Iowa soccer defeats Purdue, 1-0, on senior day
Iowa soccer defeated Purdue Sunday afternoon, 1-0, in Iowa City.
Iowa Forward Samantha Tawharu heads the ball during the Iowa Soccer senior day game against Purdue on Mar. 28, 2021 at the Iowa Soccer Complex. Iowa defeated Purdue 1-0.
March 28, 2021
Iowa soccer was victorious, 1-0, against Purdue Sunday afternoon on senior day at the Iowa Soccer Complex.
Just over 20 minutes into the game, junior Hailey Rydberg got her feet on the ball again on the right side of the box. She then sent a perfect low cross into junior Samantha Tawharu, who finished the shot by placing the ball in the upper right corner of the net.
Iowa wasted no time putting pressure on Purdue in the matchup. Iowa earned a corner within the first 40 seconds of the contest.
The Boilermakers, however, wasted no time putting pressure back on the Hawkeyes.
Over the next 15 minutes, Purdue unloaded five shots, two of which ended up in the hands of freshman goalkeeper Macy Enneking. Enneking would end the first half with three total saves.
Iowa began a three-minute assault starting in the 17th minute with a freshman Meike Ingles shot, who sent the ball directly at Purdue goalkeeper Marisa Bova. A little over two minutes later, Rydberg tested Bova with another shot bottom right.
Although Iowa took the lead, Purdue didn’t let up. The Boilermakers sent a barrage of six more shots throughout the first half, ending with a total of 11. None of those shots were scarier than a bullet from Purdue’s Emily Mathews, who went one-on-one against Enneking and sent the ball straight off the top crossbar.
The second half of the contest was much defensive for the Hawkeyes. Iowa took one shot throughout the 45 minutes of the second period. The Hawkeye defense didn’t disappoint.
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The Boilermakers shot a total of five times in the second half, three of which Enneking got her hands on.
Purdue created plenty of chances throughout the contest by taking 16 total shots with six being on the net, but the Iowa defense held firm.
Much of that has to do with players like junior Sara Wheaton and sophomore Sam Cary, who have been integral to the Iowa defense. Both played the entirety of Sunday’s matchup.
Enneking has had an impressive start to her collegiate campaign thus far. Her six saves in the contest tie her career-high. In the over 320 minutes she’s played so far, she has only allowed one goal while making 18 saves.
While the Hawkeyes struggled to score at the beginning of the season, they seem to have found their rhythm, finding the back of the net in three of the last four contests.
Iowa ended the day with a total of six shots, three of which were on goal.
The Hawkeyes celebrated senior defender Diane Senkowski and manager Sara Schade before the match.
The win is the second of the season for the Hawkeyes, whose record is now 2-7-1.
Iowa head soccer coach Dave DiIanni knows the team has struggled this season, but believes its positive mindset and tenacity have always been there.
“I was happy for our kids,” DiIanni said in a release. “I said to them this morning that I believe in input-output. You invest, and it comes back around. In terms of results, we haven’t got a lot of points, but the effort they are giving out, and their mentality has been fantastic.”
Next up, Iowa will head to Lincoln, Nebraska, on April 3 to face off against Nebraska. The match is set to begin at 1 p.m.
The action will be streamed on BTN+.
