Sept. 16, 2015
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- Big Ten Network: Free Hawkeye Video
- 24 Hawkeyes to Watch
THE MATCH-UP
The University of Iowa soccer team hits the road to start Big Ten Conference play, heading to the state of Michigan for a pair of contests. The Hawkeyes face Michigan State on Friday at 1 p.m. (CT) at DeMartin Stadium before facing Michigan on Sunday at 11 a.m. at U-M Soccer Stadium.LIVE STREAMING
Both games will be streamed via BTN Plus on BTN2Go this weekend. Visit www.btn2go.com (subscription required).ON THE WEB
Iowa soccer fans can follow all home contests via live stats (GameTracker) on hawkeyesports.com. Click on the “GT” link found on both the front page and the soccer schedule page to access the live stats feed. Fans can also follow @HawkeyeSoccer for live in-game updates.
SCOUTING MICHIGAN STATE
• The Spartans bring a 4-1-2 record into Friday’s match. Last weekend, Michigan State went 1-0-1 at home, tying San Francisco, 1-1 in double overtime, before downing New Mexico, 1-0, on Sept. 13.• Michigan State has scored nine goals in seven games this season with Kirsten Evans leading the team with two goals– both of which were game winners. Eight different Spartan players have scored.
• Gabrielle Gauruder has played every minute in goal for the Spartans, posting a 0.80 goals against average, while making 30 saves and posting two shutouts. She has allowed six goals in 677 minutes in goal.
• Michigan State is led by head coach Tom Saxton, who is in his 25th season.
MICHIGAN STATE VS. IOWA — THE SERIES
• The Spartans lead the all-time series between the two schools, posting a 6-8-5 record.• Iowa has won the last two meetings, 1-0.
• Last year, the Hawkeyes topped the Spartans, 1-0, in East Lansing –marking the first time Iowa has won at Michigan State since 1999 when the Hawkeyes defeated the Spartans, 1-0.
• Three of the last six games have gone into double-overtime.
• Michigan State has not scored a goal against the Hawkeyes since a 1-1 tie in double over- time on Oct. 31, 2010.
SCOUTING MICHIGAN
• The Wolverines, who are receiving votes in the Sept. 15 NSCAA rankings, bring a 5-3-0 record into the weekend. Michigan went 1-1 last weekend, downing Central Michigan, 3-1, before falling, 2-0, at No. 13 Notre Dame on Sept. 13.• Michigan has scored 22 goals in eight games this season with Taylor Timko leading the team with six goals and one assist. Ten different Michigan players have scored.
• Michigan currently leads the conference in assists (18), goals (22), shots (156) and points (62).
• The Wolverines have been outshooting opponents, 156-52– 72 of which were on goal.
• Michigan is led by head coach Greg Ryan, who is in his eighth season.
MICHIGAN VS. IOWA — THE SERIES
• The Wolverines lead the all-time series against the Hawkeyes, posting a 15-3-2 record.• It is the second straight year Iowa has traveled to Ann Arbor. The Wolverines won 4-2 last season.
• Iowa’s 1-0 victory over the Wolverines in the 2013 Big Ten Tournament marked the first Hawkeye win in the series since 2009.
QUICK HITTERS
• Junior Bri Toelle leads the Big Ten in shots (48), shots per game (6.86), assists (four) and assists per game (0.57). Toelle, who has scored at least one goal in three of the last five contests, is tied for fifth in the league in goals (4).• Sophomore Karly Stuenkel is second on the team with three goals, one assist, and seven points this season. She notched her first game-winning goal in Iowa’s, 2-1, overtime victory over UNI.
• Iowa is out-shooting its opponents, 121-73, in seven games this season, which includes a 61-29 advantage in shots on goal. The 121 shots are the third-most in the Big Ten.
• Eight of Iowa’s 13 goals have come in the second half or later, with seven goals scored in the second and one overtime goal.
• The Hawkeyes have used a different starting lineup in 6-of-7 contests. Six players — Hannah Clark, Brooke Backes, Jenna Kentgen, Kyrie Seying, Rachele Armand, and Amanda Lulek — have started every game.
• Iowa currently ranks 10th in the Great Lakes region of the NSCAA poll.
• The Hawkeyes finished nonconference play with a 6-1 record. Iowa is 36-2 in the nonconference during the last five seasons.
• Freshmen Rose Ripslinger and Hannah Brobst made their Iowa debuts Sept. 13 against UIC.
• Magruder was named the Big Ten Fresh- man of the Week on Aug. 25 — Iowa’s first Freshman of the Week honoree since 2012.
LAST GAME
Iowa closed out its nonconference slate with 3-0 win over UIC on Sept. 13. Bri Toelle, Karly Stuenkel and Hannah Brobst, all scored in the contest.CLARK EYES HISTORY
Senior Hannah Clark has been in goal for 35 wins in her UI soccer career. With her next victory, Clark will move past former Hawkeye Emily Moran as the winningest goalkeeper in program history. Clark is also the school recordholder in career shutouts (26), and is third all-time with 242 saves.B1G DEFENSE
The Hawkeyes allowed three goals during their nonconference slate, tied for the second-fewest in the league. Senior Hannah Clark is fourth in the conference in goals against average (0.43) and tied for fourth in shutouts (seven).BACKES NOTCHES 1ST GWG
Senior Brooke Backes scored the first game- winning goal in Iowa’s 2-1 come-from- behind victory over Utah State on Sept. 4. The strike was Backes’ first goal since her freshman season and her third career strike.TOELLE PACES TEAM
Junior forward Bri Toelle is leading the team with four goals and 11 points early in the 2015 season. The four goals tied a career-high and the Virginia native is one point shy of matching a career high she set as a freshman in 2013.TOELLE TIES PROGRAM RECORD
Junior Bri Toelle tied the school record for single game assists after notching three assists in Iowa’s 4-0 victory over Nebraska Omaha on Aug. 23. The total is the high water mark in the Big Ten this season.Toelle shares the Iowa school record with Morgan Showalter (Sept. 23, 2008) and Jenna Sorensen (Sept. 5, 1997).
IOWA IN THE RANKINGS
The Hawkeyes have broken into the top 10 in the NSCAA Great Lakes Region rankings. Big Ten Conference schools occupy nine of the 10 spots in the team rankings.QUICK STRIKES
• Freshman Hannah Brobst notched her first career goal, minutes into her first game as a Hawkeye in Iowa’s 3-0, win over UIC on Sept. 13.• Iowa scored two goals in the span of 1:39 seconds in its 2-1 win over Utah State.
• The Hawkeyes scored their third and fourth goals in a span of 29 seconds in their 4-0 win over Omaha on Aug. 23.
MAGRUDER NAMED B1G FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
University of Iowa midfielder Alina Magruder was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Aug. 25 after scoring a pair of goals in Iowa’s 4-0 victory over Omaha. The honor is the first of Magruder’s career and she is the first Hawkeye freshman to earn the weekly conference honor since Hannah Clark on Oct. 8, 2012.TEAM CAPTAIN
Senior Hannah Clark has been named Iowa’s team captain for the 2015 season.3 HAWKEYES ON B1G PLAYERS TO WATCH LIST
Senior Hannah Clark and juniors Amanda Lulek and Corey Burns were named Big Ten Players to Watch for the 2015 season.Clark started 17 matches last season, logging 1,598 minutes in goal. She ranked third in the Big Ten in save percentage (.844), tied for third in shutouts (9), and ranked fourth in goals against average (0.79).
Lulek, a native of Geneva, Illinois, started 13 games as a sophomore. The defender played every minute in five games, including all 103 minutes (two overtimes) of the Big Ten title game against No. 11 Wisconsin.
Burns saw action in 20-of-22 games last season with 20 starts. The Green Oaks, Illinois, native led the team in assists (seven), and helped lead Iowa’s defense that ranked second in the Big Ten in shutouts and fourth in goals against average (0.75).
HAWKEYES ON TV
Iowa will appear on BTN/BTN Plus on BTN2Go eight times during the 2015 season. The Hawkeyes’ Oct. 11 home contest against Minnesota will be broadcast live on BTN.BTN Plus will stream Iowa’s games against Michigan State (Sept. 18), Michigan (Sept. 20), Ohio State (Sept. 25), Wisconsin (Oct. 8), Illinois (Oct. 15), Nebraska (Oct. 23) and Rutgers (Oct. 28).
BTN will also be televising the Big Ten Tournament on Nov. 1-8.
B1G IN THE POLLS
Penn State, Ohio State, and Rutgers are ranked in the NSCAA Top 25 poll as of Sept. 8.Penn State is ranked No. 7, Ohio State sits at No. 15, and Rutgers was voted No. 19. Wisconsin (9) and Michigan (6) are receiving votes.
ROSTER BREAKDOWN
The Hawkeyes enter the season with five starters returning from last year’s 14-win team. Head coach Dave DiIanni will lead a Hawkeye squad that features 10 incoming freshmen and one transfer in junior Rachele Armand. Iowa’s five returning starters are juniors Amanda Lulek, Bri Toelle, Natalie Krygier, and Corey Burns, and senior goalkeeper Hannah Clark.2014 IN REVIEW
The Hawkeyes finished the 2014 season with a 14-7-1 overall and 7-5-1 Big Ten record. The seven conference victories ties the program record for Big Ten wins in a single season, and the 14 wins are the second most in school history. After entering the Big Ten Tournament as the No. 5 seed, Iowa posted victories over No. 23 Rutgers and Northwestern to advance to the conference tournament championship game for a second straight season.The Hawkeyes finished 2014 with a school-record 14 shutouts in 22 games to rank 20th nationally with a .545 shutout percentage. Iowa’s defense also was in the top 35 in the country in saves percentage (31st, .838) and goals against average (35th, .754).
Academically, the Hawkeyes garnered the NSCAA Team Academic Award for an eighth straight season, and nine soccer student-athletes garnered Academic All-Big Ten honors. Seniors Caitlin Brown and Emily Scott received Scholar All-Region recognition.
NEXT UP
Iowa returns home for a pair of conference matchups against top-25 foes Ohio State and Penn State.