By Blake Dowson
Close games are always hard to swallow, especially when they come in conference play against good teams.
The Iowa soccer team (6-4) participated in two 1-0 games this past weekend, dropping one each to Michigan and Michigan State.
“I didn’t think we came out very well in the first half, and we challenged our girls to be mentally engaged and a little more competitive,” Iowa head coach Dave DiIanni said in a release after the loss Sunday to Michigan State.
The teams played to a scoreless draw in the first half, although the Hawkeyes weren’t as engaged as their head coach would have liked.
The second half was a different story, with the Hawkeyes taking 13 more shots than the Spartans. Unfortunately for Iowa, none of the 15 shots it took found the back of the net, and the game headed to overtime.
“We were the better team in the second half,” DiIanni said in the release. “I am really disappointed for our kids, but I am not disappointed in them. We worked really hard and created a lot of chances.”
Freshman Natalie Winters was the aggressor for Iowa, taking 5 shots in the first 90 minutes.
None of them found the back of the net, and ultimately, the Spartans finally did in overtime.
Iowa’s Big Ten opener on Sept. 16 against Michigan finished by the same score, although the Wolverines did their damage in the 46th minute.
The Hawkeyes again unloaded as many shots as they could in the second half, this time 7, but to no avail.
“I thought we showed a lot of character coming back after giving up the goal,” DiIanni said in the release. “We created chances that no team has created against Michigan this year.”