Aug. 17, 2010
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Women’s Soccer Media Day Photo Gallery
The University of Iowa women’s soccer team hosted its annual media day Tuesday afternoon. The Hawkeyes welcomed members of the media to the Iowa Soccer Complex as they showcased their efforts from the first two weeks of training and spoke about the 2010 season.
The team anxiously awaits the home opener against DePaul Friday night. The first kickoff of the season is scheduled for 7 p.m., but the student-athletes were quick to give insight about training camp, which began August 3.
“We have done a lot of conditioning,” senior captain Kali Feiereisel said. “High tempo play and getting out and practicing really hard for an hour-and-a-half, even when it’s 96 degrees outside, has been good for us and made for hard practices.”
With the hot days of camp in the past, the team has all of its focus on the first game.
“We are finally ready to be playing against someone other than ourselves,” said Mandy Heimann, senior captain. “We are really excited to be opening the season at home. We have a lot of great newcomers and we are really excited to be putting our new rebuilding team to the test.”
The team lost two starters from the 2009 squad, but the wealth of experience runs deep. Many upperclassmen have two or three years playing experience. Morgan Showalter, Alyssa Cosnek and Emily Moran all broke into the Iowa record books following breakout freshmen and sophomore seasons. The trio of juniors is joined by many other key players in the sophomore and senior classes.
“We are excited,” Head Coach Ron Rainey said. “We are ready to play somebody else and I bet DePaul is ready to face a different opponent as well. Our team has come through pre season healthy, fit and excited to get on the field. We have had some hot days last week, but finally the weather has broken and we have had some nice days leading up to Friday night.”
The incoming class brings six talented players that have been learning the Hawkeye way.
“I am pretty excited for the Friday night, 7 o’clock game under the lights,” said Feiereisel. “There’s no way to describe to them or to tell what that is like walking into the field under the lights in front of the home crowd. After the National Anthem plays, that is just something the freshmen are really going to enjoy.”