WESTWOOD, Calif. – The University of Iowa women’s soccer team fell, 1-0, on the road to No. 13 UCLA on Thursday night at Wallis Annenberg Stadium.
Iowa jumped out to a strong start, getting multiple looks in the first 20 minutes including the first shot of the season in the eighth minute from senior Hailey Rydberg, which rattled off the crossbar. The Hawkeyes earned an early advantage in corner kicks and finished with seven corners to UCLA’s one.
The Bruins recovered, however, and pressed the Hawkeyes before halftime to finish with a five to three advantage in shot attempts. Still, both teams headed into the break scoreless with one shot on goal apiece.
In the 60th minute Maricarmen Reyes found the back of the net with UCLA’s 12th shot of the evening to put the Bruins up, 1-0.
The Hawkeye defense held firm the rest of the way, and a bending shot off a free kick by senior Samantha Cary in the 78th minute looked true before UCLA goalkeeper Lauren Brzykcy knocked it away on an impressive save.
UCLA broke up an Iowa fastbreak as time expired to secure the, 1-0, victory.
HEAR FROM HEAD COACH DAVE DIIANNI
“I’m very happy with our effort and performance tonight with a limited roster. The game had moments of really great soccer from our team, especially the first 25 minutes of the first half, and we never stopped competing. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to capitalize after creating seven corners during that span. The game got away from us during the first 25 minutes of the second half. A second half that began sloppy technically with turnovers gave UCLA the momentum to dictate the game and get the eventual winner.”
HAWKEYE NOTABLES
- Iowa’s last win over a ranked opponent came in the Big Ten Tournament against No. 4 Penn State in 2020.
- Eight Hawkeye newcomers made their debut against the Bruins; Brooklyn Woods, Kyndal Anderson, Camille Welker, Elle Otto, and Caroline Halonen started for Iowa, while Halle Skibo, Kellen Fife, and Morgan Lietz filled in off the bench.
- 90 TRACKER: Seniors Rydberg, Cary, and Sara Wheaton played the entirety of Thursday’s contest, along with freshman Brooklyn Woods.
