THIS WEEK
The Hawkeyes (11-5-2, 5-4-1) travel to East Lansing, Michigan, to take on Michigan State (10-4-3, 5-4-1) at DeMartin Soccer Complex in a Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal match. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. (CT) on Sunday, Oct. 31. The winner will advance to the Big Ten semifinals on November 4 at a site not yet determined.
WATCH/FOLLOW LIVE
• This week’s games will be streamed live on BTN Plus (subscription).
• Links to streaming and live stats can be found at hawkeyesports.com/soccergameday.
• Fans can follow the Iowa soccer program on Twitter (@HawkeyeSoccer) for live in-game updates.
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
• Michigan State finished the Big Ten slate with a 5-4-1 record in the conference, tying Iowa for fourth in the final standings.
• Ava Cook headlines the Spartan offense, leading the team in goals (seven) and points (17); Cook’s 70 shot attempts are the second highest total in the conference.
• Spartan goalkeeper Lauren Kozal was named first-team All-Big Ten. Kozal’s 75 saves at a .862 save percentage tops the league, while her goals against average (.679) and 4.41 saves are second in the conferencec. Kozal has earned Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Week honors twice this season.
SERIES HISTORY – MICHIGAN STATE
Iowa is 8-12-5 against Michigan State. The Hawkeyes fell to the Spartans 2-1 on Oct. 31 after allowing a pair of late second half scores. Iowa’s last win in the series was a 3-0 win at Michigan State in 2019.
RUN FOR THE POSTSEASON
The top eight teams in the final Big Ten standings have earned a berth to the Big Ten Tournament. Quarterfinal games on Oct. 31 include #8 Wisconsin at #1 Rutgers, #5 Iowa at #4 Michigan State, #6 Penn State at #3 Michigan, and #7 Ohio State at #2 Purdue. Winners will advance to the semifinals on Nov. 4, and the tournament culminates at the championship match on Nov. 7. The final rounds are hosted by the team with the highest remaining seed following the quarterfinal round. The Big Ten Tournament Champion earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, which kicks off its first round Nov. 12-14.
HAWKEYES AIM TO DEFEND TOURNAMENT TITLE
The Hawkeyes won the program’s first Big Ten Tournament title for the first time in school history in 2020 (spring 2021). Iowa’s Big Ten tournament run included wins over Illinois (2-1, OT), Minnesota (2-0), Penn State (1-0) and Wisconsin (1-0). The Hawkeyes were the No. 12 seed, the lowest ever to win the Big Ten tournament title.
Sophomore Meike Ingles closed out her rookie campaign with four postseason goals, earning Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Offensive Player honors. Ingles attempted 20 shots without scoring a goal during the Hawkeyes’ regular season slate last year, but netted three goals — all game-winners — on 13 shots across Iowa’s four Big Ten tournament victories. Sophomore Macy Enneking was named the conference tournament Most Outstanding Defensive Player, and was an unanimous Big Ten All-Freshman Team selection.
5 HAWKEYES EARN BIG TEN POSTSEASON HONORS
Five Hawkeyes earned Big Ten Conference postseason honors, the league office announced Oct. 28. Sara Wheaton was named to the All-Big Ten second team. Alyssa Walker and Hailey Rydberg picked up third-team honors. Addie Bundy was a unanimous selection on the All-Freshman team, and Riley Whitaker was one of 14 players to earn the conference sportsmanship award.
The 2021 postseason team marks the first time in 21 years Iowa has three players named to one of the top three All-Big Ten teams. In 2000, Sarah Lynch (first team), Julie Atkocaitis (second team) and Kate Walse each earned all-conference recognition.
DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS
Iowa has posted six shutouts and held 16 opponents to two scores or fewer through 18 games. Redshirt junior Monica Wilhelm has notched 58 saves while allowing just 17 goals through 16 starts. Wilhelm tallied a career-best 11 saves against Rutgers on Oct. 10. Sophomore Macy Enneking has seen action in three games in 2021, including two starts. She has tallied 17 saves and allowed one goal in that span.
DIIANNI CLOSES IN ON MILESTONES
Iowa head coach Dave DiIanni earned his 300th career win on Oct. 21, a 1-0 win over Minnesota. DiIanni has spent18 seasons as a collegiate head coach, including 11 at Grand Valley State and seven-plus at the University of Iowa. DiIanni is now the third active Big Ten coach to reach 300 career wins, joining Nebraska’s John Waller (338) and Maryland’s Ray Leone (309). DiIanni has 79 wins at Iowa since becoming head coach in 2014. Ron Rainey is Iowa’s all-time leader in coaching wins with 80. DiIanni’s 31 Big Ten wins rank No. 1 in school history.
90 TRACKER
14 total Hawkeye position players have registered at least 90 minutes in a game so far this season. They include: Sara Wheaton (17), Samantha Cary (12) Rielee Fetty (10), Riley Whitaker (five), Addie Bundy (four), Hailey Rydberg (four), Olivia Hellweg (two), Miah Schueller, Aleisha Ganief, Courtney Powell, Kenzie Roling, Alyssa Walker, Meike Ingles, and Maggie Johnston.
2 FOR THE MONEY
The Hawkeyes are undefeated in their last 31 games when scoring two goals or more. Since the start of the 2018 season, Iowa has a record of 30-0-1 when scoring two goals or more. That includes a 9-0 record in 2021, 2-0 in 2020, 13-0-1 in 2019 and 5-0 in 2018. The Hawkeyes won their final two games in 2017 when scoring two-plus goals. The last time Iowa lost a game while netting at least two goals was Oct. 1, 2017 at Michigan State (L, 3-2).
IOWA HAWKEYES NEED-TO-KNOW
• Five Hawkeyes earned Big Ten Conference postseason honors. Sara Wheaton was named to the All-Big Ten second team. Alyssa Walker and Hailey Rydberg picked up third-team honors. Addie Bundy was a unanimous selection on the All-Freshman team, and Riley Whitaker was one of 14 players to earn the conference sportsmanship award.
• Three Hawkeyes — Hailey Rydberg, Sara Wheaton, and Samantha Cary — were named to the
Big Ten Preseason Honors List. Iowa was picked to finish seventh out of 14 teams in the preseason
coaches’ poll.
• Seniors Sara Wheaton and Hailey Rydberg were voted team captains this season.
• Head coach Dave DiIanni is in his eighth season at the helm of the soccer program. Last spring, DiIanni’s team posted a 7-9-1 record, finishing the season on a red-hot postseason run that saw the Hawkeyes win the program’s first Big Ten Tournament title and reach the NCAA Tournament Second Round for the first time in school history. Iowa lost just one senior from that youthful squad heading into this season.
• Over the past two seasons, Iowa has made back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time in program history.
• Last spring, the Hawkeyes lost two-time Iowa Offensive Player of the Year Devin Burns and veteran goalkeeper Claire Graves but discovered a group of new young playmakers as the season continued. Sophomore Meike Ingles closed out her rookie campaign with four postseason goals, earning Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Offensive Player honors. Sophomore Macy Enneking was named the conference tournament Most Outstanding Defensive Player, and was an unanimous Big Ten All-Freshman Team selection.
• Those two headline a group of impactful underclassmen this season, though the team also features a robust class of nine senior leaders anchored by midfielder Hailey Rydberg, who was a captain last season and voted the team’s Most Valuable Player. Senior Sara Wheaton is the returning Iowa Defensive Player of the Year.
• The Hawkeyes welcome nine newcomers in 2021, including seven freshmen and two graduate transfers. Courtney Powell was Iowa State’s top offensive weapon last spring, leading the team in points (8), goals (4), shots (29) and shots on goal (23). She is joined by Alyssa Walker, who scored four goals for Richmond last season and previously earned second-team Atlantic-10 All-Conference honors in 2019.
SHARING THE WEALTH
Eleven different Hawkeyes have combined for 30 goals this season. Fifth-year senior Alyssa Walker leads the way offensively with eight goals and 18 points. Forward Kenzie Roling has also put up six goals for 12 points of her own, while forwards Courtney Powell and Meike Ingles have scored three times. Defender Samantha Cary and midfielder Hailey Rydberg have each sank a pair of goals. Defenders Sara Wheaton, Natalie Massa, and Riley Burns, as well as forwards Maggie Johnston and Samantha Tawharu have each scored one goal apiece. Rydberg has tallied a team-best seven assists, while freshman Addie Bundy has totaled six assists. Iowa has outshot opponents 267-213 this season.
POWELL PLAYS FOR FAMILY
Graduate student Courtney Powell transferred to Iowa from Iowa State last season as a tribute her father, a lifelong Hawkeye fan who passed away due to COVID-19. Her season-high 81 minutes and early goal were crucial in putting the Cyclones away in Iowa’s 2-1 Cy-Hawk victory Aug. 26.
YOU CAN CALL IT A COMEBACK
Iowa orchestrated the largest comeback in program history on Oct. 14, erasing a 3-0 deficit at Nebraska on the road at Hibner Stadium and scoring four unanswered goals.
A goal in the seventh minute of action by Cornhusker Elenore Dale set the tone for most of the first half, and the Huskers took a 3-0 lead six minutes before the break off of a pair of scores from Sarah Weber.
Then, three minutes before the half, Sara Wheaton launched a perfect ball from midfield down to Alyssa Kellar who served the ball to Courtney Powell for a smooth Hawkeye goal.
Iowa continued to chip into the Husker lead when Hailey Rydberg drilled a penalty kick for Iowa’s second score four minutes into the second half to cut Nebraska’s lead to one. Iowa earned the equalizer at the 64th mark when Samantha Cary floated the ball into the box to set up a laser to the back-right corner of the net from Kenzie Roling.
History repeated itself with nine minutes to play, as Cary again sent a ball into the box to force a scrum, and Iowa’s leading scorer Alyssa Walker connected on a header and bounced the game-winner into the lower left corner to give the Hawkeyes the lead.
LAST WEEK
The Hawkeyes defeated Minnesota on Oct. 21 to earn head coach Dave DiIanni’s 300th career win. Kenzie Roling scored the game’s lone goal as sophomore Macy Enneking made five saves in her first start at goalkeeper. Then, Iowa took a 1-0 lead in the first half against Wisconsin on Sunday with an Alyssa Walker fastbreak goal off a terrific feed from Samantha Cary. The Badgers tacked on an equalizing score in the final minute of the first half, however, and the game finished in a 1-1 stalemate. The week was crucial for Iowa to lock up a tie for fourth place in the Big Ten standings, the program’s best finish since 1999, when the Hawkeyes placed third.
SENIOR LEADERSHIP
The Hawkeyes boast a veteran senior class. Nine seniors provide leadership and production on both sides of the ball. The class scored six of Iowa’s 11 goals last season while defenders Sara Wheaton and Riley Whitaker helped lead Iowa to seven shutouts. Other returning seniors include defender Riley Burns, midfielders Hailey Rydberg, Olivia Hellweg, and Josie Durr, as well as forwards Samantha Tawharu, Jenny Cape, and Skylar Alward. Graduate transfers Courtney Powell and Alyssa Walker also bring experience to the squad. Walker leads the team in goals scored through 16 games (seven) while Rydberg’s seven assists tie for the second in the Big Ten.
