Aug. 23, 2015
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Goals weren’t hard to come by on Sunday afternoon as the University of Iowa women’s soccer team rolled past Nebraska Omaha, 4-0, at the Iowa Soccer Complex to start the season with a 2-0 record.
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“This was a typical game of showing our youth,” said head coach Dave DiIanni. “We had opportunities, were dialed in the first 15 minutes and created a lot of chances with their high line. We should have scored two or three goals right off the bat.”
Freshmen Jenna Kentgen got the ball rolling for Iowa, scoring her first career goal at the 30-minute mark after a corner kick taken by junior Rachele Armand. Iowa took control of the game for the rest of the first half, tallying 14 of their 21 shots.
“We have been working on corner kicks in practice. We all went in, I saw the goalie tip it, and I just was able to finish it,” said Kentgen. “After being out for a whole year, it felt great.”
Freshman Alina Magruder extended Iowa’s lead with her first of two goals when she booted the ball past Nebraska Omaha’s goalkeeper Haley Shelton in the 80th minute of the second half.
Iowa’s third goal of the game came in the 85th minute as Karly Stuenkel secured a pass from junior Bri Toelle and broke away from the Maverick defense to put the Hawkeyes up 3-0. “I was happy with how our second half went,” said Dilanni. “We were much more aggressive offensively. They didn’t come out of their end very much in the second half.
“We pressed higher and we turned balls over higher and just had a mentality of being more competitive. Right now we are still trying to find the right chemistry and mix, so we played a lot of players today.”
Iowa’s final goal of the day came only a minute after the third goal when Toelle sent a pass into sophomore Abbey Toureene, who sent a cross to Magruder who headed it in, giving the Hawkeyes a 4-0 advantage.
Senior Hannah Clark finished with two saves in 90 minutes of action en route to her second consecutive shutout.
The Hawkeyes will remain at home for a match on Friday, Aug. 28, against South Dakota State. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. (CT).
