B1G Tournament Preview -- at Penn State

THIS WEEK
The fifth-seeded University of Iowa soccer team heads to University Park to open Big Ten Tournament play with a quarterfinal matchup against No. 4 seed Penn State on Sunday at noon (CT) at Jeffrey Field.  The Hawkeyes are making their first postseason appearance since 2017.

WATCH/FOLLOW LIVE
• This contest will be streamed online via BTN+ — a paid subscription service.
• Live stats for this contest 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’s 15 wins are tied for the most in a single season in school history. It is the second 10+ win season under head coach Dave DiIanni; the Hawkeyes won 14 games during DiIanni’s first season in 2014.
• All 15 wins came during the regular season.  Iowa needed two postseason wins as the No. 7 seed in the Big Ten Tournament to set the previous school record in 2013.
• The Hawkeyes posted seven Big Ten victories, which are tied for the most in a single season in school history.  Iowa also won a school-record seven Big Ten games in 1999 and 2014.
• Iowa’s fifth place Big Ten finish is tied for the second-highest finish in program history.  
• Senior Claire Graves won her 37th career game in Iowa’s road win at Minnesota, making her the winningest goalkeeper in school history. Graves has 38 career victories.
• Iowa tied a school record, winning its first nine games of the 2019 season.  The Hawkeyes also started 9-0-0 in 2013.  
• The Hawkeyes had three All-Big Ten honorees in 2019, tied for the most in a single season in program history.
• Iowa is receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches poll, sitting 29th with 23 points.  The Hawkeyes are fourth in the North Region rankings.
• The Hawkeyes have scored a Big Ten-best 45 goals through 19 games. The figure is eighth nationally. Iowa is four goals shy of tying the school record of 49 goals, set in 1999.

WITH A WIN…
• Iowa would break the program’s single-season win record.
• The Hawkeyes would advance to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals for the third time in program history.
• Iowa would face either top-seeded Wisconsin or eighth-seeded Purdue on Nov.8 in Piscataway, New Jersey.

BIG TEN TOURNAMENT HISTORY
• Iowa will be making its 11th appearance in the Big Ten Tournament.  The Hawkeyes are 4-10 all-time.
• It will be head coach Dave DiIanni’s third appearance. He led the Hawkeyes to the championship game in 2014 and to the first round in 2017. 
• The last time Iowa was a No. 5 seed it advanced to the title game during the 2014 season.
• Iowa is 1-3 all-time against Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament.  The Hawkeyes defeated the Nittany Lions, 1-0, in the semifinals in 2013.     

B1G HONOREES
• Iowa tied a school record with three All-Big Ten selections.  The Hawkeyes also had three honorees in 2002, 2008, and 2011.
• Senior Natalie Winters earned second-team All-Big Ten honors to become the first Hawkeye to earn Big Ten postseason recognition all four seasons.  She was an All-Freshman team honoree in 2016 and third-team All-Big Ten in 2017 and 2018.
• Senior Devin Burns earned her first career All-Big Ten honor, garnering third-team honors.  She is tied for the team lead with six goals.
• Freshman Gianna Gourley was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team after scoring five goals during the regular season.  She is Iowa’s first All-Freshman team honoree since Winters in 2016.
• Senior Claire Graves was named Iowa’s Big Ten Sportsmanship honoree.

IOWA TIES SINGLE-SEASON WINS RECORD
Iowa has 15 victories this season, which are tied for the most in a single season in program history.  The Hawkeyes won a school-record 15 games in 2013, the year the program made its first NCAA Tournament appearance.

DYNAMO DEVIN
Senior Devin Burns has registered a point in nine of Iowa’s 19 games this season.  She scored her team-leading sixth goal in the Hawkeyes’ 3-0 win over Michigan State on Oct. 6, giving her 20 goals for her career.  The total is sixth all-time in program history.
• Iowa is 16-0-1 in games in which Burns has scored in her career.

GRAVES GETS IT DONE
• Senior Claire Graves has posted 14 victories in goal this season, which are the second-most in a single season in program history. 
• The Indiana native has posted 7.5 shutouts, a career high.  The figure is third in a single season in program history.
• Graves is 14-3-1 with a 0.746 goals against average this season.  She has made 44 saves.

OF NOTE…
• Senior Isabella Blackman scored her first goal of the season — a game-winner — in Iowa’s 4-0 Senior Day victory over Maryland on Oct. 13.  It was the midfielder’s first goal since the second game of her career — a game-winner in a road win at Missouri in 2016.  
• Sophomore Riley Whitaker scored her second career goal, bending in a strike off a corner kick against the Terrapins.  She is the 16th Hawkeye to score this season.
• Emma Tokuyama assissted on both goals on Oct. 20 against Minnesota. She now leads the team with five assists.

DEJA VU: BACK-TO-BACK 110TH-MINUTE STRIKES
Sophomore Samantha Tawharu achieved the improbable in back-to-back games, propelling the Hawkeyes to their 14th and 15th wins.  The forward scored a golden goal with 26 seconds left to give Iowa a 2-1 double-overtime victory at Minnesota on Oct. 20.  A week later, Tawharu scored a golden goal with six seconds left in double OT to send the Hawkeyes past Ohio State, 2-1.
• Tawharu scored is second on the team with five goals, including three game-winners.  She is also tied for the team lead with five assists.

DRKULEC DOES IT ALL
Senior Hannah Drkulec earned her fourth Big Ten weekly honor of the season Oct. 8 when she was tabbed the league’s Defensive Player of the Week.  Drkulec keyed an Iowa defense that posted back-to-back shutouts of Nebraska and Michigan State and she scored the game-winning goal in East Lansing.
• Drkulec was previously named Defensive Player of the Week on Aug. 27 and Sept. 10 and she tabbed as the 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. 
• Drkulec became 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).  
• Drkulec’s four weekly honors match Britta Vogele for the most in a single-season in school history.
• The defender was also named to TopDrawerSoccer’s National Team of the Week on Sept. 17.
• Drkulec has a career-high five goals in 2019. She scored her second career game-winning goal in the road win at Michigan State on Oct. 6.

A PROGRAM FIRST
The Hawkeyes debuted in the United Soccer Coaches poll on Sept. 17, coming in at No. 19.  It was 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.  

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.
• Freshman Gianna Gourley was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Oct. 8 after scoring the game-winning goal in the home win over Nebraska.
• Iowa had six Big Ten weekly honors during the regular season — the most in school history.

AMONG THE NATION’S BEST
The Hawkeyes rank among the top 20 in the nation in seven categories.  Iowa is tied for first in penalty kicks (1.000), eighth in goals (45), 11th in points (128), 18th in shots on goal per game (8.42) and points per game (6.74), and 19th in assists (38) and scoring offense (2.37).

B1G LEADERS
• The Hawkeyes are leading the Big Ten in all six offensive categories — goals (44), points (126), shots (321), goals per game (2.32), assists (38), and assists per game (2.00).
• Senior Devin Burns and Natalie Winters are tied for ninth in the Big Ten with six goals. 
• Devin Burns is tied for sixth in the conference with 48 shots and tied for seventh in shots per game (2.53). 
• Senior Natalie Winters and sophomore Samantha Tawharu are tied for sixth in game-winning goals with three.

IOWA’S DEFENSE HAS…
• allowed seven or fewer shots in 11 of its 19 games.  Iowa allowed just two shots in three games — wins over Western Michigan, Northern Iowa, and Northern Colorado — and three shots in the road loss at Purdue.
• posted eight shutouts, including back-to-back-to-back against No. 14 NC State, UNC Greensboro, and Northern Colorado.  Four of Iowa’s seven Big Ten wins have come via the shutout.

OFFENSIVELY SPEAKING
• Iowa is out-shooting its opposition, 325-142, and the Hawkeyes have an 113-61 advantage in corner kicks. The Hawkeyes have 20 or more shots in six games.
• Nine different Hawkeyes have scored a game-winning goal this season, including career firsts from: Hannah Drkulec, Gianna Gourley, Samantha Tawharu, Emma Tokuyama, and Sara Wheaton.
• The Hawkeyes have scored three or more goals in eight games this season.

I SCORE, YOU SCORE, WE ALL SCORE
The Hawkeyes have scored 45 goals in 19 games (Iowa scored 20 total goals in 2018) and 16 different players have found the back of the net. Seventeen different players have tallied a point this season.
• Iowa has an NCAA-leading 16 different goal scorers in 2019. 
• Freshmen Gianna Gourley, Sara Wheaton, and Samantha Cary, sophomores Samantha Tawharu, Skylar Alward, 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 six goals — with four coming on penalty kicks.  She is a perfect 8-for-8 in her career in penalty kicks.

HOME COOKIN’ AT THE ISC
The Hawkeyes home unbeaten streak came to an end Sept. 29 in an overtime loss to Northwestern. Iowa was riding a 16-game unbeaten streak that dated back to Oct. 21, 2017.  
• Iowa is 16-2-3 dating back to the start of the 2018 season, which includes an 9-2 record at home this season.  The nine wins are a school record for home victories.

HAWKEYE TIDBITS
• The Hawkeyes are 6-1-1 on the road this season, a year after going 1-7-0 away from Iowa City.  The six road wins are tied for the most in a single season in school history.
• Iowa posted a 1-0 road win at Indiana in its Big Ten Conference opener.  It was the Hawkeyes first victory in a league opener since 2014 and the first on the road in school history.

90-MINUTE CLUB
Iowa has five position players that are a part of the 90-minute club.  The club includes: Riley Whitaker (15 games), Hannah Drkulec (11), Sara Wheaton (11), Samantha Cary (9), and Isabella Blackman (1).

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 14 of 19 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.
• Out of 1,686 total minutes this season, Iowa has only trailed for 129 minutes and 23 seconds.

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 437 games in their collegiate careers. 
• Iowa has played 75 games since the senior class arrived in 2016. Nine seniors have appeared in 50 or more games in their careers.
•  Senior Natalie Winters has started 74-of-75 career games and she has appeared in all 75 contests.  Iowa’s senior class’s experience includes: Hannah Drkulec – 74-of-75 games (51 starts); Isabella Blackman – 73-of-75 (65 starts); Claire Graves – 70-of-75 (69 starts), Kaleigh Haus – 68-of-75 (50 starts); Devin Burns – 68-of-75 (55 starts), Olivia Fiegel – 58-of-75 (17 starts); Leah Moss – 58-of-75 (40 starts); Emma Tokuyama – 54-of-75 (4 starts).

GRAVES TIES CAREER WINS RECORD
Senior Claire Graves became Iowa’s career wins leader in Iowa’s 2-1 double overtime win at Minnesota on Oct. 20. Graves currently ranks in the top-four in three categories — first in career wins (38), second in career shutouts (24.5), and fourth in career saves (235).

Shutouts
1. Hannah Clark, 26
2. Claire Graves, 24.5

Saves
1. Britta Vogele, 489
2. Emily Moran, 350
3. Hannah Clark, 321
4. Claire Graves, 235

BURNS AMONG CAREER LEADERS
• Senior Devin Burns has scored six goals during the 2019 season, giving her 20 career goals, which ar e the sixth-most in school history.  Linzy Wolman is fifth with 21 goals.
• Burns is also tied for third all-time with nine career game-winning goals.
• She currently has 52 career points, which is tied with Bri 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 PENN STATE
• Penn State brings a 12-6-1 record into the Big Ten Tournament, and the Nittany Lions are the No. 4 seed after going 8-3-0 in league play during the regular season.  
• The Nittany Lions closed out the regular season on a six-game winning streak and they won eight of their final 10 games.
• Penn State is second in the Big Ten in goals (38), goals per game (2.00), and points (104). They rank third in shots (262) and assists (28).
• Ally Schlegel, the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, is tied for the league lead with 11 goals, while Frankie Tagliaferri is tied for first in the conference with nine assists. Sam Coffey has seven assists to tie for second in the Big Ten.
• Amanda Dennis has been Penn State’s primary goalkeeper, posting a 0.97 goals against average with 36 saves.

SERIES RECORD
• The Nittany Lions lead the all-time series over Iowa, 24-2-0. Penn State has won five straight in the series. 
• Iowa defeated Penn State twice during the 2013 season, winning 3-2 in Iowa City during the regular season and 1-0 in the Big Ten Tournament in Champaign, Illinois.
• Iowa and Penn State have played four times in the Big Ten Tournament with the Nittany Lions winning three meetings.   The Hawkeyes lost to Penn State in 2007, 2008, and 2012 as the No. 8 seed.