The Iowa soccer team will take on Ohio State at 6 p.m. today as the beginning of its second Big Ten road trip.

The last road trip didn’t go too well for the Hawkeyes. They allowed 6 goals and only scored 1 in both games combined.

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Iowa is coming off of a 3-1 victory over Indiana, and the players want to maintain that momentum in the match against Ohio State. The Buckeyes are 2-1 in the conference but have yet to play a conference home game.

Coming off a 2-goal win should boost the Hawkeyes’ confidence. With the 3 goals, Iowa has tied its record for most goals in the season.

“It completely boosted our confidence and reassured us that we are right back in the middle of things, right back with everyone else,” Morgan Kemmerling said. “With everyone beating everyone, the conference is still up in the air at this point. We needed that confidence going on the road because we’ve been really good at home. We just need to bring that momentum to Ohio State and Penn State.”

With the confidence boost, the Hawkeyes should be able to notch at least one win this weekend. They played decently on the road last year, ending with an away record of 3-3-1, so the experienced players know what it’s like to win away from the Iowa Soccer Complex. If the younger players are confident and have short memories, they will know what that’s like as well.

The matchup against Ohio State will give Iowa a good idea of where it stands going into the Sept. 30 match at Penn State. Ohio State played Penn State on Sept. 14 and lost, 4-0.

“It’s weird because I think we are playing better than last year, but we haven’t won on the road,” head coach Dave DiIanni said. “Last year, we were unbelievable on the road. I don’t really know but I’ve said, ‘Hey, let’s change uniform colors.’ We just aren’t positive and need to have the confidence that if you put the work in and you’re true to the process, then I am a believer that it comes back around. I don’t really believe in road games; you just get off the bus and play.”

It’s smart for DiIanni to treat home and away games the same and to teach his team that thinking. It takes away the jitters when the Hawkeyes play on the road and calms them down in front of the home crowd. Especially when the coach has preached the same changes all year, as DiIanni has. He needs to get the women to have confidence in themselves and confidence in their game.

After the match today against Ohio State, the Hawkeyes will travel to Happy Valley, Pennsylvania. Perhaps the highly anticipated Hawkeye offensive jump will show up to round out their potential, both this weekend and for the rest of the Big Ten competition.