Week 5 Preview: at Indiana, at Purdue

THIS WEEK
The No. 19/21 University of Iowa soccer team hits the road this weekend to open Big Ten Conference play.  The Hawkeyes face Indiana in Bloomington at 2 p.m. (CT) at Bill Armstrong Stadium on Friday before squaring off against Purdue at noon Sunday at Folk Field in West Lafayette.

WATCH/FOLLOW LIVE
• Both games will be streamed online via BTN+ — a paid subscription service.
• Live stats for both contests will be available on hawkeyesports.com.
• Fans can follow the Iowa soccer program on Twitter (@HawkeyeSoccer) for live game updates.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
• Iowa is 8-0 to start the season for the first time since the 2013 season and for the first time in head coach Dave DiIanni’s tenure.  The Hawkeyes won their first eight games in 2011 and 2013 and a school-record nine straight games to open the 2012 season.
• The Hawkeyes are ranked 19th in the United Soccer Coaches poll — the highest ranking in school history — and 21st by TopDrawerSoccer.  It is the program’s first national ranking since 2014. Iowa is also second (behind Rutgers) in the United Soccer Coaches North Region rankings.
• The Hawkeyes have scored a Big Ten-best 25 goals through the first eight games of the 2019 season.  The figure is fifth nationally.
• Iowa has already matched its 2018 win total (8-7-3).
• Iowa is 2-0-0 this season against ACC foes, defeating No. 14 NC State, 1-0, on Sept. 6 and Notre Dame, 3-2, on Sept. 15. The victory over the Wolfpack was the team’s third-highest rated opponent Iowa has defeated in school history.

DRKULEC DOES IT ALL
Senior Hannah Drkulec was named a Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 17 following her first career two-goal game in the road win at Notre Dame.  One of the two strikes was Drkulec’s first career game-winner.
• Drkulec becomes the third Big Ten student-athlete all-time to garner Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week honors in the same season (Lisa Grubb, Ohio State, 2001; Izzy Rodriguez, Ohio State, 2018).  She was named Defensive Player of the Week on Aug. 27 and Sept. 10.  
• The defender was also named to TopDrawerSoccer’s National Team of the Week on Sept. 17.
• Drkulec is Iowa’s first Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honoree since Devin Burns in Sept. 2017.

A PROGRAM FIRST
The Hawkeyes debuted in the United Soccer Coaches poll on Sept. 17, coming in at No. 19.  It is Iowa’s highest ranking in school history and the first time the program has been in the United Soccer Coaches poll (previously NSCAA).  
• Iowa also joined TopDrawerSoccer’s Top 25 for the first time since 2014, when the Hawkeyes were ranked 25th.  
• The Hawkeyes are the second-highest ranked team in the Big Ten behind No. 13 Rutgers.

ADDITIONAL HAWKEYE HONOREES
• Senior Claire Graves was named the Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Week on Sept. 10 after posting back-to-back shutouts of No. 14 NC State and UNC Greensboro.  She was also named honorable mention on TopDrawerSoccer’s National Team of the Week on Sept. 10.

AMONG THE NATION’S BEST
The Hawkeyes rank among the top 10 in the nation in five categories and in the top 20 in 10 categories.  Iowa is first in penalty kicks (1.000), fifth in goals (25), sixth in scoring offense (3.13), seventh in points (51), and ninth in points per game (8.75).  

B1G LEADERS
• The Hawkeyes are leading the Big Ten in all six offensive categories — goals (25), points (70), shots (147), goals per game (3.13), assists (20), and assists per game (2.50),
• Seniors Devin Burns and Hannah Drkulec are tied for fourth in the Big Ten with four goals and tied for seventh in goals per game (0.50).
• Freshman Melina Hegelheimer is tied for second in the league with three assists and eighth in assists per game (.38).
• Devin Burns is third in the conference with 27 shots and sixth in shots per game (3.38).  Burns is also fifth in points (10), while Drkulec is tied for fifth (9).
• Senior Natalie Winters is tied for second in game-winning goals with two.

IOWA’S DEFENSE HAS…
• allowed seven or fewer shots in six of its eight games.  Iowa allowed just two shots in three games — wins over Western Michigan, Northern Iowa, and Northern Colorado.
• posted four shutouts, including back-to-back-to-back against No. 14 NC State, UNC Greensboro, and Northern Colorado.

OFFENSIVELY SPEAKING
• Iowa is out-shooting its opposition, 147-46, and the Hawkeyes have a 55-22 advantage in corner kicks.  The Hawkeyes have 20 or more shots in four games.
• Seven different Hawkeyes have scored a game-winning goal this season, including career firsts from: Hannah Drkulec, Samantha Tawharu, Emma Tokuyama, and Sara Wheaton.
• The Hawkeyes have scored three or more goals in five games this season, including three  in three straight contests for the first time since 2016 season.
• Senior Devin Burns has registered a point in three straight games — goals against UNC Greensboro and Northern Colorado and an assist at Notre Dame.

I SCORE, YOU SCORE, WE ALL SCORE
The Hawkeyes have scored 25 goals in eight games (Iowa scored 20 total goals in 2018) and 13 different players have found the back of the net. Fifteen different players have tallied a point this season.
• Freshmen Gianna Gourley, Sara Wheaton, and Samantha Cary, sophomores Samantha Tawharu, Skylar Alward, and Jenny Cape, and senior Emma Tokuyama have scored their first career goals this season.  
• Iowa scored six goals in its 6-1 victory over Northern Iowa on Aug. 25 — the most for the program since 2017. The six goals (and six assists in the game) are tied for the most in a single game in the Big Ten this season.

DOWN GOES NO. 14
• The Hawkeyes’ 1-0 victory at No. 14 NC State was the program’s third-highest ranked victory in its history and the highest ranked opponent since 2013.
• Iowa defeated No. 7 Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals in 2013. The program  also knocked off 12th-ranked Wisconsin in 1999.

PERFECT PK
Senior Natalie Winters has scored three goals — with two coming on penalty kicks.  She is a perfect 6-for-6 in her career in penalty kicks.
• Winters scored the game-winning goal in the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series victory over Iowa State.  It was her second game-winning strike of the season and the fourth of her career.

HOME COOKIN’ AT THE ISC
The Hawkeyes are undefeated in five games at home this season and unbeaten in their last 15 games at the Iowa Soccer Complex, posting a 12-0-3 record.  Iowa won seven games at home in 2018 — the most since 2013.

HAWKEYE TIDBITS
• The Hawkeyes are 3-0 on the road this season, a year after going 1-7-0 away from Iowa City. 

90-MINUTE CLUB
Iowa has five position players that are a part of the 90-minute club.  The club includes: Riley Whitaker (5 games), Hannah Drkulec (3), Sara Wheaton (2), Isabella Blackman (2), and Samantha Cary (2). 

QUICK ATTACK
• The Hawkeyes’ offense has come out fast, scoring in the game’s first seven minutes in four contests — (UNI (6:58), Illinois State (0:47), UNC Greensboro (3:52), Northern Colorado (6:09).
• Iowa has scored first in seven of eight games this season.  The Hawkeyes fell behind in the road win at Notre Dame, but responded by scoring three times in a 10-minute stretch in the 3-2 victory.

EXPERIENCE GALORE
• The Hawkeyes boast a roster featuring 12 seniors and 14 total upperclassmen.  The 12 seniors are believed to be the most by a team in the nation.
• The 12 seniors have combined to start 374 games in their collegiate careers.
• Midfielder Natalie Winters has started 65 of 66 games as a Hawkeye, Claire Graves has started 58 contests, and Isabella Blackman has started 56 games.

SENIOR NATALIE WINTERS…
• has started 65 of 66 career games.
• is a three-time All-Big Ten selection, earning All-Freshman team honors in 2016 and third-team All-Big Ten honors as a sophomore and junior.  She also earned All-Region honors in 2018.
• led the team with five goals in 2018 en route to being named Iowa’s team MVP and Offensive Player of the Year.

GRAVES CLIMBING IOWA RECORD BOOKS
Senior Claire Graves currently ranks in the top-five in three career categories in Iowa history. The Indiana native is second in career shutouts (21), third in career victories (31), and fifth in career saves (202).

Shutouts
1. Hannah Clark, 26
2. Claire Graves, 21

Victories
1. Hannah Clark, 36
2. Emily Moran, 35
3. Claire Graves, 31

Saves
1. Britta Vogele, 489
2. Emily Moran, 350
3. Hannah Clark, 321
4. Claire Graves, 207

BURNS AMONG CAREER LEADERS
• Senior Devin Burns has scored four goals during the 2019 season, giving her 18 career goals, which are tied for sixth-most in school history with Bri Toelle.  Linzy Wolman is fifth with 21 goals.
• Burns is also tied for third all-time with nine career game-winning goals.
• She currently has 47 career points — five points shy of tying Toelle (52) for sixth place all-time.

HAWKEYE TIDBITS
• The Hawkeyes were picked to finish 10th in the Big Ten preseason poll.
• Seniors Hannah Drkulec and Isabella Blackman were voted the Hawkeyes’ team captains for the 2019 season.

SCOUTING INDIANA
• The Hoosiers enter Friday’s game riding a three-game winning streak that has improved the team’s record to 4-3-0.  Indiana defeated Morehead State (5-0) at home and picked up road wins over UT Martin (2-1) and Kentucky (1-0). 
• Indiana has scored 10 goals in seven games with Chandra Davidson and Avery Lockwood leading the way with three goals apiece.  
• Bethany Koepl has allowed seven goals and posted a 1.00 goals against average. She has three shutouts and 16 saves.

SCOUTING PURDUE
• The Boilermakers are 0-2-1 over their last three games, falling to No. 7 South Carolina (2-0) and No. 11 Kansas (2-1) and drawing Saint Louis (0-0).  Purdue is 4-2-1 on the year.
• Purdue is ranked ninth in the United Soccer Coaches North Region rankings. 
• The Boilermakers have scored 11 goals in seven games with Hannah Melchiorre leading the way with three strikes. Seven different players have scored.
•  Marisa Bova has a 0.69 goals against average, while making 22 saves.  She has four shutouts on the year.

SERIES RECORDS
• The Hawkeyes are 11-9-1 all-time against Indiana, which includes a 5-1-1 record over the last seven meetings.  
• Iowa is 2-1-1 against the Hoosiers in head coach Dave DiIanni’s tenure, including posting a 3-1 victory in Iowa City last season.
• The Hawkeyes last win in Bloomington came in 2013 (2-1).
• Iowa is 9-6-4 all-time against Purdue and the Hawkeyes are unbeaten in the series dating back to 2010 (6-0-2).  
• Iowa and Purdue played to a 1-1 draw last season; the Hawkeyes won 2-1 in West Lafayette in 2017.

NEXT UP
The Hawkeyes return to Iowa City to host Illinos on Sept. 26 at 8 p.m. (CT) at the Iowa Soccer Complex.