Iowa soccer fends off Michigan barrage in a draw
The Hawkeyes match against the Wolverines Thursday ended scoreless.
Iowa Head Coach Dave Diianni speaks to the team during the Iowa versus Ohio State game at the University of Iowa Soccer Complex on Sunday, October 27, 2019. The Hawkeyes defeated the Buckeyes 2-1 in double overtime.
March 4, 2021
The Iowa soccer team went toe-to-toe with Michigan Thursday afternoon at TBK Bank Sports Complex in Bettendorf, with the contest ending in a draw after 110 minutes of play. The match was the first of the season for the Hawkeyes at home.
The storyline was the nine saves in 110 minutes by redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Monica Wilhelm. Of those nine, none more critical than the point-blank shot by Michigan’s Nicki Hernandez in the 108th minute.
The Hawkeyes in their first three contest outshot their opponents, 26-19. Those games were played at Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana.
The Wolverines ended that streak Thursday. Michigan fired a barrage of 21 shots and seven corner kicks. Iowa got nine shots off. The Hawkeye defense held firm to get their first shutout of the season.
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Iowa head coach Dave DiIanni knew coming in that Michigan was a good team, and he felt that his players played well.
“Michigan is a good team, and they like to open up the game and open up their shape,” DiIanni said in a release. We knew that they were going to have the ball a little bit more than us, so we wanted to invite them into spaces so we could win the ball and counter out of that. I thought we were pretty successful in the first half, creating some good chances off the counter and transition.”
The Hawkeye’s had five position players play the entire match, 110 minutes. Junior Sara Wheaton, sophomore Sam Cary, freshman Rielee Fetty, and freshman Maggie Johnston all played the entirety of the contest.
Iowa will return to the TBK Bank Sports Complex in Bettendorf Monday to face-off against Northwestern. Kickoff is at 11 a.m.
