It’s been an up-and-down year for Iowa soccer.
The Hawkeyes kicked out a 5-1 start before they stumbled, losing four of five games and putting them at the bottom of the Big Ten with a hill to climb.
But the roster’s mix of youth and veterans showed resilience and ended that slide by grinding out a win against Rutgers. The win turned into a 3-1 stretch that has the Hawkeyes just 2 points shy of a Big Ten Tournament berth.
Iowa has two games to make up those 2 points — the first will be Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Iowa Soccer Complex.
Of the two games Iowa has left, this one holds more importance — Wisconsin is just two spots ahead of Iowa, and only 3 points separate the two.
Wisconsin also needs a strong showing to ensure its spot in the tournament and hopefully get a better seed, so urgency will certainly be in the air Saturday night.
“For us, it’s just about getting points every game,” said David DiIanni, UI head soccer coach. “I think Purdue’s got a tough way to go. It looks like it’s five teams for three spots, so for us, it’s just getting points. The kids are giving us everything we’re asking of them, and we’re peaking at the right time.”
Purdue certainly seems to have a bumpy road ahead of it; tonight, it will take on the second-place Penn State.
Now is the time to strike for the Hawkeyes. After Purdue takes on Penn State, it will host last-place Maryland to close the season.
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The key for Iowa is to score first. The Hawkeyes have yet to win a game in which their opponent scored first. To do that, they are going to need to get pressure, something they struggled to do in their last outing against Nebraska.
Against Nebraska, 110 minutes of soccer resulted in 4 Iowa shots, but Devin Burns and the Hawkeyes are confident they can put Wednesday’s performance behind them as they prepare for Wisconsin.
“They’re a really good team, and we have to get our mindset ready and know that we have to win this in order to keep going,” Burns said.
The bad offensive game seems to be a fluke — prior to Wednesday’s match, Iowa had scored 12 goals in six games.
What might be the worry going into Saturday’s game is the defense.
When senior defender
Rachele Armand, who already had missed time because of an injury, went down with a torn ACL, the Hawkeyes had to turn to freshman Morgan Krause to fill her shoes.
In Krause’s first five starts, the Hawkeye defense struggled, allowing 10 goals in those five starts, but in her last two, the Iowa defense had held strong, only allowing 1.
Armand’s leadership from the sidelines has helped Krause develop after having to replace her.
“The first game, I went to her and I was like, ‘How do you do it? How do I become you?’ ” Krause said. “And she told me, ‘You got it, you know how to defend,’ so she helped me a lot, and I always go to her for advice.”