Sept. 21, 2012
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IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa women’s soccer team (10-1-0, 1-1-0) defeated Indiana (5-4-1, 0-2-0) Friday night in front of a capacity crowd at the Iowa Soccer Complex. The 25th-ranked Hawkeyes collected their seventh shutout of the season in their Big Ten home opener, defeating the Hoosiers, 1-0.
The Hawkeyes outshot Indiana 21-13, and a penalty kick goal from senior defender Kat Lewis in the 29th minute was the difference for Iowa in its first Big Ten victory of the season. Freshmen goalkeepers Meg Goodson and Hannah Clark earned the combined shutout for Iowa, who has allowed just five goals this season. Iowa has outscored their opponents 32-5 through 11 contests.
“This is the hardest conference in the country to get results, so we’re happy about the result and our efforts through 90 minutes,” said head coach Ron Rainey, who improved his career coaching record to 153-120-34. “I’m excited about how we played defensively and on restarts. Indiana has some dangerous attackers, and with dealt with that well. On the other end, we generated a lot of opportunities of our own.”
Iowa charged out of the gates to start the contest as junior Ashley Catrell’s header sailed just over the crossbar just 13 seconds into the match. Shots from sophomore Melanie Pickert (6′) and Catrell (22′) hit the post as the Hawkeyes put the pressure on Indiana goalkeeper Shannon Flower.
The Hawkeyes would break through in the 29th minute, scoring the only goal of the match. Iowa generated an attack and got the ball inside the 19-yard box, when a slide tackle from Indiana gave Iowa a penalty kick. Lewis took the penalty kick for the Hawkeyes, and had no problems beating Flower to score her second goal of the season.
The Cedar Rapids native has made a habit of impressing on penalty kicks in both practice and games this season. Lewis also scored on a penalty kick against Eastern Illinois.
“It’s something that you have to be relaxed for,” said Lewis, who has tallied five points this season. “You have to know where you are going with the ball and have confidence that it’s going in, and that’s what I think about when I step up to take the shot.”
Iowa went into half with the 1-0 advantage, as the Hawkeyes have held their opponents scoreless in the opening frame in ten of 11 matches this season. The Hawkeyes have outscored their opponents 18-2 in the first half. Iowa held an 11-9 advantage in shots against the Hoosiers in the first period. Goodson started at goal for Iowa, improving her record to 4-1-0 this season. The Van Meter, Iowa, native had four saves. Goodson has a 0.89 goals against average and a .875 save percentage this season.
“Kat’s goal for us in the first half was very important,” said Rainey. “To step up 12 yards away from their goalkeeper, you have to be comfortable and calm under pressure, and Kat has been that for us in her four years here.”
With Indian looking to score the equalizer in the second period, the Hawkeye defense answered the call just as they have all season. The Hoosiers were limited to just three shots on goal in the second half, while the Hawkeyes held a 10-4 advantage in shots in the final period.
Clark closed the shutout for the Hawkeyes, notching three saves. The Fort Collins, Colo., native improved her impressive save percentage to .955. Clark leads the Big Ten in save percentage and goals against average.
Catrell led the Hawkeye attack, challenging the Indiana goalkeeper throughout the contest. Catrell finished with six shots, three of which went on target, in 82 minutes played. Catrell has 16 points and seven goals this season. Senior Gabrielle Ainsworth came off the bench to provide a boost in Iowa’s attack, getting four shots off. Sophomores Anne Marie Thomas, Melanie Pickert and Cloe Lacasse, and senior Dana Dalrymple each had two shots.
The Hawkeyes, who got off to their best start in program history this season with nine straight wins, are 5-0-0 at home this season, and have outscored their opponents 16-1 at the Iowa Soccer Complex.
The Hawkeyes return to action on Sunday, hosting Purdue at the Iowa Soccer Complex. First touch is set for 1 p.m. (CT). Purdue (6-3-1, 1-1-0) defeated Nebraska, 2-1, tonight in Lincoln, Neb.