Iowa soccer falls to Minnesota, 1-0
Minnesota defeated Iowa, 1-0, Sunday afternoon in Iowa City.
Iowa Midfielder Hailey Rydberg keeps the ball away from Minnesota’s defense during a soccer game between Iowa and Minnesota on March 14, 2021 at the Iowa Soccer Complex. The Gophers defeated the Hawkeyes 1-0.
March 14, 2021
Iowa soccer’s defense held on for as long as it could Sunday afternoon in a 1-0 loss to Minnesota at home.
Minnesota’s Sophia Boman’s shot from outside the box in the 69th minute was enough to give the Golden Gophers the win in Iowa City.
The loss is the fifth of the season for the Hawkeyes and the sixth straight game where they have failed to find the back of the net.
“Obviously, we’re not strong enough in the attack to be able to withstand mistakes,” Iowa head coach Dave DiIanni said. “Right now, we’re having to play perfect defensively. Early on, I felt we created enough chances to be able to score a goal, and the ball kind of sat around in their eighteen-yard box.”
Iowa came out firing on all cylinders in the first 26 minutes of the opening half. Iowa controlled possession for the majority of the opening period accumulating four shots. A shot in the first minute by freshman Jalyn Mosley was the only shot on goal for the Hawkeyes in the half.
The Golden Gophers got their fair share of shots in the first half. Six of Minnesota’s 12 total shots came in the first period, with half of them ending up in the hands of Iowa sophomore goalkeeper Monica Wilhelm, who ended the first half with three saves.
The second half was a back and forth battle between the two teams. Both teams’ shots numbers were identical to the first half. Iowa put pressure on Minnesota goalkeeper Megan Plaschko by sending all four of its second-half shots on target, none of which found the back of the net.
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Wilhelm did her best in the second half saving three of Minnesota’s four shots, ending with six total saves, but Boman’s shot was enough for Minnesota to get the win.
Iowa ended the contest with eight total shots, five of which were on goal. Minnesota ended with 12 total shots, with seven of them on target. Minnesota topped Iowa in corners taken, 4-1.
This match was the first for the Hawkeyes back in Iowa City. Iowa hasn’t played at home since 2019 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Their “home” games were played inside in Bettendorf due to the weather to begin the season.
Four Hawkeyes, freshman Rielee Fetty, junior Sam Cary, senior Diane Senkowski, and Wilhelm, each played all 90 minutes of the match. Junior Sara Wheaton was the only player until this week to play 90 minutes in every game this season.
Even though the Hawkeyes lost the matchup, DiIanni feels that his team played even without some key players who are out because of injury.
“We played today without pretty important people in the backfield, and I thought Jalyn Mosley and Diane Senkowski filled in for Aleisha Ganief and Sara Wheaton very well,” DiIanni said. “Minnesota is a very difficult team to play against in terms of attacking players. I was happy with how we played against them and thought our defensive shape was good.”
