Iowa will take on No. 10 Rutgers in the season finale.

By Courtney Baumann
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Tuesday’s practice for the Iowa soccer team was light and fun. The Hawkeyes divided into five teams for trivia and a pumpkin-carving contest.

Tonight, though, Iowa will be all business as the Hawkeyes will end their season tonight at home against No. 10 Rutgers.

A win over Rutgers could end Iowa’s season on a much-needed high note and give those returning something to look forward to next year.

“I think it will be fun,” senior captain Hannah Clark said. “If we can get a win against Rutgers and go out with a bang, it would mean everything.”

“We’re up for the challenge,” senior Brooke Backes said.

Throughout the year, one of Iowa’s mottos has been “Play for each other.” For the last game, those words will be repeatedly used, urging everyone to play hard and get one last win for the seniors.

Tonight’s game will be bittersweet for those seniors. It will be their last time putting on a jersey for Iowa, something that likely hasn’t quite set in yet.

After playing competitive soccer for as long as she can remember, Backes said that it is hard for her to believe that she will not play college soccer anymore.

Clark also said that they probably will not realize that it is done until after the game is over.

This season is the first that the four seniors — Backes, Clark, Sarah Mazur, and Mackenzie Guindon — have not made it to the Big Ten Tournament, which makes the ending a little bit harder for them.

“I don’t want to say it was a disappointing season,” Backes said. “I’d say it was an unexpected season. We’ve never been a part of a losing team, so I just didn’t expect it to go this way at all.”

The seniors are not the only ones feeling the abrupt end of the season. Junior Amanda Lulek also said it feels “weird” to be ending so soon.

The team came to the realization nearly two weeks ago that its season would not be as long as the Hawks had originally hoped. The immediate reaction was disappointment, which head coach Dave DiIanni said he was appreciated.

“It’s disappointing, but at the end of the day we controlled our fate, and we weren’t able to capitalize and play well enough when it mattered,” DiIanni said “Hopefully, this feeling is something we don’t have ever again.”

Even though the Hawkeyes’ season will come to a close tonight along with the careers of some players’ who have made a large impact on Iowa soccer over the past four years, there are 25 experienced players who will return for next season.

For that reason, the team’s outlook is bright.