Not often will a team encounter a must-win game as early as September.

Iowa’s field-hockey team may be staring at that situation when the Hawkeyes host St. Louis (1-4) at Grant Field at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Iowa (1-5) has suffered as many losses this season as it did in all of last season — and four have been by a combined four goals.

The most recent defeat, a 3-2 stunner on Sept. 13 against Stanford, concluded after a Cardinal goal just 20 seconds into overtime. One would be hard-pressed to find a better microcosm of the Hawkeyes’ season thus far.

“We thought our energy was a lot higher than it has been in past games,” senior Tricia Dean said. “We definitely controlled tempo. We got more shots, we ‘out-statted’ them … [Getting the win] is the only thing you can ask for now.”

Iowa out-shot Stanford, 12-7. Iowa earned more penalty corners as well (7-4).

But the Hawkeyes came up short in the most important category: goals — something Iowa has become painfully familiar with this year.

In six games, Iowa has tallied one more shot on goal than its opponents (44-43) and has earned a decisive advantage in penalty corners (37-27). Yet despite all this, Iowa has been outscored, 19-12.

With a team whose 16 members include eight freshmen, the Hawkeyes cannot afford to wait much longer to get better production. Saturday’s game will be Iowa’s last opportunity before Big Ten play starts with a road contest against Michigan on Sept. 25.

The Hawkeyes still have plenty of players who have experienced at least one of the team’s last three conference crowns. The question remains — what needs to be done to start scoring?

“We’re definitely drawing more corners,” said Dean, a member of all three of those Big Ten title teams. “We just need more grit in the circle. We have to put the ball in the net.”

Head coach Tracey Griesbaum’s club’s defense isn’t bulletproof, either. She says there is still plenty of room for improvements on the other side of the ball — improvements that will need to be made if Iowa is to overhaul its record.

“We have to be a lot more physical,” Griesbaum said. “We have to tackle harder with better timing. We have to understand when to go to the ball and when not to go to the ball.”

Starting their careers with a 1-5 record at such a successful program may be difficult for the team’s freshmen. With seven seeing playing time and three appearing in Iowa’s starting lineup, the Hawkeye youth haven’t had the chance to pity themselves.

Team captains Dean, senior Meghan Beamesderfer, and sophomore Becca Spengler have done their best to make sure of that.

“I think [the freshmen] are handling it very well,” Spengler said. “I mean, you come in expecting to win. I think [Beamesderfer, Dean, and I] all have a responsibility to keep the team morale high.”

As frustrating as Iowa’s campaign has been in its early stages, Griesbaum is confident that a turnaround is almost here. There are no doubts about her expectations for Saturday.

“Play better than Sunday,” Griesbaum said. “We can’t really afford to hang our head, or we’re going to miss a good opportunity to get better. I think we’re a much better team than our record. We received votes this week. We have respect from the coaches who are voting. We just have to prove it now.”