IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa soccer team will face the defending national champion and a total of four NCAA Tournament teams as part of its 2016 schedule, UI head coach Dave DiIanni announced Wednesday.
The Hawkeyes will play eight regular season and one exhibition contest at the Iowa Soccer Complex.
After hosting Northern Iowa in an Aug. 12 exhibition, Iowa hits the road for its first three contests. The Hawkeyes open the regular season at Creighton on Aug. 19, face Southeastern Conference foe Missouri on Aug. 21, and face off against Eastern Michigan in Minneapolis on Aug. 26.
Iowa ends the month of August with its regular season home opener, hosting Wyoming on Aug. 28. The team then faces Colorado State on Sept. 4 and Southern Illinois Edwardsville on Sept. 6.
The Hawkeyes close out the nonconference portion of their schedule with road contests against Big 12 and Pac-12 opponents. Iowa travels to Ames, Iowa, for the annual Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series matchup against Iowa State on Sept. 9 before squaring off against Colorado on Sept. 11 in Boulder.
Iowa opens Big Ten Conference at home, hosting Michigan and Michigan State on Sept. 16 and Sept. 18. The following weekend, the Hawkeyes play defending NCAA champion Penn State (Sept. 22) in Happy Valley and have a road game at Sweet 16 participant Ohio State (Sept. 25).
Following a Sept. 30 home game against Purdue, the Hawkeyes face Minnesota and Wisconsin in consecutive road dates on Oct. 6 and Oct. 9. The Gophers advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2015.
Iowa’s final home stand welcomes Northwestern — a 2015 NCAA second round qualifier — and Illinois to the Iowa Soccer Complex. The Hawkeyes face the Wildcats on Oct. 13 and the Fighting Illini on Oct. 16, a day the program will honor its seniors.
The Hawkeyes round out the regular season with their first road trip to Maryland on Oct. 22 before traveling to Lincoln to face Nebraska on Oct. 26 in the regular season finale.
The top eight teams in the conference standings will advance to the 2016 Big Ten Tournament. Quarterfinal games will be contested on four league campuses with the semifinals and finals being played at the highest seed remaining following the quarterfinal round.