Underclassmen make up more than half the Hawkeye roster.

By Courtney Baumann
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Finding contrast between this year’s and last year’s Iowa soccer team is like playing a “Spot the Difference” game made for children ages 5 and under — the most apparent being the age.

In 2014, the Hawkeyes had a roster full of experience. Nine seniors, two of whom (Cloe Lacasse and Melanie Pickert) were All Big-Ten selections last season, and five juniors led the squad to a 14-7-1 record. The team also made an appearance in the Big Ten Tournament championship game.

This season is different.

Before the season, 10 members of the team had never been on a college roster. Two others had not seen any playing time over their careers.

All but two of those players have seen action on the field this season, and 12 have started in at least one of the games.

Iowa head coach Dave DiIanni said that while playing the underclassmen has been necessary, he is not unhappy to do so.

“For us, we’ve had to play them for a need,” he said. “But they’ve also been our most consistent players on the field, so we’ve rewarded them with minutes to do so.”

Although being a young team may have disadvantages, the Hawkeyes have been searching for the benefits that may not be so obvious. Small but significant things such as players getting numerous starts and an abundance of minutes early in their careers may work to Iowa’s advantage.

It may not happen right away, but the experience gained now could pay dividends over the next few seasons.

Also with the youth comes resiliency, DiIanni said. The team does not dwell on its mistakes or aspects out of its control, because the younger players are able to brush those things off easier.

Iowa has started Big Ten play with a record of 0-4-0, and although it has not always been a smooth road, those upperclassmen on the team have helped to ease the way for the more inexperienced.

“[The upperclassmen are] really supportive, really encouraging, especially to the freshmen,” freshman Karsen Rauch said. “They like helping us and giving us instruction with anything we need, on and off the field. They’ve been great.”

Rauch has played in 10 of Iowa’s 11 matches thus far and has started eight. The only freshmen who have started as many or more games than the Noblesville, Indiana, native are Morgan Kemerling and Kyrie Seying.

The freshmen are not the only ones who benefit from the support from their teammates. It has been a two-way street, and junior Rachele Armand said she “loves” the women and appreciates how they listen and that they are there for each other.

“My big thing is communicating,”Armand said. “As a junior, I’ve been playing for quite a while. Helping them out, telling them what to do, pulling them aside, and teaching them is huge. I think a big thing is leading in the back and communicating with them.”

Now relatively deep into their season, the Hawkeyes and DiIanni are no longer using youth as an excuse.

“They’re not freshmen anymore,” DiIanni said. “They’ve played so many minutes that they’re almost sophomores, and we see them as that.”

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