to close the Midwest Challenge.
Hoosiers strike early, pull away in third quarter
Indiana needed less than three minutes to take the lead.
Inés Garcia Prado scored an unassisted goal at the 2:56 mark, putting Iowa in an early hole. The Hoosiers carried that 1-0 advantage into halftime.
Indiana then struck twice in the third quarter to take command.
Celia Arroyo Cabezudo scored unassisted just 26 seconds into the second half, doubling the lead to 2-0.
Molly Stutte added another goal at 40:45 off an assist from Berta Saenz de Santa Maria, leaving the Hawkeyes facing a three-goal deficit entering the final quarter.
Van Cleef breaks through, but rally falls short
Iowa finally got on the scoreboard at 51:42 when van Cleef finished off an assist from Emily Edwards.
Her 11th goal gave the Hawkeyes a chance to mount a late comeback, but Indiana held on to complete the upset.
Iowa finished with an 8-6 advantage in shots. Hoosier goalkeeper Sadie Canelli made one save in earning the victory.
Hawkeye goalkeeper Abby Johnson took her first loss of the season and is now 6-1.
For Iowa, the result was a sharp reversal after a strong opening stretch against ranked competition. The Hawkeyes entered conference play with momentum, but Indiana’s early strike and decisive third quarter left the nation’s second-ranked team chasing a comeback it couldn’t complete.