Eight thousand miles. That’s approximately how far it is from Auckland, New Zealand, to Iowa City. 

Such a distance might seem too great for someone to travel to play a sport, but that’s not the case for soccer’s sophomore forward Samantha Tawharu, who had interest in playing in the United States before ever hearing about the Iowa soccer program. 

Though academically a sophomore, this is Tawharu’s first year playing for the Hawkeyes. She transferred to Iowa in January after attending the Auckland University of Technology. Despite this being her first season at Iowa, Tawharu has already made an impressive impact.

So far, Tawharu has three goals and three assists on the season and has recently earned a starting spot after starting the past four games.

“It’s been a good transition to Iowa,” Tawharu said. “Everyone’s been able to able to help me out — players, coaches. It’s been good to be able to do OK and try to do better.”

In addition to her adjustment geographically and culturally, Tawharu has also had to adjust to a new style of play.

“I think there’s a lot more athleticism in the states,” Tawharu said. “It can be a lot more technical, but I think both have been kind of similar. It’s just a different style of play and different things like that.”

Her teammates have been impressed by the style of play that Tawharu brings over from New Zealand, which makes her look at the game differently. 

“Sammy is an absolutely amazing person and player,” senior captain and midfielder Isabella Blackman said. “She has a beautiful first touch, has a vision for the game, and I think she definitely has a very bright future for this team. She can lead goals, impact everything, and just really connect the front line.”

In New Zealand, Tawharu had an illustrious career, as she played on New Zealand’s FIFA U17 and U20 teams. Not only did she play on the team, she had a great time there statistically. She scored 11 goals in 10 games on the U17 team and nine goals in nine games on the U20 team. 

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The FIFA experience helped improve Tawharu’s play.

“It definitely gave me the ability to play for a high standard when you play against teams like Japan,” Tawharu said. “To be able to play against good competition at a high tempo is really good.”

Head coach Dave DiIanni said that this experience helped Tawharu’s soccer IQ, which in turn is helping the Hawkeyes. 

“I think that’s bleeding into some of our other players, as well,” DiIanni said. “She’s got quite a charismatic personality, and she has a love for the game. I think those three qualities have impacted our team a great deal.”

Tawharu got in touch with DiIanni after looking at programs in the United States. Eventually, DiIanni made a recruiting trip over to New Zealand and saw her play while on the national team. 

Up to this point, Tawharu has appreciated the new cultural experience. 

“Definitely, there are moments that I miss [New Zealand],” Tawharu said. “But I think it’s been really nice to change kind of grow a little and kind of get out of my comfort zone coming here.”

As the season continues, Tawharu is not necessarily focusing on individual statistics and improving herself, but instead on her team getting better so that they can reach their goal of making the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments. The team is currently 12-2 overall and 4-2 in the Big Ten.