THIS WEEK

The seventh-ranked University of Iowa field hockey team travels to Albany, New York to continue play on the road. The Hawkeyes will face Fairfield on Friday at 1 p.m. (CT) for a neutral sight matchup at Alumni Turf before playing UAblany  on Sept. 3 at 11 a.m. (CT).

FOLLOW LIVE

• Sunday’s game against UAlbany will be televised on American East TV.

• Iowa field hockey fans can follow all contests via live stats on hawkeyesports.com.  Game updates are also available on Twitter/@iowafieldhockey.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

• Freshman Dionne van Aalsum was named Freshman Player of the Week, while sophomore Mia Magnotta is the Defensive Player of the Week. It is the first time either have received this honor.

• Freshman Dionne van Aalsum led the Hawkeyes to two victories in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge after recording back-to-back multi-goal games in the first two games of her collegiate career.

• Iowa has now defeated the top-ranked team in three straight seasons (3-1 vs. No. 1 North Carolina in 2021, 2-0 vs. No. 1 Northwestern in 2022 and 3-2 vs. No. 1 North Carolina in 2023)

• The Hawkeyes return seven starters and 14 letterwinners from a team that finished 12-8, advancing to the Elite Eight for the 21st time in program history in 2022.

• The Hawkeyes made their fifth straight and 27th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history — the most of any team as a member of the Big Ten Conference.

• Fifth-year senior Esme Gibson (second team) earned All-Big Ten recognition for the 2022 season.

• Head coach Lisa Cellucci is in her tenth season at the helm of the Hawkeye field hockey program and her 24rd season overall.  Cellucci has been a part of 282 Iowa victories and in 2020, she led the program to the Final Four for the 12th time — the first since 2008.  Iowa has posted double digit win totals in eight of her ten seasons. The Hawkeyes have won three Big Ten titles (2019, 2019 (BTT), 2021) under her watch.

• Cellucci earned her third straight Big Ten Coach of the Year honor in 2021.  She is the first coach in Big Ten history to be named Coach of the Year in three consecutive seasons.

Iowa State coach Matt Campbell has still not named a starting quarterback for Saturday’s opener against Northern Iowa. Redshirt freshman Rocco Becht and true freshman J.J. Kohl were both listed at the top of the depth chart. Junior college transfer Tanner Hughes is also in the mix.

Campbell says they will develop a plan for the quarterbacks as the week goes on.

Campbell says the offense won’t change depending on the quarterback.

Campbell says they key for Brecht and Kohl will be bouncing back from negative plays.

Campbell has five running backs listed as a possible starter and he says they need to earn the right to be on the field.

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz calls quarterback Cade McNamara questionable for Saturday’s opener against Utah State. McNamara suffered what Ferentz called a muscle strain in a public scrimmage this month. The transfer from Michigan returned to practice last week.

Ferentz says they will need to determine how effective they think he can be.

Ferentz says they want to make sure it does not become a long-term problem.

Ferentz on the issues they will consider.

Joe Labas led Iowa to a Music City Bowl win over Kentucky, but he has been hobbled since July so if McNamara can’t go Wisconsin transfer Deacon Hill is the likely starter.

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Former University of Iowa infielder Mason McCoy has been called up from Triple-A Buffalo to the Toronto Blue Jays. The official transaction took place Tuesday.

“We couldn’t be happier for Mason,” said head coach Rick Heller. “He is a great player and a great Hawkeye. Mason is a perfect example of what you can achieve if you truly believe in yourself and just keep putting in the work. He has earned this opportunity.”

The Washington, Illinois, native is hitting .226 over 402 at bats in Triple A as a member of the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays systems this season. He has notched 64 RBIs, 66 runs, 12 home runs and 23 stolen bases.

McCoy played for the Hawkeyes from 2015-17. He hit at a .311 clip tallying 68 RBIs, 92 runs, 14 stolen bases and seven home runs. He was an American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings Mideast first-team all-region honoree and a second-team All-Big Ten selection in 2017.

McCoy was selected in the sixth round of the 2017 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Baltimore Orioles with the 188th pick.

McCoy is the second player in Heller’s Iowa tenure to get the call to the Majors, joining Nick Allgeyer. He is the seventh player to reach MLB who played under Heller, joining Sean Manaea, Dakota Bacus, Colin Rea, Jake Petricka and Ryan Strausborger — all of whom played for Heller at Indiana State.

The Blue Jays face the Washington Nationals today at 6:07 p.m. (CT) in Toronto.