Hawkeyes Travel to Face Iowa State

THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa women’s soccer team (3-1-0) travels to Ames, Iowa, to face Iowa State (2-1-1) in the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. CT Thursday at the Cyclone Sports Complex.

WATCH/FOLLOW LIVE
- The match will be streamed live on ESPN+, a paid subscription service.

- Live statistics will be available on StatBroadcast and can be accessed at 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: second-team selections Sofia Bush and Millie Greer, along with 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 goals scored in a season opener.

- Iowa’s 12 goals through its first two matches were the most in the first two contests of a season in program history, surpassing the 10 goals scored to open the 1999 season.

- Iowa opened the season with consecutive shutouts for the first time since 2023.

- Iowa has scored 17 goals through four matches, with 10 different Hawkeyes finding the back of the net.

- Berit Parten and Elle Wildman are tied for fourth in the Big Ten with eight points. Parten and Wildman share the team lead with eight points, while Parten, Wildman and Reilly Heman are tied for the team lead with three goals apiece.

- Savannah Hutchins is tied for first in the conference with three assists.

- Freshman goalkeeper Braelynn Galt has posted two clean sheets with eight saves across her first four collegiate matches.

- Iowa has outshot its opponents 88-20 this season.

- The Hawkeyes have limited their opponents to just five shots per match.

SCOUTING IOWA STATE
- Iowa State enters Thursday’s match with a 2-1-1 record. The Cyclones most recently played Creighton to a scoreless draw on Aug. 23.

- The Cyclones have recorded three shutouts through four matches.

- Iowa State returns impact players Morgan Goodman, Megan Walters and Sophie Forrester, who accounted for nine of the team’s 11 returning goals from the 2025 season. Goodman leads the Cyclones with five points this season, totaling one goal and three assists. All five of her points came in Iowa State’s 4-0 victory over Kansas City.

- Iowa State was picked to finish 16th in the Big 12 preseason poll after posting a 4-9-4 overall record and a 1-8-2 mark in league play in 2025.

- The Cyclones have scored five goals and allowed two through four matches. Eme McClenahan has started all four contests in goal and has recorded two shutouts.

- Iowa leads the all-time series, 17-8-2, and has won three consecutive meetings. The Hawkeyes won the most recent matchup, 1-0, on Sept. 4, 2025.

PLAYING THE BEST
Iowa’s 2026 schedule features eight opponents that advanced to the 2025 NCAA Tournament. The Hawkeyes will face Milwaukee, Wake Forest, Illinois, Penn State, Ohio State, Washington, UCLA and Wisconsin during the 2026 campaign.

BRACE FOR IMPACT
The Hawkeyes have recorded three braces through four matches in 2026.

- Berit Parten and Berkley Binggeli scored two goals apiece in Iowa’s season-opening victory over Milwaukee.

- Reilly Heman recorded her first career brace against UNC Greensboro.

ON THE WORLD STAGE
Liana Tarasco, Iba Oching and Léa Larouche were selected to represent Canada at the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland.

NEW YEAR, NEW STAFF
The Iowa soccer program enters the 2026 campaign with a new coaching staff, led by head coach Dean Ward following two seasons at Xavier.

- Ward has nearly two decades of collegiate coaching experience and owns a 34-9-4 career record as a head coach at the Division I level. During his two seasons at Xavier, he led the Musketeers to 31 victories, a Big East Tournament championship and an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2025.

- Assistant coach Kelly Altman joined the staff following three seasons at Florida. Altman completed his 19th season in coaching following the 2025 campaign, working at multiple levels, including NCAA Divisions I and III, high school and club soccer. Across coaching stints at Florida, Dayton, New Mexico, Valparaiso, High Point and Trinity, teams he has helped coach have compiled a combined record of 190-79-50.

- Assistant coach Meghan Gill joined Iowa after three seasons as associate head coach at Richmond. In 2025, the Spiders finished second in the Atlantic 10 in save percentage (.841) while posting six shutouts. She arrived at Richmond from Davidson, where she served as recruiting coordinator for two seasons.

- Assistant coach Noah Smith joined Iowa following two seasons at Xavier, where he worked 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 soccer operations Josie Durr returned to Iowa after playing for the Hawkeyes for 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 a 6-2-3 mark in Big Ten play.

- Iowa rose as high as No. 5 in the national rankings in 2025, the highest ranking in program history.

-The Hawkeyes qualified for the Big Ten Tournament for the fourth consecutive season, marking their 16th appearance all-time.

-Iowa earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament as a No. 5 seed. It marked the program’s third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, setting a program record. Iowa also hosted an opening-round contest for the third consecutive season.

- Iowa defeated South Dakota State, 1-0, in the first round to advance to the second round for a third consecutive season. The Hawkeyes were one of 11 programs to advance to the second round in each of the last three seasons, joining Florida State, Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Arkansas, Michigan State, North Carolina, Texas Tech, Penn State, Georgetown and Stanford.

- The Hawkeyes posted 10 shutouts during the season, giving the program 35 shutouts in 65 matches (.538) from 2023-25.

- Iowa tied for third in the Big Ten regular-season standings for the second consecutive season, matching the best conference finish in program history.

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 were ranked 57th and 72nd, respectively, in TopDrawerSoccer’s Preseason Women’s National Top 100.

- Bush and Greer were selected to the 2026 MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List.

2 FOR THE MONEY
- Iowa is 67-3-4 in its last 74 matches when scoring two or more goals, dating to October 2017.

- The Hawkeyes are 3-0-0 this season when scoring at least twice.

SINCE 2019, IOWA HAS...
- Won two Big Ten Tournament championships, claiming titles in 2021 and 2023.

- Won five NCAA Tournament matches.

- Made five of the program’s six NCAA Tournament appearances.

- Advanced to the first Sweet 16 in program history.

- Earned 13 postseason wins.

- Posted 65 shutouts.

- Defeated 12 ranked opponents, nine top-15 opponents and two top-five opponents.

- Set a new home attendance record (2,639) in the overtime win over Bucknell in 2023, which was the first NCAA Tournament game hosted at the Iowa Soccer Complex.