Iowa soccer’s quest to qualify for the Big Ten Tourney took a night off on Oct. 22 after a tough 3-0 loss to Wisconsin.
Team captain Karly Stuenkel called the loss “embarrassing”; with how well the team had played in the previous few matches, it certainly was not the best look for the Hawkeyes.
With the team hanging only 3 points behind Wisconsin for a spot in the tournament entering the match, the loss doubles as a lost opportunity for Iowa.
The game started off with Wisconsin controlling the ball for most of the beginning. Iowa’s offense relied almost solely on counter-attacks. Toward the end of the half, the Hawkeye offense seemed to be slowly coming to life, creating a few chances to score but coming up empty.
With under three minutes left in the half, Wisconsin was awarded a free kick just outside the box, and Cameron Murtha knocked in the free kick after it took a few bounces around the box, putting Iowa down 1-0 at half.
But the feeling was that the Hawkeyes might come out of halftime and build on the little bit of offensive momentum they had prior to the goal.
However, the Hawkeyes left their Band-Aid in the locker room, and their small cut turned into an open wound after Dani Rhodes’ goal, her 10th of the season.
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Iowa would bleed out after Becca Harrison netted Wisconsin’s third goal, scoring after a save by Claire Graves.
“I think we thought we were going to punch back, and Wisconsin just punched again,” Stuenkel said. “They outplayed us completely, and they were just stronger than us.”
Both second-half goals came in the first 10 minutes of the half, and all three goals were netted within 11 minutes of game time.
Hawkeye coach Dave DiIanni thinks his team’s tough double-overtime outing on Oct. 18 may have had something to do with the poor play on Oct. 21.
“It looked like one team played on [Oct. 21] and [for] the other team, this was their first game this week,” DiIanni said. “You can’t be tired and mentally slow, and unfortunately, that’s the way we were. But I know that we’re going to find the resiliency to bounce back.”
While the loss is certainly a big blow to the Hawkeyes’ tournament hopes, the season is not yet lost. But they’re going to need some help.
Iowa, Michigan, Purdue, and Nebraska are fighting for the final two seeds in the tournament.
Purdue and Nebraska are even with points at 14, while Michigan has 12 and Iowa has 11. All four teams will be in action on Wednesday.
Michigan will travel to New Jersey to play Rutgers, Purdue will host Maryland, and Nebraska will play host to Minnesota. Iowa will be in Champaign to take on
Illinois.
Because Iowa holds the tiebreaker over both Purdue and Nebraska, it needs a win and losses by two of the three teams above them (a Michigan tie works in Iowa’s favor as well).
The Big Ten regular-season drama is almost at its peak. On Thursday, six schools seasons will be over, while eight others will begin preparing for the Big Ten Tournament.
The question remains: Which group will the Hawkeyes be a part of?