Hawkeye Fan Shop — A Black & Gold Store | 24 Hawkeyes to Watch 2019-20 | Hawk Talk Monthly – June
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Three University of Iowa soccer student-athletes — seniors Natalie Winters and Devin Burns and sophomore Riley Whitaker — have been named to the Big Ten Preseason Honors List.
Winters, a midfielder from Plymouth, Michigan, was a third-team All-Big Ten and third-team United Soccer Coaches All-North Region honoree as a junior. She led the Hawkeyes with five goals and three assists en route to being named the team’s Most Valuable Player and Offensive Player of the Year. Winters has started 55 of 56 games in her career.
Burns, a forward from Green Oaks, Illinois, started six games and saw action in 13 games as a junior after being hampered by a preseason injury. She scored two game-winning goals and had an assist during the season. For her career, Burns has 14 goals — the most returning on the team.
Whitaker, a defender from Ankeny, Iowa, was the team’s Newcomer of the Year in 2018 after starting 17 games and logging 1,310 minutes — second-most among Iowa freshmen. Whitaker was a key member of a Hawkeye defense that posted six shutouts during the course of the season.
The Hawkeyes were picked to finish 10th in the preseason coaches’ poll. Penn State was the favorite, followed by Rutgers, Wisconsin, Ohio State, and Michigan.
Iowa opens the regular season Thursday, hosting Western Michigan at 7 p.m. (CT) at the Iowa Soccer Complex. Admission is free.
