CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The University of Iowa women’s soccer team closed out its three-game road trip with a, 2-2, draw at Illinois on Thursday night at Demirjian Park.
Iowa carried a 1-0, lead into halftime thanks to a booming kick from senior Sara Wheaton that sailed over the hands of Illinois goalkeeper Julia Cili for a score. The ball was launched from nearly midfield off a pass from senior Josie Durr, the goal is Wheaton’s first of the season.
The Fighting Illini answered in the 67th minute, however, with a goal from defender Aleah Treiter off a penalty kick. Then, Illinois launched a deep ball of its own, perfectly sending a goal to the top of the net from long range in the 72nd minute.
With their back against the wall, the Hawkeyes looked to squeeze a score out of their seventh corner kick opportunity of the night. Senior Hailey Ryberg fired a shot that sent the Fighting Illini goalkeeper diving to make the deflection. The shot was blocked in the bottom left corner by an Illinois defender, but the ball ricocheted back to Hawkeye sophomore Elle Otto who pounced on the open goal to secure the equalizer with 15 minutes to play.
Both defenses held firm from there en route to the, 2-2, draw.
The Hawkeyes held the advantage in shots, with 13, including seven shots on goal. Iowa finished with eight corner kicks on the night, one shy of the season high set on Aug. 28 against DePaul.
Goalkeeper Monica Wilhelm finished with four saves.
HEAR FROM HEAD COACH DAVE DIIANNI
“I thought our team played with conviction and competitiveness tonight. We created more quality chances than any game previously but lacked some composure at times in the final product. I believe it’s a very good growth opportunity for our team to know they can come back from a few moments of adversity, as a group, to grab a tough point on the road.”
HAWKEYE NOTABLES
- Iowa moves to 3-5-4 on the season and 0-2-2 in Big Ten Conference play.
- 90 TRACKER: Sara Wheaton(9), Samantha Cary (6), Cassidy Formanek (4) and Rielee Fetty (2) each played all 90 minutes of Thursday’s game. Seven Hawkeyes have played the entirety of at least one contest this season, including Hailey Rydberg (4), Brooklyn Woods (3), and Josie Durr (3).
- 2 FOR THE MONEY: The Hawkeyes are now undefeated in their last 34 games when scoring two goals or more. Since the start of the 2018 season, Iowa has a record of 32-0-2 when scoring two goals or more. That includes a 2-0 -1 record in 2022, 9-0 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).
NEXT UP
Iowa will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Title IX on Sunday as the Hawkeyes return home to host Michigan at the Iowa Soccer Complex in Iowa City. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. (CT). 