CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – No. 18 University of Iowa soccer defeated Illinois, 2-1, on Sunday afternoon at Demirjian Park. The Hawkeyes advance to 7-0-3 on the season and 2-0-1 in Big Ten conference play.
The Hawkeyes outshot the Fighting Illini, 5-2 in the first half and had three corner kicks to their one but were unable to take away any goals from the shots. Illinois’ first shot of the game came in the 30th minute.
Illini goalkeeper Izzy Lee had two saves in the first half to keep the game tied, 0-0, at the break.
Freshman Berit Parten broke the draw, scoring her sixth goal of the season in the 60th minute to give the Hawkeyes a 1-0 advantage. The goal was assisted by senior Kenzie Roling and sophomore Eva Pattison.
The Hawkeyes added to their lead on their sixth corner kick of the game. Graduate student Lauren Geczik fired the corner kick right in front of the goal where sophomore Millie Greer was able to fire it into the net off a header. The goal was assisted by Roling, her second assist of the game. The goal was Greer’s first of the season and second of her career.
Lia Howard converted on a penalty kick for the Fighting Illini in the 87th minute to cut the Hawkeye lead to 2-1.
Graduate student Macy Enneking had one save for the Hawkeyes while the Illinois goalkeeper had five.
Iowa outshot Illinois, 14-5 for the game and had seven shots on goal to their two. The Hawkeyes finished the game with eight corner kicks while Illinois had three.
HEAR FROM HEAD COACH DAVE DIIANNI
“Winning on Sundays is hard in the Big Ten. I loved our grit to push through when we were flat to begin the game and our ruthlessness in the second half to finish it.”
HAWKEYE NOTABLES
– Enneking is five victories away from tying Claire Graves (2016-19) for most career victories as a Hawkeye.
– The Hawkeyes seven wins without a loss are the most wins without a loss to start the season since 2019 when the Hawkeyes started 9-0.
– The goal in the second half from Illinois is the first second half goal the Hawkeyes have allowed all season.-
– 2 for the Money: Iowa’s record is 50-2-3 it its last 55 games when scoring two goals or more, which dates back to October of 2017. The Hawkeyes are 7-0 this year in multi-goal games.
– 90 Tracker: Eva Pattison and Miah Schueller were the two Hawkeyes to play 90 minutes on Sunday. 18 Hawkeyes registered playing time in the 2-1 victory over the Fighting Illini.
UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes play host to No. 9 Penn State in Iowa City at Iowa Soccer Complex on Sept. 26 at 7:00 p.m. (CT) The game will be streamed live on B1G+ (subscription required).
