Jordan Zuniga
The Iowa soccer team leaned on sophomore Devin Burns for offense once again and received a 2-0 victory against Cal-Santa Barbara on Sunday at the Iowa Soccer Complex.
The Hawkeyes outshot the Gauchos, 16-12, and Claire Graves held her own defensively, totaling 3 saves.
Hawkeye head coach Dave DiIanni was impressed with how well his team played.
“We were happy with the team’s performance overall and their ability to play out a game plan that was best for us to have some success,” he said in a release. “There were moments that we needed to be much more clinical in the box, but the ability to create those chances with varying ways is something this team continues to improve on.”
Burns’ first score, and unassisted goal, came in the 14th minute. Her second came on an assist from sophomore forward Kaleigh Haus.
RELATED: Burns, Hawkeyes thrash Thunderbirds
This win makes it two in a row for the Hawkeyes and also improves their record to 4-1.
After struggling to score goals last week, Iowa has hit them in abundance lately, totaling 10 in the last two games.
In both games, Burns was Iowa’s key performer, recording a hat trick in this weekend’s first game and notching 5 over the two-game stretch. Before this weekend, the Green Oaks, Illinois, native had yet to score this season and only managed 3 goals last season.
The Hawkeyes hope that Burns can continue to score goals throughout the season, especially in conference play, in which the Hawkeyes struggled last season.
From here, the Hawkeyes gear up for their last week of nonconference play.
“We are excited to come back home and prepare for another big weekend, with Loyola and Montana coming town,” DiIanni said in a release.
Iowa will play host to Montana at 7 p.m. Friday, its Senior Night. Then, the Hawkeyes will face Loyola-Chicago at 1 p.m. Sept. 10.
Both games will take place at the Iowa Soccer Complex.
