Oct. 12, 2011
This Week
The University of Iowa soccer team travels to Columbus, Ohio, for a Friday night game with the Buckeyes. The action at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. (CT).
Sunday, Iowa will face No. 15 Penn State at Jeffrey Field in University Park, Pa. Game time is set for 10 a.m. (CT).
Fans can follow the action with Gametracker on hawkeyesports.com.
Scouting The Opponents
Ohio State’s defense is anchored by goalkeeper Katie Baumgarder. The senior has played 1,164 minutes in 14 games between the posts. Baumgarder has allowed 12 goals and recorded 33 saves. Backup keepers Jessie Greenberg and Rachel Middleman have also recorded minutes in goal, playing four games combined.
Offensively, the Buckeyes are led by Tiffany Cameron. The junior has five goals for 10 points. Six others have two goals a piece and senior Paige Maxwell pairs her goals with five assists.
Head Coach Lori Walker is in her 15th season at the helm of the Buckeye program. Walker led Ohio State to the semifinals of the NCAA Women’s Cup in 2010 and finished with a 17-5-2 overall record, including an 8-2 mark in conference play.
The Nittany Lions lead the Big Ten with a 5-1 record and are currently ranked No. 15 nationally. Leading the offensive effort with 15 goals and five assists is sophomore Maya Hayes. Classmate Taylor Schram is the team’s second leading scorer with six goals and seven assists. In all, nine Lady Lions have combined for 34 goals and 45 assists.
Graduate student Erin McNulty is the voice of the Penn State defense. McNulty has played 13 games in goal for the Lady Lions, allowing 11 goals and making 38 stops.
Fifth year head coach Erica Walsh has led Penn State to the NCAA tournament every year since 2007. In 2010, Walsh and the Lady Lions recorded an 11-9-1 overall record and advanced to the second round of NCAA play.
Last Week
Iowa played Minnesota last weekend at the Iowa Soccer Complex. The Hawkeyes took an early lead, but let the Gophers hit two quick goals in the second half, falling 2-1.
Morgan Showalter was the lone Hawkeye to find the net. The senior executed a penalty kick opportunity, driving the ball past Minnesota’s goalkeeper and into the top left corner of the net. The goal was Showalter’s first of the season.
Senior Emily Moran played all 90 minutes in goal for Iowa, making three saves on five shots on goal.
Hawkeyes In the Rankings
The Hawkeyes are currently No. 60 in the national Ratings Percentage Index released by the NCAA Wednesday. Iowa has held strong among the top-50 for three consecutive weeks. The RPI lists every women’s Division I college soccer team in the nation, with 322 total.
Iowa is ranked fifth in the NSCAA’s Great Lake regional top-10. With a 10-2-2 record, Iowa had held the No. 3 spot for three consecutive weeks before falling to the fifth spot.
Road Trip
Iowa is set to play four of its last five matches on the road, traveling to Ohio State, Penn State, Nebraska and Wisconsin in the next three weeks.
This season, the Hawkeyes have earned a 4-0-1 mark in competitions outside of Iowa City, including 1-0-1 in Big Ten play.
Big Ten Competition
The Big Ten Conference is one of the nation’s most competitive women’s soccer leagues, with Penn State among the top-25 and two other institutions receiving votes in the NSCAA poll released Oct. 11.
The Hawkeyes had received votes for several weeks after gaining national recognition for their school record-setting 12-game unbeaten streak. Teams receiving votes this week are Illinois are Wisconsin.
The conference had six squads — Wisconsin, Penn State, Minnesota, Ohio State, Illinois and Michigan — make it to the NCAA Women’ s Soccer Championship in 2010. Three of those schools advanced to the second round and Ohio State made it to the semifinals before falling to eventual national champion Notre Dame, 4-3.
Iowa In The Big Ten Standings
Iowa is seventh in the Big Ten standings with a 2-2-2 conference record. The Hawkeyes were undefeated through 11 games, but fell twice to conference foes and recorded draws in two league games.
The 2011 squad is striving to have the best Big Ten record since the 1999 squad posted a 7-3-0 record against Big Ten opponents. The team has five regular season conference matches remaining.
Moran Moving Up
Senior goalkeeper Emily Moran has made an impact on the Iowa women’s soccer program in her three years as a starter. With leadership and skill, Moran has become Iowa’s all-time career wins leader, currently with 32 to her name.
In addition to career wins, Moran has 10 single season victories, one away from tying category leaders Britta Vogele, Liz Hendel and Missy Wickart.
Moran’s name is also inked in several other all-time leader categories. The Kent, Ohio, native has 309 career saves, the second highest total in school history. She is sixth on the single season saves list after making 99 stops in 2010. Moran has 57 saves this season.
Lacasse Named Top-20 To Watch
Freshman Cloe Lacasse was named one of the Big Ten Conference’s Top-20 College Players to Watch by topdrawersoccer.com. The Hawkeye newcomer is one of only two freshmen in the conference to make the top-20 cut.
Lacasse led Iowa to its best start in program history (10-2-2) through 14 games, and has scored 10 goals and tallied five assists. Lacasse has played a role in over a third of Iowa’s goals this season (35). In addition to the top-20 accolade, Lacasse was also recognized by the league office as the Freshman Athlete of the Week in back-to-back weeks (Sept. 5, 12).
The freshman is leaving an impact on the Iowa program, rapidly climbing the single season goals and points lists. Lacasse has 10 goals and 25 points through 14 games, trailing the No. 1 spot in each category by five goals and 11 points, respectively.
2011 By The Numbers
The women’s soccer team has started the season with a bang. The mix between experience and newcomers has been perfect, allowing Iowa to score at a record-setting pace.
Iowa has scored 35 goals this season — 34 among nine players and one own goal. The team trails only the 1999 team for most goals in a season (49). The 1999 squad is Iowa’s most successful team in history, finishing the season 13-7-0.
The Hawkeyes are quickly gaining on the 12-year old record as they only need 14 goals to equal the mark and 15 to best it.
Additionally, Iowa’s defensive efforts are noteworthy. The team has only allowed 11 goals through 14 games. The previous fewest goals allowed mark (22) was set in 2006.
Lacasse Climbs Record Books
The freshman from Sudbury, Ontario, has made an impact with her aggressive play through the first half of her rookie campaign.
Lacasse earned a place on Iowa’s single season goals (10) and points (25) top-10 lists after leading Iowa’s offense through 14 games.
The newcomer has played a role in 15 of Iowa’s 34 goals this season, scoring 10 times and earning five assists. The only opponents to keep her out of the books were forced to focus a defensive effort on her, allowing her teammates to score five times in the three matches.
With six games remaining, Lacasse aims for the top spot in each category, trailing Sarah Lynch in both. Lynch had 15 goals and 36 points during the 1999 season.
Hawkeyes Sets School Record
The 2011 squad is on a roll this season with a 10-2-2 start. The eight-game winning and 11-game unbeaten streaks Iowa opened the season with are both program records.
The Hawkeyes equaled the previous best start with a win over George Washington (Sept. 2), improving to a 4-0 record, then bested it with a 3-1 victory against American (Sept. 4).
The previous record for season-opening wins was was recorded by the 2000 team. Under head coach Wendy Logan, the team recorded wins over UW-Green Bay (5-1), Northern Illinois (3-0), UNLV (3-0) and Utah State (2-1).
Freshman Gets Conference Nod
Lacasse was announced as the conference’s Freshman Athlete of the Week on for the second consecutive week Sept. 12.
The Sudbury, Ontario, native led Iowa’s offense for the fourth week in a row, scoring three goals and recording one assist. Lacasse played a role in four of the team’s nine total goals against Iowa State and South Dakota.
Lacasse was previously named Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Sept. 5, following Iowa’s wins over George Washington and American. She became the second Iowa freshman to earn the award and the only one to earn back-to-back honors.
Moran Sets School Record
The senior from Kent, Ohio, became Iowa’s career wins leader with 24 after earning two victories vs. DePaul (Aug. 19) and SEMO (Aug. 21).
Moran topped former Hawkeye keeper Britta Vogele, who collected 23 victories between 2001-04. Moran currently has 32 wins.
The senior has made 309 saves in 74 games played and recorded 17 shutouts.
Senior Earns Conference Honor
Emily Moran was honored by the Big Ten Conference with the Defensive Player of the Week distinction Aug. 22.
Moran earned the nod for her efforts in Iowa’s shutout win over DePaul and a 2-1 defeat of SEMO. In addition to the 2-0 record, Moran etched her name atop the programs all-time career wins after earning the 25th of her career (SEMO, Aug. 21).
Looking Ahead
Following a weekend trip to Ohio State and Penn State, the team will cross over its home state en route to Lincoln, Neb., to take on Big Ten newcomer Nebraska on Oct. 20. The Hawkeyes and Cornhuskers are set to face off at 4 p.m.
Iowa will wrap up the regular season with its final home game on Oct. 23 against Northwestern and its final road game on Oct. 29 at Wisconsin.
The match against Northwestern will be streamed live on BTN.com. Fans with Hawkeye All-Access subscriptions can also watch the game FREE on hawkeyesports.com.