Hawkeyes Overwhelm Panthers in Opener

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Five different players found the back of the net as the Iowa women’s soccer team opened its 2026 season with a dominant 7-0 victory over Milwaukee on Wednesday night at the Iowa Soccer Complex. The seven goals marked the most scored by the Hawkeyes in a single game since an 8-1 victory over Southern Utah in 2017, while setting a program record for the most goals scored in a season opener.

“It’s nice to be able to score different types of goals as well as different people. And that's a real bonus for us; you can't just mark one player and take us out of a game. There's multiple threats that they have to deal with," said Iowa head coach Dean Ward.

The Hawkeyes seized control early and never looked back. Reilly Heman opened the scoring in the third minute, netting Iowa's first goal of the season off assists from Elle Wildman and Alli Macke. Berit Parten doubled the lead in the 15th minute, finishing a buildup from Macke and Liana Tarasco for her eighth career goal. Berkley Binggeli then sent Iowa into the locker room with a commanding 3-0 halftime advantage, scoring her seventh career goal in the 37th minute off an assist from Jada Grove.

Iowa kept its foot on the gas in the second half. Wildman notched her third career goal in the 49th minute to extend the lead to 4-0. Parten added her second goal of the match—and ninth of her career—in the 69th minute off a setup from Savannah Hutchins, recording her second career multi-goal performance.

“I kind of knew that we always had it in us,” Parten said. “We know who we are and how we're going to work together and work for each other. We have a tight-knit group, and I believe we have the possibility to do something really special this year.”

Four minutes later, Binggeli converted a penalty kick in the 73rd minute to record her second goal of the night, securing the first multi-goal game of her career and bringing her career tally to eight. Lexy Griffin capped the scoring in the 80th minute, assisted by Parten, to record her second career goal and round out the 7-0 win.

Iowa completely controlled the tempo from start to finish, outshooting Milwaukee 21-3 overall and holding a 13-2 advantage in shots on goal. Macke anchored the playmaking effort with two assists on the night, while goalkeeper Braelynn Galt recorded two saves across 90 minutes to secure the clean sheet.

Iowa (1-0-0) returns to the pitch on Saturday, hosting Loyola Chicago (1-0-0) at 7 p.m. at the Iowa Soccer Complex. Admission is free to the public.