Iowa Returns Home To Host Indiana, North Dakota State

Sept. 29, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

This Week
The University of Iowa soccer team (5-5-1, 0-1-1) returns to Iowa City to host a pair of matches this weekend. The Hawkeyes host conference foe Indiana Friday at 7 p.m. and finish their non-conference schedule Sunday with a 1 p.m. showdown against North Dakota State.

Last Time Out
The Hawkeyes opened Big Ten Conference play on the road last weekend in the state of Michigan. Iowa settled for a double-overtime draw with Michigan last Friday and dropped a 4-0 decision to Michigan State Sunday.

Iowa went 1-2-1 on their season-long, four-match road trip, with the lone win coming Sept. 21 at Iowa State.

Home, Sweet Home
The Hawkeyes have nine matches left in the 2008 season and seven of those will be at the UI Soccer Complex. Iowa is 3-1 at home this season, with wins against Drake, Western Illinois and Creighton.

Iowa was 5-2-1 last season at home and is 44-41-2 all-time at the UI Soccer Complex. This weekend marks the first two-match homestand since the Aug. 29-31 weekend, when the Hawkeyes hosted Western Illinois and South Dakota State.

Scouting Indiana
Indiana (5-6-0, 0-2-0) comes to Iowa City having lost their first two conference matches of the season last weekend. The Hoosiers lost a pair of 1-0 matches to Penn State and Ohio State.

Like the Hawkeyes, Indiana has scoring from a variety of different players. Ten players have scored goals for the Hoosiers, led by junior Liz Holby (four). Also, like Iowa, Indiana has also switched goalkeepers, alternating between Lauren Hollandsworth and Lindsay Campbell. Campbell has started the last two matches for the Hoosiers.

Indiana is coached by Mick Lyon, who is in his eighth season. He owns a career record of 163-113-33 in 15 seasons, including a mark of 56-48-15 at Indiana.

The Hawkeyes lost a heartbreaker last season in Bloomington, 1-0, in overtime. Iowa upset then-No. 21 Indiana in 2006, the last time Indiana made a trip to Iowa City.

Iowa is 5-6-0 all-time against the Hoosiers.

Scouting North Dakota State
North Dakota State (3-6-2, 0-1-1 in Summit League) has lost four of its last six matches heading into Sunday’s match up with the Hawkeyes. Their last win was a 4-1 win over Mary Sept. 9.

North Dakota State is led by Lorraine Thompson, who has four goals and one assist on the season. Goalkeeper Kalani Bertsch has started all nine matches for the Bison and has made 63 saves.

The Bison are coached by Pete Cuadrado, who is in his sixth season at North Dakota State. He has a career record of 51-33-6. This is Iowa’s first-ever meeting with North Dakota State.

Iowa’s Non-Conference Play
Iowa rounds out its non-conference schedule Sunday with a match against North Dakota State. With a non-conference record of 5-4-0, they are guaranteed a record of .500 or better for the third straight season. A win over the Bison would give the Hawkeyes their best non-conference record since 2002 when they went 8-1-0.

The Hawkeyes were 4-1-4 in 2007 and 5-3-1 in 2006 in non-conference match-ups.

Big Ten Rankings
As a team, the Hawkeyes rank third in saves (46) and shutouts (five) and are tied for sixth in goals allowed (12).

Individually, three freshman are making their mark in the several categories. Offensively, Morgan Showalter is second in assists (seven), goalkeeper Emily Moran is third in save percentage (.839) and Alyssa Cosnek is tied for fifth in the conference in goals (five).