THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa women’s soccer team travels to Minneapolis on Sunday to take on Minnesota at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. (CT).
WATCH/FOLLOW LIVE
- Sunday’s game will be streamed live on BTN+.
- 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 GOLDEN GOPHERS
- Minnesota enters the contest at 5-7-1 overall with a 1-4 record in Big Ten play.
- Midfielder Sophia Boman leads the Gophers offensively with a team-high 10 points on three goals and four assists for the season; Bowman was named Co-Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 13.
- Forward Izzy Brown has recorded a team high four goals and is one of five Minnesota players with multiple goals on the season; three of Brown’s goals came during a hat-trick performance in a win over Drake, 4-0, on Sept. 1.
- Goalkeeper Morgan Plaschko has posted four shutouts with 32 saves and a .920 goals against average playing all 1170 minutes in goal for the Gophers this year.
SERIES HISTORY – MINNESOTA
Iowa is 7-14-4 all-time in the series against Minnesota. The Hawkeyes defeated the Gophers, 1-0, last season in Iowa City and have won two straight in the series dating back to the 2020 Big Ten Conference Tournament.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
- Head coach Dave DiIanni is in his ninth season at the helm of the soccer program. Last fall, DiIanni’s team posted a 12-6-2 record, tying for fourth in the Big Ten for Iowa’s highest regular season conference finish since 1999. The Hawkeyes return six starters and a host of other key contributors from the 2021 team. That includes a group of six fifth-year players from a class of seven seniors all with starting experience.
- The Hawkeyes qualified for the Big Ten Tournament in 2021, advancing to the semifinals as the tournament five seed before falling to Rutgers. Iowa has qualified for three of the last four Big Ten Conference Tournaments, not counting the unorthodox 2020 event which saw all teams compete and which the Hawkeyes went on to win for the first time in school history.
- In 2019 and 2020, Iowa made back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time in program history. The 2020 group earned Iowa’s first victory in the NCAA Tournament.
- Iowa returns 51.6 percent of its goal scoring production from last season. The Hawkeyes lose leading scorer Alyssa Walker, but return a majority of the 11 goal scorers from last season. Assist leader Hailey Ryberg is back this season after dishing seven assists across seven different wins in 2021. Rydberg and newcomers Kyndal Anderson and Elle Otto lead Iowa with three goals, apiece, this season.
- Three Hawkeyes — Hailey Rydberg, Kenzie Roling, and Samantha Cary — were named to the Big Ten Preseason Honors List. Iowa was picked to finish eighth out of 14 teams in the preseason coaches’ poll.
- Three players that earned Big Ten Conference postseason honors last season return in 2022. Sara Wheaton was named to the All-Big Ten second team, while Hailey Rydberg picked up third-team honors. Addie Bundy was a unanimous selection on the All-Freshman team.
- Rydberg, Cary, and Wheaton were voted team captains for the 2022 season. Both Rydberg and Wheaton were captains in 2021.
LAST WEEK
The Hawkeyes posted a pair of draws last week in games against Illinois and Michigan.
- Iowa tied, 2-2, at Illinois last Thursday. The Hawkeyes jumped out to a first half lead on a goal launched from midfield by senior Sara Wheaton that sailed over the head of the Illini goalkeeper. Illinois responded in the second half, taking a, 2-1, lead in the 72nd minute. With their back against the wall, the Hawkeyes converted on a corner kick as Hailey Ryberg drilled the equalizer of an assist from sophomore Elle Otto amidst the scrum.
- The Hawkeyes also drew against the Wolverines on Sunday, this time jumping out to a lead in the 10th minute of action off a score from Rydberg, who set up her own look off a Michigan turnover. The Iowa defense held firm until the final five minutes of the second half, as the Wolverines finally drilled a penalty kick to even the score. Hawkeye goalkeeper recorded eight saves on the game.
SENIOR LEADERSHIP
A class of seven senior leaders all with starting experience help anchor the Hawkeyes this season.
- Midfielder Hailey Rydberg was a third-team All-Big Ten selection last season, starting all 20 games and posting two goals with seven assists across seven wins last season.
- Defender Sara Wheaton earned second-team All-Big Ten honors and was Iowa’s Defensive Player of the Year on a defense that gave up just 20 goals and posted six clean sheets in 2021.
- Other notable veterans include goalkeeper Monica Wilhelm (87 saves, nine wins), defender Samantha Cary (19 starts, two goals), Natalie Massa (20 games played, 4 starts), and fifth-year players Josie Durr and Jenny Cape who return to the pitch after being sidelined in 2021. Durr scored her first goal of the season on Aug. 28 in a 4-0 victory over DePaul; Cape has started in four of nine games she has played in this year.
MEET THE NEWCOMERS
The Hawkeyes welcome 14 newcomers in 2022, including eight incoming freshmen and six transfers.
- The freshman class features Kellen Fife, Aubrey Hahn, Emma Kozicki, Morgan Leitz, Halle Skibo, Makenna Vonderhaar, Camille Welker, and Broolyn Woods.
- Iowa also welcomes graduate students Cassidy Formanek (Houston), Molly Gervase (Denver), Caroline Halonen (Northern Michigan), and Anastasia Savich (Butler), as well as transfer students Kyndal Anderson (Furman) and Elle Otto (Mississippi State).
- Anderson scored the game-winners against Cal Poly and DePaul and has matched the most Iowa goals this season with three; Otto has recorded three goals of her own, and her three assists on the year are the second most for the Hawkeyes.
- Six of Iowa’s nine goal scorers so far this season are newcomers.
2 FOR THE MONEY
The Hawkeyes are 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).
90 TRACKER
Seven Hawkeyes have played the entirety of at least one game this season, including Sara Wheaton (10), Samantha Cary (7), Cassidy Formanek (5), Hailey Rydberg (4), Josie Durr (3), Brooklyn Woods (3) and Rielee Fetty (2).
DEPTH AT GOALKEEPER
Iowa features depth at goalkeeper with redshirt senior Monica Wilhelm and junior Macy Enneking holding down the net. The Iowa defense posted seven shutouts and held 18 opponents to two scores or fewer through 20 games last season with both players in goal throughout the year.
- Redshirt junior Monica Wilhelm notched 58 saves while allowing just 17 goals through 16 starts. Wilhelm tallied a career-best 11 saves against Rutgers last season.
- Sophomore Macy Enneking saw action in five games down the stretch in 2021, including four starts. She tallied 27 saves and allowed three goals in that span.
- In 2020, Enneking was the only unanimous Big Ten All-Freshman Team selection and earned Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Defensive Player accolades for allowing just one goal in four games at the conference tournament. She tallied 52 saves across 11 games and averaged a conference-best .912 save percentage, allowing just five goals in 956 minutes played.
- This season, Enneking has posted six saves at an .857 percentage through 176 minutes, while Wilhelm has recorded 41 saves at a .788 percentage in 970 minutes played.
SHARING THE WEALTH
10 different Hawkeyes have combined for 17 goals this season. Kyndal Anderson, Elle Otto and Hailey Rydberg have recorded three goals, apiece; Rydberg has a team-high 10 points on the season.
- Hawkeye goal scorers this season are Kyndal Anderson (3), Hailey Rydberg (3), Elle Otto (3), Caroline Halonen (2), Samantha Cary, Josie Durr, Sara Wheaton, Morgan Lietz, Kellen Fife and Camille Welker.
- Rydberg tallied a team-best seven assists last season. She currently tops the assist column for Iowa with four on the season.
- Rydberg’s 43 shots tie for second in the Big Ten Conference; her 16 shots on goal are two times more than the next Hawkeye (Elle Otto, 8).
- Anderson leads Iowa with two game-winning goals.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Hawkeyes host Purdue on Oct. 13 and Nebraska on Oct. 17 at the Iowa Soccer Complex in Iowa City. Thursday’s game will be Iowa’s annual “Gold Out” game and starts at 7 p.m. (CT). Sunday’s game kicks off at 1 p.m. (CT) and is Senior Day.
