Aug. 21, 2012
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This Week
The University of Iowa soccer team will host Loyola Chicago on Friday before hitting the road for its first away match of the season. The Hawkeyes will take on the Ramblers at 7 p.m. Friday evening at the Iowa Soccer Complex.
The Hawkeyes will then take on in-state foe Northern Iowa at the Cedar Valley Youth Soccer Complex in Waterloo, Iowa. The match will begin at 2 p.m. Sunday.
Scouting The Opponents
Loyola opened its season with a 1-0 victory over DePaul at home. The Ramblers also went 1-1 in exhibition play this preseason. Junior Tricia Stonebraker scored the lone Rambler goal. Loyola also returns 2011 leading scorer Ana Claudia Michelini, who netted 11 points last season. Megan Pryz will look to lead the Loyola defense at goalkeeper. Loyola went 6-10-3 in 2011.
Northern Iowa is also unbeaten on the season, winning its first two matches. The Panthers knocked off North Dakota, 5-0, and also beat Western Illinois, 1-0. Five different Panthers have scored goals this season, including Charlottte Jones with two goals. Junior goalkeeper Erin Zaidemin has played 135 minutes between the posts this season without allowing a goal. Northern Iowa finished 2011 with an 8-10-3 record.
Hawkeyes off To Hot Start
The Hawkeyes went 2-0 in its first weekend of play in the 2012 season, defeating Eastern Illinois, 5-0, and North Dakota, 3-0. Iowa outshot its opponents 43-9 and held a 24-5 advantage in shots on goals.
Iowa jumped out to a 2-0 lead against the Panthers courtesy of first half goals by senior Dana Dalrymple (fifth minute) and sophomore Cloe Lacasse (33rd minute). Iowa scored three goals in a span of three minutes in the second half, two of them coming from penalty kicks. Senior defender Kat Lewis and Lacasse made good on their penalty kick tries, and junior Ashley Catrell scored a goal from inside the box as Iowa cruised to the 5-0 win.
The Hawkeyes also took a 2-0 lead into halftime against North Dakota after Lacasse scored in the 21st minute and freshman Brooke Backes scored in the 34th. Catrell scored the matches’ final goal in the 48th minute to seal the victory.
Freshman Hannah Clark started in goal in both games. Clark has played 106 minutes without allowing a goal. Sophomore Kiley Beck came in during the second half of both games to notch the combined shutout. Beck finished with three saves against North Dakota.
Non-conference Success
Iowa has won 11 consecutive nonconference matches, outscoring its opponents 49-5 in that stretch.
The Hawkeyes have played 12 consecutive nonconference matches without a loss. Iowa’s last loss in nonconference play came on Sept. 19, 2010, at Nebraska (3-1).
In-State Dominance
Iowa is a perfect 9-0-0 against Northern Iowa. The Hawkeyes have outscored the Panthers 28-3 and has shutout UNI in the past five meetings.
The Hawkeyes are unbeaten in their last 13 in-state regular season matches. In that stretch, Iowa has a 5-0-1 advantage over Iowa State, 5-0-0 advantage over Northern Iowa and a 2-0-0 advantage over Drake. Iowa has outscored its in-state foes 36-3 in that stretch.
Lacasse Stays Sharp
After a breakout freshman season, Cloe Lacasse has made sure there will be no sophomore slump. The Sudbury, Ontario, native scored three goals and chipped in an assist in Iowa’s two matches. She scored five points against Eastern Illinois with two goals and an assist, and added a goal against North Dakota. Lacasse has 15 career goals and seven assists.
Roster Gets Experience
Head coach Ron Rainey has played every available player at his disposal in each of Iowa’s first two games. Every player on the roster, with the exception of an injured Meg Goodson, saw time against Eastern Illinois and North Dakota. Six freshmen saw significant playing time in each contest, including starting goalkeeper Hannah Clark.
Hawkeyes Effective at GK
Freshman Hannah Clark and sophomore Kiley Beck have notched two combined shutouts in Iowa’s first two matches. Clark has started both games, playing 106 minutes without conceding a goal. Clark has two saves this season. Beck, who saw action in two games last season, has played 71 minutes with three saves this season.
The Hawkeyes are one of three Big Ten teams that are yet to allow a goal in 2012 (Michigan, Wisconsin).
Backes Gets On Board
Freshman Brooke Backes scored her first career goal against North Dakota on Aug. 19. Freshman Mackenzie Guindon played a through ball to Backes, who dribbled 25 yards into the left side of the box. Backes beat the goalkeeper with a low shot to the corner.
2011 Review
The Hawkeyes finished 13-4-3 last year, marking the best season in program history. Iowa went undefeated in nonconference play, jumping out to an unblemished 8-0 record. The Hawkeyes would go on to a 5-4-2 Big Ten record, its most conference wins since 2000. Iowa advanced to the Big Ten Tournament for the third time under Rainey. Iowa was led by Cloe Lacasse’s 30 points for the season, netting 12 goals and six assists in her freshman season.
Returning Players
Iowa returns 16 letterwinners and 10 players with starting experience from last season.
Returning starters (number of starts in parentheses) include Cloe Lacasse (20), Alex Melin (20), Katherine Lewis (20), Melanie Pickert (20), Caitlin Brown (19), Jade Grimm (11), Dana Dalrymple (9), Katie Nasenbenny (2), Anne Marie Thomas (1) and Allie Adam (1).
Returning letterwinners with no starting experience include Ashley Catrell, Marissa Hurt, Jordan Rakas, Nicole Urban, Stefani Campbell, Gabrielle Ainsworth and Kiley Beck.
Team Captains
The Hawkeyes will have three team captains in 2012. Senior Dana Dalrymple and juniors Alex Melin and Kat Lewis were voted as captains by their teammates.
Strength of Schedule
Iowa will play 20 matches this fall, 10 of which will be hosted at the Iowa Soccer Complex. Iowa will face two teams that are ranked in the first NSCAA/Continental Tire Women’s Rankings in Penn State (No. 9) and Illinois (No. 19), as well as one team receiving votes in Ohio State. The Hawkeyes will meet five teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2011; Army, LIU-Brooklyn, Illinois, Ohio State and Penn State.
Hawkeyes on TV
Iowa will appear live on Big Ten Network at least twice this season.
Iowa’s Big Ten opener against Illinois on Sept. 16 will be televised live. The match begins at 3 p.m. in Champaign, Ill. The Hawkeyes will appear live on BTN on Sept. 30 when they travel to Michigan State. The match will begin at 1 p.m. in East Lansing, Mich.
Ron Rainey
Iowa head coach Ron Rainey enters his seventh season at the helm of the program as the winningest coach in program history. Rainey has 55 victories with the Hawkeyes, and sports a 145-119-34 overall coaching record.
Rainey guided Iowa to its most successful season in program history last season, as Iowa went 13-4-3 and had its highest winning percentage ever. Rainey has guided the Hawkeyes to three Big Ten Tournaments, and has helped five Hawkeyes earn All-Big Ten honors.