Sept. 1, 2015
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Sophomore Karly Stuenkel’s goal in the 94th minute sent the University of Iowa soccer team to a 2-1-overtime victory over Northern Iowa on Tuesday night at the Iowa Soccer Complex. It was the third straight meeting that has been decided in overtime.
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“We knew it was going to be a tight game,” said head coach Dave DiIanni. “We played well tonight. Our numbers are at an all-time high as far as pass completions and quality opportunities.
“We were a little tired toward the back, part of that was tired legs and part was UNI being so direct.”
Stuenkel’s strike came following a shot that was blocked from freshman Jenna Kentgen. It was the second of Stuenkel’s career.
Iowa took an early lead in the first half when junior Bri Toelle dribbled through the UNI defense and bent a shot into the top right corner.
After going into halftime down by one, the Panthers came out with a vengeance early in the second half, peppering five shots at Iowa goalkeeper Hannah Clark in the first four minutes. Freshman Hannah McDevitt was able to put one past Clark in the 73rd minute to tie the game. It was the first goal allowed by Iowa this season.
The Hawkeyes peppered shot-after-shot at UNI’s Whitney Blunt in goal throughout the game, which led to a 17-13 advantage in shots, and a 9-6 edge in shots on goal. The Hawkeyes also had six corner kicks to two for UNI.
“I give our girls a lot of credit,” said DiIanni. “We are a young and inexperienced team, but we battled back and got the win.”
Iowa (3-0) returns to action Friday for a neutral site game against Utah State in Missoula, Montana. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. (CT).
