Oct. 19, 2009
- 24 Hawkeyes to Watch (2009-10 season)
- Iowa and the Big Ten Network
- Big Ten Network: Free Hawkeye Video
- Iowa soccer wallpaper
- Iowasoccer.com
This Week
The University of Iowa soccer team welcomes Northwestern to the Iowa Soccer Complex. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday night.
Sunday, Oct. 25, Iowa travels to Bloomington, IN to take on the No. 22 Hoosiers in a game scheduled for 1 p.m.
Scouting the Opponent
Northwestern’s offense is powered by leading scorer, Alicia Herczeg with five goals. Carolyn Edwards has all decisions in goal for the Wildcats. Edwards has tallied 49 saves thus far in 2009.
Inidana’s goalkeeper Lindsay Campbell has started 12 games in goal for the Hoosiers, recording 22 saves and seven wins. Offensively, Indiana has well balanced scoring. Three players have recorded four goals and one player has three.
Series History
Iowa fell to Northwestern last season in double overtime (3-2). The Wildcats lead Iowa in the all time series, 8-3-1.
The Hawkeyes were victorious in last year’s meeting with Indiana. Iowa won the game with the final 1-0 decision. The two teams are even in the all-time series. Each team has won six games.
Pink Weekend
The University of Iowa is hosting a “Pink Weekend” Oct. 22-25 to help raise awareness for breast cancer. The soccer team along with the field hockey and volleyball teams are holding events throughout the weekend that fans are encouraged to attend for a chance to win great Hawkeye prizes. Fans are encouraged to arrive early, as the first 300 fans at each event will receive an official Pink Weekend t-shirt.
Head Coach Ron Rainey
“Our team has made strides this year with our overall possession and ability to get numbers forward in the attack. We have been excited as a group to see this. Now, our challenge over the last five games of the regular and Big Ten season will be to close up gaps defensively after we have gotten forward to not allow counterattacks.”
“The Big Ten season is such that all of the opponents are competitive and great teams. We have to get close to playing perfectly to get the results we desire. We are excited about the opportunity we have against Northwestern this Thursday in our `think pink’ game.”
Opponents In The Rankings
The Hawkeyes’ schedule this season is full of tough competition. Head Coach Ron Rainey’s squad faces multiple teams that are, or were, previously ranked in the top 25 nationally. This week the Hawkeyes take on No. 22 Indiana.
Purdue is currently ranked the highest with the No. 18 spot, followed by Ohio State (No. 19) and Indiana (No. 22). Illinois and Michigan State have also received votes. Missouri was ranked No. 24 when Iowa hosted the Tigers in the season opener, and Minnesota was previously ranked 17th.
All rankings are based on the current NSCAA/adidas Division I Women’s Soccer Rankings.
Hawkeyes In Record Books
Keli McLaughlin scored her eighth goal of the season against Illinois. The junior is just one goal shy of an eighth place spot on the season individual goals list.
McLaughlin has scored eight goals and recorded an assist for a total of 17 points this season, four shy of 10th place on the season individual points list.
Alyssa Cosnek, Alyscha Mottershead, and Morgan Showalter are all nearing the season individual assists category. They have all assisted four goals this season, two short of the sixth place spot.
Making The Connection
Iowa is a team of connections.
Two sets of high school teammates are on the team, Jade Grimm, Kat Lewis and Rachel Spellerberg (Cedar Rapids Kennedy) and Sarah Langlas and Allison Bellmer (Wheaton Warrenville South).
Eight players are natives of Illinois and seven are from Iowa. Some have traveled long distances to the University of Iowa, with three players from Ohio and California. Also represented on the Iowa soccer team are Virginia, Pennsylvania, Florida, Texas, Utah, Michigan and Ontario.
The connection doesn’t stop with the players. The coaches all have a common connection in Ball State University. Rainey was head coach of the Cardinals from 2001-05, assisted by Shane Meridith in 2001 and by Eileen Narcotta from 2002-05.
Up Next For Iowa
Iowa returns to Iowa City for the final two home games of the season. The Michigan Wolverines come to town Oct. 30 for a Friday night game scheduled for 7p.m.
The final home game of the 2009 season is slated for Nov. 1. Iowa hosts Michigan State for afternoon game scheduled to kickoff at 1 p.m.