Katelyn Longino enters her seventh season with the University of Iowa soccer program. Longino was elevated to associate head coach following the 2023 season. She joined the Hawkeyes in 2018 following coaching stints at Valparaiso, Xavier and Columbus State.
In six seasons, Longino has helped the program to 60 victories, three NCAA Tournament appearances and two Big Ten Tournament Championships. Iowa’s conference tournament title in Spring 2021 was the first in program history. The Hawkeyes repeated as champions in 2023, defeating three consecutive ranked opponents for the first time in program history during the postseason run.
Iowa finished 13-5-4 overall last season, including a 6-0-1 non-conference start and a 3-4-3 record in conference play. Iowa went 3-2-1 against ranked competition. The Hawkeyes earned the eighth and final seed to the Big Ten Tournament by a single point in the league standings before downing No. 12 Michigan State (2-1), No. 5 Penn State (1-0) and No. 12 Wisconsin (1-0) en route to their second trophy in four seasons. Iowa was the lowest seed in Big Ten history to win the conference tournament.
Following the Big Ten Tournament Title, Iowa ascended to the highest major national rankings in program history, jumping to No. 14 in the College Soccer News ranking and No.17 according to Top Drawer Soccer. Iowa finished the regular season at 30th in the RPI, earning an NCAA Tournament fifth-seed.
The Hawkeyes earned the second NCAA Tournament win in program history with a victory over Bucknell, 2-0. The match was played before a program-record crowd of 2,639 at the Iowa Soccer Complex. Iowa fell in the Second Round to fourth-seeded Georgia, 3-2, at Riggs Field in Clemson, South Carolina.
The Hawkeye defense earned a program record 13 shutouts during the 2023 season. Iowa outscored opponents 36-17 with stifling advantages in shots (307-164) and shots on goal (149-75).
Senior goalkeeper Macy Enneking tied for fifth in the nation in shutouts, posting a new school single-season record 12.5 clean sheets. Enneking finished the year ranked third for career shutouts (22) and fourth in career wins (26) among all-time Hawkeye goalkeepers.
Fourteen different Hawkeyes contributed to Iowa’s 36 goals. Senior Kelli McGroarty, a transfer student from La Salle, led the way with 18 points. McGroarty and seventh-year Josie Durr tied for an Iowa-best seven goals, with juniors Elle Otto (13) and Kenzie Roling (11) also contributing double-digit point figures.
Fifth-year Samantha Cary was named Second Team All-Big Ten. Freshman Sofia Bush was an All-Big Ten Freshman, while redshirt junior Zoë Bessert earned conference sportsmanship honors. In the classroom, five Hawkeyes were named CSC Academic-All District, a program record.
Iowa finished with a 5-6-7 overall record in 2022, posting a 2-3-5 mark in Big Ten play. Hailey Rydberg earned All-Big Ten Third Team recognition, leading the Hawkeyes with 14 offensive points on five goals and four assists. Rydberg tied senior Caroline Halonen with a team-best five goals, while sophomore Elle Otto led the way in assists (5).
The Hawkeyes were once again stout defensively, led by senior captains Samantha Cary and Sara Wheaton. Iowa gave up just 20 goals through 18 games en route to six clean sheets. Notable victories included a 2-1 upset over No. 13 Northwestern on the road, good for the fifth top-15 victory in program history. Iowa also defeated Nebraska, 4-0, to improve to 4-1-1 against the Huskers in the last six meetings; that represents a corner turned in the rivalry, as the Hawkeyes were 0-10-0 against the Cornhuskers prior to 2017.
In the classroom, Iowa had 16 Academic All-Big Ten selections; four Hawkeyes (Hailey Rydberg, Jenny Cape, Samantha Cary and Addie Bundy) earned CSC Academic All-District recognition.
In 2021, Longino helped Iowa to a 12-6-2 season and a winning 5-4-1 record in the Big Ten. The Hawkeyes advanced to the Big Ten Tournament semifinal with a 1-0 first round victory at Michigan State before falling to Rutgers in Piscataway. Five Hawkeyes earned Big Ten Conference postseason honors. Sara Wheaton was named to the All-Big Ten second team, while Alyssa Walker and Hailey Rydberg picked up third-team honors. Addie Bundy was a unanimous selection on the All-Freshman team and Riley Whitaker was one of 14 players to earn the conference sportsmanship award. The 2021 postseason team marks the first time in 21 years Iowa had three players named to one of the top three All-Big Ten teams. In 2000, Sarah Lynch (first team), Julie Atkocaitis (second team) and Kate Walse each earned all-conference recognition.
Hailey Rydberg, Alyssa Walker and Sara Wheaton were also named to the United Soccer Coaches North Region Third-Team. The all-region honor was the first for all three players and marked just the second time in program history that three Iowa players have been named to an all-region team in the same season. Cloe Lacasse, Melanie Pickert and Alex Melin were recognized in 2013.
The Iowa defense posted seven shutouts and held 18 opponents to two scores or fewer through 20 games, while eleven Hawkeyes contributed to 31 goals on the offensive side of the ball, which ranked third in the Big Ten. On Oct. 14, 2021, Iowa posted a 4-3 victory over Nebraska in which the Hawkeyes came back from a three-score deficit to earn the largest comeback in program history.
In the classroom, 19 Hawkeyes earned Big Ten Fall Academic All-Conference team recognition, matching the school record for the second straight season and the third time in program history.
During the 2020 season, Longino helped the team to its second straight NCAA Tournament berth. After starting the season slowly, the Hawkeyes were playing their best soccer when matter most — in the postseason.
With an expanded Big Ten postseason schedule due to league-only scheduling because of COVID, the Hawkeyes posted wins over second-seeded Illinois and third-seeded Minnesota in the Big Ten Regional weekend. The team followed with a road win at top-seeded Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals before downing third-seeded Wisconsin to claim the program’s first-ever Big Ten title.
The win in Happy Valley was the first for the program in school history and the fourth-ranked Nittany Lions were the highest ranked opponent Iowa defeated all-time. Two freshmen — forward Meike Ingles and goalkeeper Macy Enneking — were named the Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Offensive and Defensive Players, respectively. Ingles scored three-game winners in the tournament, while Enneking posted two shutouts and made 14 saves.
As a result, the Hawkeyes earned their second straight NCAA Tournament berth, and they continued to make history. Shipped to North Carolina, Iowa tallied a 1-0 victory over Campbell — on the Camels’ home turf — to notch the first NCAA Tournament win in the record books. Iowa had third-seeded UCLA on the ropes in the Round of 32 before surrendering two goals late in a 2-1 defeat.
Iowa finished the season with a 7-9-1 record, but all seven of the victories came in the team’s final 10 games. Enneking was a unanimous Big Ten All-Freshman team honoree. Academically, Iowa matched a school record with 19 Academic All-Big Ten selections, eight Hawkeyes were Big Ten Distinguished Scholars, the program had 31 Dean’s List honorees (in fall and spring semesters), and the program earned the United Soccer Team Academic Award, posting a 3.49 team grade point average.
During the 2019 season, Longino helped guide Iowa to one of the best seasons in program history. The Hawkeyes opened the season with nine straight wins en route to a No. 17 national ranking, the highest in program history. Iowa tied a school record, winning 15 games, including seven in Big Ten play, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in program history.
The Hawkeyes tied a school record with three All-Big Ten selections and senior Natalie Winters became the first player in program history to earn postseason recognition in all four seasons. Winters was also an all-region honoree for the second straight season.
Iowa was one of the Big Ten’s most potent offenses, ranking second in the league and 26th nationally. The Hawkeyes had an NCAA-best 16 different goal scorers in 2019. Defensively, Iowa posted eight shutouts and limited opponents to seven or fewer shots in 13 games.
The Hawkeyes shined academically as Iowa was the only school in the country to have two first-team Academic All-Americans. Iowa also had three United Soccer Academic All-Region and a school-record 19 Academic All-Big Ten selections.
During her first season in Iowa City, Longino helped the Hawkeyes to an 8-7-3 overall record and a 4-5-2 mark in Big Ten play. Iowa was in Big Ten Tournament contention until the final game, but fell short after battling Northwestern to a 1-1 draw. Junior Natalie Winters was a third-team all-region and third-team All-Big Ten selection — Iowa’s first all-region honoree since 2014.
In the classroom, Iowa earned the United Soccer Team Academic Award for a 12th straight season and the Hawkeyes had two Google Cloud Academic All-Americans — the first two in program history. Kaleigh Haus was a first-team selection; Hannah Drkulec earned second-team honors. Iowa also had 10 players earn Academic All-Big Ten honors, 25 players with a 3.0 GPA or better, 14 Dean’s List, and four President’s List honorees during the spring semester.
Longino spent the 2017 season with the Crusaders in their first season in the Missouri Valley Conference. Valpo won nine games and finished 3-4 in MVC play. She spent the 2016 season at Xavier, helping the Muskateers to seven wins.
Longino played as a freshman at Columbus State, helping the team to 18 wins and a berth in the NCAA Division II Sweet 16. From there, she transitioned into coaching, serving as a student assistant for two seasons, helping guide CSU to a 21-1-1 record and an Elite Eight appearance in 2014.
In her final year at Columbus State, Longino served as an intern in the athletics department, working directly with women’s soccer as the team won 22 matches and reached the national championship match.
Longino, who holds a USSF “B” coaching license, has held coaching positions with the Ohio Elite Soccer Association, CFC Red Star, and Columbus Youth Soccer. Longino also hold United Soccer Coaches Sports Performance and Psychology diplomas. She graduated from Columbus State in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in exercise science and she received her master’s degree in coaching education and athlete development from Xavier in 2018.