Rainey's Squad Fitting Pieces of Puzzle Together Nicely

Oct. 6, 2011

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IOWA CITY, Iowa – A dash of “new” here…a sprinkle of “experience” there…a position change here and there. Mix it all together and what do you have?

If you’re Ron Rainey, head coach of the University of Iowa’s women’s soccer team, you have a squad that is on pace to set school records for wins and goals scored in a season, and, most importantly, is playing with a spunk and resolve and confidence of a team that has postseason play squarely in its sights.

Iowa carries a 10-1-2 record and a 2-1-2 mark in Big Ten Conference play into its game against Minnesota (4-7-2, 1-2-2) Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Iowa Soccer Complex. The event is the Hawkeyes’ annual “Pink Game” in support of breast cancer awareness and the UI’s Holden Cancer Center. The first 200 fans in attendance will receive a free pink Tigerhawk headband.

“Maybe this is what happens when you have seniors and juniors who are simply tired of losing paired with freshmen and sophomores who don’t really know any better?” Rainey said, when asked to explain his team’s surge.

Of course, there’s much more to it than that. As far as Rainey is concerned, it starts with the play of midfielder Alex Melin. The sophomore from Verona, Wis., is Iowa’s “engine.”

“Her work rate is remarkable. She probably runs six to seven to eight miles a game. She’s very, very consistent and is fearless on the field. She’s not afraid of physical confrontation and, because she’s that way, she’s very good at disrupting the other team’s attacks. Best of all, however, if she makes a mistake, she forgets about it and moves on,” Rainey said.

One of five different Hawkeyes with a game-winning goal to their credit this season, Melin is also one of the Hawkeyes too young to know any better. She’s joined in that group by freshmen Cloe Lacasse — Iowa’s leading scorer with 10 goals — Melanie Pickert and Caitlin Brown, and sophomores Leah DeMoss and Katie Nasenbenny, who saw her season end two weeks ago at Purdue due to a season-ending injury.

“Cloe is pretty good and, quite honestly, probably better than we thought when we were recruiting her. She’s been an incredibly effective and, maybe more importantly, consistent attacker all season,” Rainey said of Lacasse, a rookie from Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.

“Cloe is a difference-maker. She also plays with an attitude. In fact, our team as a whole has gotten a little `angry’ in a good way. They’ve said `Enough. We’re better than this.’ They don’t want to just compete. They want to win and they’ve committed to doing the little things that allow you to rise above,” Rainey said, who didn’t hesitate to note that Pickert and Brown are the “very center of our defense.”

As important as the newbies have been to Iowa’s success, Rainey is quick to point out that upperclassmen are also playing a key role.

“Young players can’t play well without leadership and that leadership is coming from our upperclassmen,” said Rainey. “They’ve helped the younger players understand what it takes to succeed in the Big Ten.”

The devil is also in the detail for Iowa’s head coach when it comes to the veterans. He ticks it off with precision…

Emily Moran, a senior who has started in goal for the past three seasons after splitting time as a rookie, a year in which she was named to the all-Big Ten Freshman team: “She’s made a lot of difficult saves look easy. Her confidence is really, really high, and the team’s confidence in her is the same.”

Morgan Showalter, a senior who moved to left back where she has become one of the best in the league: “Morgan’s a great example of the pieces of the puzzle fitting together a little better. Maybe that’s the difference in a one-goal game in the Big Ten Conference? A slightly better fit here…a slight better fit there.”

Rachel Blakesley, a senior who started at defense for three seasons that moved this year to midfielder where she’s thrived: “She has all the tools, the ability to strike in the air, tackle, be physical. She also wears the two hats well…knows when to be on the offense and isn’t afraid to play defensively when it’s required.”

Alyssa Cosnek, another senior who has started every game since stepping on campus: “Another workhorse in the midfield who brings a tremendous attitude to the field every practice and game.”

Rainey also sees important contributions from his bench. “Every coach knows how important it is to have contributions from everyone. Sara (Langlas) is a captain and Gabby (Tinner) leads every day by example.

“I’ll give you an example,” he continued. “Both know it’s the time of the season that practices are shorter, so both are coming to practices after already having done a workout. They want to be ready just in case and, more importantly, they’re showing the younger players by example the commitment that’s required.”

Rainey is honest, too. As much as he’d love to point to great coaching and his staff’s ability to mix and match the roster, he talks candidly about the Hawkeyes’ schedule as having been a source of some of his team’s good fortune. Iowa was unbeaten in its first 10 games, a roll that included eight straight wins to open the season.

“We won a few early and gained some momentum and confidence and everyone knows the difference between someone playing a game with confidence and one who is playing without confidence,” he said.

Is he expecting the Hawkeyes to make a return to the Big Ten Tournament in November? Perhaps. Is he looking even further down the schedule — the NCAA Tournament — an event that typically includes four, five or six Big Ten teams? Not realy.

“It’s a difficult league. It may not be the best conference in the country, but it has to be the most competitively equal conference in the country,” Rainey said, adding that there were five one-goal games last Sunday.

“We’ve talked about getting to the league tournament. It’s a goal, for sure. However, to be really honest, we’re not talking about that much. We’re thinking about today’s practice and how we get better.”