IOWA CITY, Iowa – University of Iowa women’s soccer student-athletes Hailey Rydberg, Samantha Cary and Kenzie Roling have been named Big Ten Players to Watch for the 2022 season, it was announced Monday by the league office.
The recognition marks Cary’s second consecutive season as a conference player to watch. In 2021, the St. Charles, Missouri, native logged the second-most minutes on the team (1,749) and started 19 contests. She tallied three goals and had two assists at the defender position. Cary played 90 minutes or more in 14 games for a stout Hawkeye defense that gave up 20 goals and posted six clean sheets on the year.
Roling turned heads as a freshman, scoring six goals across 11 starts and notching two game-winning goals. The Waverly, Iowa, native earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors on Aug. 24, 2021, after scoring goals in wins over the Saint Louis and DePaul.
A third-team All-Big Ten selection last season, Rydberg is a Big Ten Player to Watch for a second consecutive season. The St. Charles, Illinois, native had two goals and posted seven assists as a starter in all 20 games. Rydberg recorded assists in seven of Iowa’s wins and scored her first goal of the season in a victory over Maryland on Sept. 30, 2021.
Rydberg also earned United Soccer Coaches North Region Third Team honors, team co-MVP honors, and was a team captain last season.
The Hawkeyes were picked to finish eighth in a vote of the Big Ten coaches in the preseason poll. Penn State and Rutgers shared the top spot in the poll.
Iowa kicks off the regular season on Thursday at No. 13 UCLA. Play at Wallis Annenberg Stadium begins at 9 p.m. (CT). Links to the Pac-12 Network live stream can be found on the schedule page at hawkeyesports.com.
