Hawkeyes Travel to Face No.11 Wake Forest, UNC Greensboro

THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa women’s soccer team hits the road for the first time in 2026, traveling east for a pair of nonconference matchups. The Hawkeyes face No. 11 Wake Forest on Thursday at 4 p.m. (CT) before taking on UNC Greensboro on Sunday at 11 a.m. (CT).

WATCH/FOLLOW LIVE
- Both matches will be streamed live on ESPN+ - a paid subscription service.
- Live statistics will be available on StatBroadcast, which can be accessed on hawkeyesports.com.
- Fans can follow the Iowa soccer program on X (@HawkeyeSoccer) and Instagram (@HawkeyeSoccer) for live in-game updates.

OF NOTE...
- The Hawkeyes return seven starters and 17 letterwinners this season, while adding 11 newcomers including eight transfers.
- Iowa returns four players who earned All-Big Ten honors in 2025: first-team selections Sofia Bush and Millie Greer, alongside Big Ten All-Freshman Team honorees Liana Tarasco and Elle Wildman.
- Iowa is ranked No. 19 by TopDrawerSoccer and is receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches poll.
- The Hawkeyes’ seven goals against Milwaukee set a program record for the most goals scored in a season opener.
- Iowa’s 12 goals through two games are the most in the team’s first two contests in program history, surpassing the 10 goals scored to open the 1999 season.
- This marks the first time since 2023 that Iowa has opened a season with consecutive shutouts.
- Four Hawkeyes scored their first goals of the season: Liana Tarasco, Elle Wildman, Kylie Cino, and Sara Batchadji.
- Nine different players have scored for Iowa across its first two contests.
- Berit Parten is tied for first in the Big Ten with two goals and six points.
- Savannah Hutchins leads the conference with three assists.
- Freshman goalkeeper Braelynn Galt has posted two clean sheets with four saves across her first two collegiate matches.

SCOUTING WAKE FOREST
- Wake Forest enters Thursday’s match 2-0-0 after opening the season with a 2-0 win over LSU before defeating South Carolina, 3-0, on Aug. 16.
- The Demon Deacons are ranked No. 11 in the United Soccer Coaches poll and enter the contest having posted two consecutive shutouts.
- Head coach Tony da Luz enters his 29th season at the helm of the program. Wake Forest advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament in 2025 after defeating South Carolina, 2-1, in the opening round.
- The Demon Deacons are 11-0-3 over their last 14 games at Spry Stadium.
- Wake Forest was picked to finish seventh in the ACC preseason poll, with forward Kylie Maxwell earning Preseason All-ACC honors. Maxwell was named the 2025 ACC Freshman of the Year.
- Defender Sierra Sythe was named ACC Defensive Player of the Week, while goalkeeper Valentina Amaral took home Co-Goalkeeper of the Week honors after consecutive shutouts against SEC opponents. Sythe played 180 minutes, limiting LSU to five shots on goal and South Carolina to one. Amaral totaled six saves across the two games, including five against LSU.
- Iowa leads the all-time series 2-0-0, including a 2-0 victory in the most recent matchup on Sept. 1, 2024.

SCOUTING UNC GREENSBORO
- The Spartans enter Sunday’s matchup 1-0-1 after opening the 2026 season with a 1-0 win at High Point and a 2-2 draw against East Carolina.
- UNCG was picked to finish seventh in the 2026 Southern Conference Preseason Coaches’ Poll.
- The Spartans finished the 2025 season with a 4-12-3 overall record, including a 2-4-3 mark in SoCon play. UNCG scored 22 goals and recorded five shutouts.
- UNCG is coached by Stefani Workman, who was promoted to head coach in November 2023.
- Senior midfielder Rina Ogimoto was named to the 2026 Preseason All-SoCon Team after leading the Spartans with 14 points and six goals in 2025.
- Sophomore forward Laney Smith leads the team with three points (one goal, one assist).
- The Hawkeyes lead the all-time series 1-0-0, securing a 3-0 victory in the only previous meeting on Sept. 8, 2019.

NEW YEAR, NEW STAFF
The Iowa soccer program welcomes a new staff for the 2026 campaign with Dean Ward taking over as the head coach following two seasons at Xavier.
- Ward has nearly two decades of collegiate soccer coaching experience and currently holds a 31-8-4 overall record as a head coach. During his two years at Xavier, he led the Musketeers to 31 wins, a BIG EAST Tournament Championship and an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2025.
- Assistant coach Kelly Altman joins the staff after three seasons at Florida. Altman completed his 19th season in coaching following the 2025 campaign, working at multiple levels, including NCAA Division I and III, high school and club soccer. Across coaching stints at Florida, Dayton, New Mexico, Valparaiso, High Point and Trinity, he has compiled a combined record of 190-79-50.
- Assistant coach Meghan Gill recently completed three seasons as associate head coach at Richmond. In 2025, the Spiders finished second in the A-10 Conference in save percentage (.841), while posting six shutouts. She arrived at Richmond from Davidson, where she served as the team’s recruiting coordinator for two seasons.
- Assistant coach Noah Smith was hired after spending two seasons at Xavier as an assistant coach, working with the goalkeepers. The Musketeers recorded eight shutouts in 2025, and the coaching staff was recognized as the United Soccer Coaches East Region Staff of the Year.
- Director of operations Josie Durr joins the coaching staff after playing for the Hawkeyes across six seasons from 2017–22.  The Solon, Iowa, native most recently served as a competition manager for the Arizona Soccer Association.

LOOKING BACK AT 2025
- The Hawkeyes finished the 2025 campaign with a 12-5-4 overall record and 6-2-3 Big Ten conference record.
- Iowa rose to as high as No. 5 in the national rankings in 2025, which marked a program record.
- The Hawkeyes qualified for the Big Ten Tournament for the fourth straight season, marking their 16th appearance all-time.
-Iowa earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, earning a No. 5 seed. It marked their third straight NCAA Tournament appearance, a program record.  Iowa hosted its third straight opening round contest.
- Iowa downed South Dakota State, 1-0, in the Round of 64 to advance to the Round of 32 for a third straight season.  The Hawkeyes are one of just 11 programs to advance to the second round in three straight seasons, along with Florida State, Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Arkansas, Michigan State, North Carolina, Texas Tech, Penn State, Georgetown, and Stanford.
- The Hawkeyes posted 10 shutouts on the season, giving the program 35 shutouts in 65 games (.538) over the past three seasons.
- Iowa finished tied for third in the Big Ten regular season standings for the second consecutive season. It tied a program record for best conference finish.

TURNING HEADS
- Elle Wildman, Sofia Bush and Millie Greer were named Big Ten Players to Watch for the 2026 season.
- Millie Greer, Iba Oching and Sofia Bush received 2026 United Soccer Coaches Women’s Players to Watch recognition.
- Bush and Greer came in 57th and 72nd, respectively, on Top Drawer Soccer’s Preseason Women’s National Top 100 rankings.

2 FOR THE MONEY
- Iowa is 66-3-4 in its last 73 matches when scoring two or more goals dating back to October 2017.
- The Hawkeyes are 2-0-0 this season when scoring at least twice

SINCE 2019, IOWA HAS...
- Won a pair of Big Ten Tournament Championships, winning the title in 2021 and 2023.
- Won all five of its NCAA Tournament matches in program history.
- Made five of the six NCAA Tournament appearances in program history.
- Advanced to its first Sweet 16 in program history.
- Has earned 13 postseason wins.
- Has posted 65 shutouts.
- Defeated 12 ranked opponents, nine top 15 opponents and two top five opponents.
- Set a new home attendance record (2,629) in the overtime win over Bucknell in 2023, which was the first NCAA Tournament game hosted at the Iowa Soccer Complex.