The Iowa soccer team defeated its second Big Ten opponent on Sunday, taking down Michigan State, 1-0, in double overtime.

This is the second time this season that the Hawks have played in an overtime match — both resulted in wins.

“Today, it felt like people really believed it was going to happen,” junior Melanie Pickert said. “I think that helped in that we didn’t stop. We just kept firing, and we got a break.” 

While the score was tied at zero for just over 105 minutes, Iowa dominated most aspects of the game and had plenty of scoring opportunities. 

The Hawks outshot the Spartans 23-6, making it 11 out of 13 games this season where the Hawks have outshot their opponents. Of the Hawkeyes’ 23 shots attempted, 14 of them were recorded as shots on goal — a .608 shot on goal percentage.

“What was good was we were getting quality chances,” head coach Ron Rainey said. “We’ll work on finishing a little bit more next week, but all these games over the next few weeks will be 1-goal games, and it was great to be on the right side of one today.”

However, with each shot the Hawks attempted, Michigan State goalkeeper Gabrielle Gauruder was usually on the receiving end, keeping them from reaching the back of the net. Gauruder finished the game with 11 saves.

The Hawks’ best scoring chances came late in the second half including a few shots that hit off the post and a couple that were corralled by a diving Gauruder.

The Hawks closest scoring chance came with just 18 seconds remaining in the second half; Anne Marie Thomas headed a cross into the back of the net and looked to give the Hawks the victory without overtime. But referees called the goal off because of a foul on Thomas.

“I think that was when we all got up and were like, ‘OK, it’s going to happen’,” Pickert said. “I think it just fired us up.”

The Hawks put the game away in the second overtime when a Pickert free kick ricocheted off of Thomas and into the right side of the net.

The score was the third goal of the season for Thomas and Pickert’s third assist through 13 games.

The Hawks dominated the Spartans defensively en route to posting their seventh shutout of the season. Iowa not only held Michigan State to a single digit shot total but only allowed two shots in the second half — neither of which were on target.

“Usually, our defense is really good about throwing their bodies in front of the ball, trying not to get any shots off,” goalkeeper Hannah Clark said. “They did really well.”

The victory pushes the Hawkeyes win total to double digits for the fifth time in program history and the third year in a row — another first for the program. The Hawks currently sit with a record of 10-3-0, and2-3-0 in the Big Teen.

“This was a great Big Ten game. Both teams worked really hard,” Rainey said. “We kept plugging away. We had some moments of frustration, but then we kept plugging away, which was awesome to see, and it led to that goal in the end.”