Iowa soccer midfielder Hailey Rydberg has been described as “a model of consistency and growth” by her current head coach Dave DiIanni.

DiIanni — now in the midst of his seventh season as the Hawkeyes’ head coach — has worked with Rydberg for each of the last four years.

Since she joined the program, Rydberg has learned to use her detail-oriented personality to find success both on and off the field, per DiIanni.

While Rydberg does acknowledge that some things like leadership come to her naturally, she also appreciates the knowledge she’s absorbed since she arrived at Iowa.

“Being a young player, coming in as a freshman, it took me some time to kind of get used to the leadership roles at Iowa,” Rydberg said. “I think just from freshman year I had a lot of good mentors to look up to like Hannah Drkulec, Claire Graves, Bella Blackman, and I think those girls really shaped me into becoming the leader that I am.”

Drkulec and Blackman were senior captains during the 2019-20 season. After they graduated, Rydberg became a captain for the 2020-21 season.

Rydberg isn’t known for lighting up the box score, as she has registered just three goals and five assists in just over three seasons at the UI. Despite that, Rydberg was named Iowa soccer’s most valuable player by her teammates in 2020-21, and she retained her captaincy for the 2021-22 season.

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Rydberg’s impact on the Iowa soccer program is felt beyond the pitch too.

“People embrace her positivity and her love for life,” DiIanni said. “We talk a lot about this opportunity we get to play, not have to play, and she’s somebody that defines that.”

Rydberg’s leadership and positivity were on full display when Iowa soccer won its first-ever Big Ten title in April. 

Junior defender Sam Cary couldn’t play in the 2020-21 Big Ten Championship Game because she had received a red card in the Big Ten tournament semifinals. Still, Rydberg made sure Cary was with her team to celebrate the Hawkeyes’ Big Ten title — even if Cary couldn’t play in the game.

“She really came up to me and said that this championship is mine too — even though I wasn’t on the field,” Cary said. “When we got the trophy, she was the one that pushed me forward to grab it as a team, and that’s something I’ll never forget about her leadership.” 

Technically, Rydberg is a senior. Because of COVID-19, however, the NCAA granted all its athletes an additional year of eligibility after the 2020-21 season. As a result, Rydberg will return to Iowa for a fifth season next year.

Despite that, Rydberg still feels sentimental about the 2021-22 season, as it may mark the last time she and her fellow seniors all compete in the Black and Gold. 

Like Rydberg, all of Iowa soccer’s seniors can opt to suit up in the Black and Gold again in 2022-23 because the NCAA gave all of them an additional year of eligibility. None of Iowa’s seniors have to use the extra year of eligibility the NCAA granted them, however.

“It still feels weird because I’ve been playing with my classmates for so long,” Rydberg said. “So, it still kind of hits home because it’s my last season with them. So, that being said, I just really want to play for my teammates, play for myself, and just play for my team and see what we can do and come together as a team and win.”