THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa women’s soccer team stays in Los Angeles where they will face 7-seed Virginia Tech on Sunday at 8 p.m. (CT) in the Round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament. The match will be played at Wallis Annenberg Stadium.
WATCH/FOLLOW LIVE
– NCAA Tournament Round of 16 matches stream live on ESPN+ (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 HOKIES
– Virginia Tech sits at 13-5-3 on the season after posting a 6-2-2 record in ACC Conference play this season. The Hokies fell to No. 8 North Carolina in the first round of the ACC Tournament.
– Virginia Tech earned their program’s sixth appearance in the Sweet 16 and their first since 2018. The Hokies defeated Tennessee, 2-1, in the first round before upsetting two seeded UCLA, 2-1.
– The Hokies are outscoring opponents 31-16 on the season. Taylor Price leads Virginia Tech with six goals on the season while Natalie Mitchell has five goals to go along with six assists. 13 Hokies have scored a goal this season.
– Price leads the Hokies with four game winning goals on the season. Mitchell has three game winning goals on the year.
– Goalkeeper Lauren Hargrove has 57 saves on the season allowing 16 goals. Hargrove’s save percentage is at .781 with a goals allowed average of .81. Hargrove has started in all 21 games for Virginia Tech, posting eight solo shutouts and two combined shutouts.
– The Virginia Tech defense has allowed one or fewer goals is 17 of their 21 games this season.
SERIES HISTORY – VIRGINIA TECH
This marks the first meeting between the Hawkeyes and the Hokies. In terms of similar opponents, both teams faced Northwestern on the road. Virginia Tech fell, 0-1, while Iowa defeated the Wildcats, 2-1. Iowa faced one ACC opponent, No. 18 Wake Forest. Iowa defeated the Demon Deacons, 2-0 at home.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
– 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. The first Hawkeye to be named to the Watch list.
– Macy Enneking, Maggie Johnston and graduate-student Rielee Fetty were voted team captains.
– Macy Enneking, Reilee Fetty, and Sofia Bush were named mid-season top 100 players by Top Drawer Soccer. Bush was No. 17, Enneking No. 59, and Fetty No. 68.
– Berit Parten was named to the Top Drawer Soccer Midseason Top 100 Freshmen list. Parten was No. 26 on the list.
– Four Hawkeyes earned All-Big Ten honors. Maggie Johnston and Millie Greer were both named second-team All-Big Ten. Sofia Bush was named third-team All-Big Ten and Berit Parten was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team.
– 10 Big Ten teams were selected to be a part of the NCAA Tournament field, a conference record. Every Big Ten team that qualified for the Big Ten Tournament was selected for the NCAA tournament. Of the 10 Big Ten Teams selected, nine earned top six seeds in their respective quadrant.
– Maggie Johnston, Elle Otto, and Kenzie Roling were named to the 2024 CSC Academic All-District Team.
RECAPPING THE ROUND OF 32
The first 45 minutes of the matchup between Georgetown and Iowa was a defensive battle. Both teams combined for just six total shots in the first half, three each. Meike Ingles was the lone player to have a shot on goal in the first half. Ingles then broke the draw in the 54th minute, firing her seventh goal of the season into the net. The goal was assisted by Maya Hansen. Ingles’s goal would go on to be the game winning goal. The Hawkeye defense controlled the entire second half as well, allowing just two shots and one on goal. Georgetown’s best scoring opportunity came in the 69th minute off a corner kick. Macy Enneking was able to make her lone save of the game to keep Iowa in front on the scoreboard. Iowa would go on to defeat Georgetown, 1-0. The Hawkeyes outshot the Hoyas, 6-5.
DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS
– Iowa held a six-game shutout earlier this season, which was a program record for consecutive shutouts.
– The Hawkeyes have shutout four ranked opponents this season. No. 12 Texas, No. 18 Wake Forest, No. 15 Rutgers, and No. 24 Washington.
– Iowa has allowed just 11 goals so far this season in 21 games. The current record for least goals allowed in a season is 16 in 2020. The Hawkeyes goals against averages sits at .523.
– Iowa has posted 12 shutouts this season. The program record for most shutouts in a season is 13 set last season. The Hawkeyes shutout percentage is .571.
A KEEPER!
Macy Enneking has started all five years at Iowa, anchoring the team to three 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 has 33.5 career shutouts, passing former Hawkeye Hannah Clark (2012-15), to become the school’s all-time leader in shutouts.
– Enneking is the all-time leader in career victories as a goalkeeper in school history. Enneking has 40.5 career victories.
– Enneking became the first Hawkeye to win Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Week three times in a career and the first Hawkeye to win the award in back-to-back weeks.
– Enneking has 11.5 shutouts on the season which ranks second in the single season record books. Enneking currently holds the number one spot on the record book for most shutouts in a season when she had 12 last season.
– Enneking’s 14.5 victories this season ranks second in the single season record book. Hannah Clark currently leads with 15 victories in 2013.
– Enneking was named to the All-Tournament team after her six-save shutout performance against the Huskies in the Big Ten Tournament.
– The Hilliard, Ohio native has 224 career saves, which ranks fifth all time in school history.
A SPECIAL SEASON
– The Hawkeyes third place finish in the Big Ten regular season tied the best finish in program history. Iowa also finished third in the conference in 2019.
– The Hawkeyes No. 9 ranking earlier this season was the highest ranking in program history.
– At 15-2-3 the Hawkeyes have tied the program record for most victories in a season. Iowa won 15 games in 2013 and 2019.
– The Hawkeyes currently have four wins against ranked opponents this season which is a program record. Prior to Coach DiIanni’s arrival in 2014 Iowa had a total of 9 wins against ranked opponents. In DiIanni’s tenure they have 13.
– Iowa’s eight wins in conference is a program record for most wins in the Big Ten regular season.
– The Hawkeyes currently have an .810 winning percentage on the season. That would mark a program record. The previous high was in 2019 with a .738 winning percentage.
– Iowa is playing in the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history.
– 14 Hawkeyes have scored a goal this season. Of the 38 goals scored, 17 have come from newcomers.
– Ingles and Parten lead Iowa offensively with seven goals apiece.
SINCE 2019, IOWA…
– Won both Big Ten Tournament Championships in program history (2021, 2023)
– Won each of four NCAA Tournament victories in program history
– Made four of five NCAA Tournament appearances in program history
– Advanced to their first Sweet Sixteen in program history
– Has earned 12 postseason wins
– Has posted 53 shutouts
– Defeated ten ranked opponents, eight 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
– Set a home average attendance record (1,479); in the 2024 season. Iowa’s attendance in the 2024 season ranks 12th nationally and second amongst Big Ten teams.
HAWKEYES IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
– This marks Iowa’s fifth trip to the NCAA Tournament in program history. Iowa posts an all-time record of 4-4 in NCAA Tournament games. All four NCAA Tournament victories have come under head coach Dave DiIanni.
– The No. 3 seed for Iowa is the highest seed in program history.
– The Hawkeyes hosted back-to-back NCAA Tournament games for the first time in program history. Last year’s match against Bucknell marked the first time Iowa hosted a NCAA Tournament game.
– Iowa has played 10 games this season against teams that were selected for the NCAA Tournament. Iowa’s record in those games is 4-2-4. Of the 10 games five were against teams who were seeded five or higher. Some notable games include a 2-0 victory over two seeded Wake Forest, 2-1 victory over four seeded Penn State, and ties with three seeded Ohio State and four seeded Texas. The Hawkeyes were able to force both ties on the road.
– Of the 16 teams left in the NCAA Tournament field, six are Big Ten teams. Both of Iowa’s losses (Wisconsin and Minnesota) advanced to the Sweet Sixteen.
– Ingles has scored two of Iowa’s three goals in the NCAA Tournament. The Shelby Township, Mich. native has 15 career goals.
90 TRACKER
Sofia Bush, Rielee Fetty, Eva Pattison, Meike Ingles, Miah Schueller, and Millie Greer were the six Iowa position players to register 90 minutes in the 1-0 victory over Georgetown.
2 FOR THE MONEY
Iowa’s record is 55-2-3 in its last 60 games when scoring two goals or more, which dates back to October of 2017. The Hawkeyes are 12-0 this year in multi-goal games.
UP NEXT
The winner of the matchup between Iowa and Virginia Tech will go on to play the winner of No. 1 seeded Duke and No. 5 seeded Michigan State at an undetermined location on either Nov. 29th or 30th.
