THIS WEEK
No. 22 University of Iowa soccer is set to host Baylor at 5:00 p.m. (CT) on Sunday, Sept. 8th at Iowa Soccer Complex. The game against the Bear’s is Iowa’s senior night.
WATCH/FOLLOW LIVE
– Sunday’s match will stream live on B1G+ (subscription required).
– Links to streaming and live stats can be found at the gameday page on hawkeyesports.com.
– Fans can follow the Iowa soccer program on Twitter/X (@HawkeyeSoccer) for live in-game updates.
SCOUTING THE BEARS
– The Bears are 4-1 on the season with their one loss coming to Mississippi State, 0-1. The Bears defeated Texas A&M on August 30th to secure their fourth win of the season. Junior forward Tyler Isgrig scored a goal in the 84th minute to break the tie, 1-0.
– Last season, the Bears finished 9-7-3 overall and 4-4-2 in the Big 12 where they finished eighth in the regular season conference standings. Baylor’s season came to an end when they fell to nine seeded Cincinnati, 2-3, in the first round of the Big 12 tournament.
– The Bears are led by Ashley Merrill and Callie Conrad. The pair of teammates each have two goals on the season to go along with four points. Merrill has six shots on the season with two on goal, while Conrad has four shots on the season with two of them on goal. Three other Bear’s have scored one goal this season.
– Junior goalkeeper Azul Alvarez has 17 saves on the season with a .944 save percentage. She has allowed one goal on the season.
– The Bears have outscored their opponents 8-3 on the season. 5 of their goals have come in the first half.
– Michelle Lenard joined the Bears in 2022 after spending 14 seasons at Dallas Baptist University. In her time at Dallas Baptist, she had a record of 200-77-26 and led the Patriots to 13 conference championships; seven regular-season titles and six conference tournament championships.
SERIES HISTORY – BAYLOR
The Hawkeyes are 1-1-1 all time against the Baylor Bears. The Hawkeyes first played the Bears in 2002 where the Hawkeyes defeated Baylor, 1-0 in overtime. Baylor then beat Iowa in 2004, 1-2. The last time the Bears and Hawkeyes meant was 2022 at Baylor where the game ended in a 1-1 tie.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
– Head Coach Dave DiIanni surpassed his 100th win at Iowa with the 3-0 win over FGCU. DiIanni is in his 11th year at the helm of the Iowa women’s soccer program, where he has now amassed 101 wins with the Hawkeyes.
– Last season was another for the history books, as Iowa won the program’s second Big Ten Tournament Championship. Iowa qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the third time since 2019 and fourth time in school history.
– Iowa opened the season ranked No. 25 to start the year; that was the first preseason ranking in program history. The Hawkeyes earned their first postseason ranking last fall, checking in at No. 24 to finish the year. Iowa peaked at No. 14 in the national polls last season, another all-time best. The Hawkeyes are currently ranked No. 22 by the United States Soccer Coaches Poll and No. 19 by Top Drawer Soccer.
– The Hawkeyes host Nebraska on Sept. 12th for the Big Ten Opener. The Hawkeyes then travel to Ames, Iowa to take on Iowa State in the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series.
– Bush, Enneking and Greer were named Big Ten Players to Watch. The Hawkeyes were ranked eighth in the Big Ten Preseason Poll. Enneking is a United Soccer Coaches national preseason honoree and was named to the Mac Hermann Trophy Watch List.
– Enneking, Johnston and graduate-student Rielee Fetty were voted team captains.
LAST WEEK
– The Hawkeyes hosted FGCU for their home opener at Iowa Soccer Complex. The Hawkeyes defeated the Eagles 3-0. Freshman Berit Parten got the scoring started for the Hawkeyes with a goal in the 24th minute assisted by senior Kenzie Roling. Following Roling’s assist she scored a goal of her own, early in the second half, in the 47th minute of the game. The goal was assisted by sophomore Sofia Bush. Graduate student Maya Hansen scored the final goal of the game in the 81st minute assisted by sophomore Sophie Kincaid. The goal was Hansen’s first goal as a Hawkeye.
– The Hawkeyes then hosted No. 18 Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons came into the game 3-0-1. The game turned into the Berit Parten show. Parten scored her first goal in the 17th minute to give the Hawkeyes a 1-0 advantage. Parten then struck again in the 54th minute on a goal assisted by Sofia Bush. The Hawkeyes shutout Wake Forest and won the game 2-0.
HAWKEYES IN THE TOP-25
Iowa is ranked No. 22 in this week’s United Soccer Coaches Poll. Top Drawer Soccer has the Hawkeyes ranked No. 19.
– Other Big Ten teams that are ranked in this week’s United Soccer Coaches Poll include: No. 5 Michigan State, No. 8 Penn State, No. 9 UCLA, and No. 17 Ohio State.
– The Hawkeyes have been ranked in three of four United Soccer Coaches Poll’s this season.
SENIOR SPOTLIGHT
The Hawkeyes have 13 seniors/graduate students on their roster.
– Senior Night: Seven Hawkeye student-athletes will be recognized prior to the start of the game on Sunday. Those seven seniors are Miah Schueller, Delaney Holtey, Kelli McGroarty, Elle Otto, Kenzie Roling, Maggie Johnston, and Meike Ingles.
– B1G Time: All seven student athletes getting recognized were apart of last year’s team that won the Big Ten Championship and a NCAA Tournament game at home. The Hawkeyes defeated Bucknell in the first round of tournament play, 2-0 (2OT).
– Fourth and fifth-year players combine for 19 of Iowa’s 26 returning goals and 55 of 80 total points returning on offense.
– Johnston and Ingles were also a part of the 2021 Big Ten Tournament Championship team. The Hawkeyes defeated #4 Penn State, 1-0, in the Big Ten tournament semifinals prior to beating Wisconsin, 1-0, in the Big Ten Tournament Championship. The Hawkeyes would go on to beat Campbell, 1-0, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS
– Iowa allowed just 17 goals in 2023, setting new program bests for goals against average (0.76) and shutouts (13). Both records had stood since the first season under Head Coach Dave DiIanni in 2014.
– The Iowa defense has allowed two goals on the season (0.4) with three consecutive shutouts.
A KEEPER!
Goalkeeper Macy Enneking set a program record for shutouts last season (12.5), tying for fifth nationally.
– The Hilliard, Ohio, native has started all five years at Iowa, anchoring the team to two NCAA Tournament appearances and a pair of conference tournament championships.
– Enneking is the first Hawkeye named to the Mac Hermann Trophy Watch List and the first Iowa player featured on the United Soccer Coaches Players to Watch List.
– Enneking became the first Hawkeye to win Big Ten Goalkeeper of the week three times in a career and back-to-back weeks.
– Enneking has not allowed a goal in the second half all season. The Hawkeyes have now shutout three straight opponents including two top-25 teams (Texas and Wake Forest).
– Enneking has 14 saves on the season with a save percentage of .875.
– Enneking allows 0.4 goals per game this season with just two goals allowed through five games.
SINCE 2019, IOWA…
– Won both Big Ten Tournament Championships in program history (2021, 2023)
– Won each of two NCAA Tournament victories in program history
– Made three of four NCAA Tournament appearances in program history
– Has earned 10 postseason wins
– Has posted 44 shutouts
– Defeated eight ranked opponents, six top-15 opponents and two top-five opponents
– Saw Coach DiIanni surpass 300 career wins and become the winningest coach in program history
– Set a new home attendance record (2,629); the overtime win over Bucknell was the first NCAA Tournament game hosted at the Iowa Soccer Complex
IMMEDIATE IMPACT
– Freshman Berit Parten was named the Big Ten Conference’s Freshman of the Week after scoring three goals on the week including two against No. 18 Wake Forest.
– Parten became the 12th Hawkeye to win the award. The last time a Hawkeye was named Freshman of the Week was Kenzie Roling in 2021.
– Parten leads the Hawkeyes in points (6), shots (16), shots on goal (9), and goals (3).
– Freshman Berkley Binggeli has two goals on the season. Both came in the 4-1 victory over Colorado College.
– Binggeli is third on the Hawkeyes in points with four.
– Transfer Maya Hansen has one goal on the season.
– The roster features 10 newcomers, including six freshmen and four transfers.
– Five of the 10 Hawkeye goals have come from newcomers.
2 FOR THE MONEY
Iowa’s record is 46-2-3 in its last 51 games when scoring two goals or more, which dates back to October of 2017. The Hawkeyes are 3-0 this year in multi-goal games.
90 TRACKER
– Millie Greer was the lone Hawkeye to register 90 minutes played in the 3-0 win over FGCU. 25 Hawkeyes registered minutes against the Eagles.
– Sofia Bush, Eva Pattison, Miah Schueller, Kenzie Roling, and Millie Greer were the five Hawkeye position players to play 90 minutes in the 2-0 victory over No. 18 Wake Forest. 18 Hawkeyes registered minutes against the Demon Deacons.
