Hawkeyes Prepare For Minnesota As Regular Season Ends

Oct. 29, 2007

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This Week
The University of Iowa soccer team concludes the regular season Friday at Minnesota in a match that has Big Ten Tournament implications for the Hawkeyes. Match time is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Minneapolis, MN.

Scouting Minnesota
Fresh off of road wins at Northwestern and Wisconsin, Minnesota rides a three-match winning streak into Friday’s match against the Hawkeyes.

The Golden Gophers are a potent offensive team, outscoring opponents 29-19. Lindsey Schwartz leads the team with eight goals.

Defensively, Minnesota has a solid goalkeeping tandem in Lindsey Dare and Chelsey Turner. They have combined for seven shutouts.

Minnesota is coached by Mikki Denney Wright, who is in her fourth season on the Golden Gophers’ sideline. Wright’s career record is 34-34-5. The Hawkeyes hold an all-time record of 2-7-0 against the Golden Gophers, including a 1-0 overtime loss last season.

Last Week
The Hawkeyes hit the road last week to take on Northwestern and Wisconsin as Big Ten play continued. Iowa fell 2-0 to Wisconsin last Friday and 3-0 to Northwestern Sunday.

One bright spot in the losses was the play of freshman goalkeeper Kali Feiereisel, who has been impressive in her starts. Although the Libertyville, IL, native only has one win to show on her record, she has recorded 31 saves in eight games.

“Buzz”-ing About
Iowa slipped one spot from ninth to 10th in the SoccerBuzz Great Lakes Region poll released this week. The Hawkeyes have now been ranked in the poll for four consecutive weeks.

The Hawkeyes entered the poll this season for the first time since 2003 after a September 30 win over Michigan.

More Milestones
The win over Ohio State on October 21 was huge for the Iowa soccer program and added more milestones to a remarkable second season from Head Coach Ron Rainey.

The victory marked Iowa’s first victory over the Buckeyes since 2002 and gave the Hawkeyes their third conference win, which was the most in five years. Iowa finished with a 5-2-1 record at the UI Soccer Complex in 2007.

Big Stage
The Hawkeyes made their Big Ten Network debut Sunday at Northwestern. The match will be on tape delay to be shown Monday October 29, at 7 p.m.

A Look Ahead…
With the Big Ten regular season over on Friday, focus will shift to the Big Ten Conference Tournament, to be held November 8-11 on the campus of the University of Minnesota.

The top eight teams in the Big Ten will be invited to the tournament, and Minnesota gets an automatic berth due to hosting.

Currently, Iowa is in eighth place in the conference, and a win or draw against Minnesota would give the Hawkeyes a berth into the conference tournament.

Tournament Scenarios
The battle for eighth place comes down to the final weekend and the Hawkeyes will battle it out with rival Wisconsin.

If the Hawkeyes lose at Minnesota Friday, they can still clinch the eighth seed with a Wisconsin loss or tie at Northwestern. However, if Iowa loses and Wisconsin wins, the Badgers would get the eighth seed.

With an Iowa win and a Northwestern loss, the Hawkeyes would be the seventh seed. If Iowa draws, they will be the eighth seed.

Click HERE for the Big Ten Network home page.