When Hawkeye soccer last met Iowa State in the 2019-20 season, Courtney Powell was in a Cardinal and Gold uniform as the Cyclones took a 2-1 loss in Iowa City.

Now, Powell is a Hawkeye. After she announced she would be taking advantage of the NCAA’s extra year of eligibility — given to all 2020-21 student-athletes because of COVID-19 — she transferred to the Hawkeyes in April.

The graduate transfer will play against her former team on Thursday at the Iowa Soccer Complex at 6 p.m. — Iowa’s first home game of the season.

“I think it’ll be really fun to be on the other side of the rivalry,” Powell said. “This team that I am on now is a better fit for me than it was at Iowa State. I think it will be really fun to face old teammates and old friends and I think it will make me much more competitive to beat them and brag about it after.”

The La Porte City, Iowa, native grew up a Hawkeye fan, attending games at Kinnick Stadium and Carver-Hawkeye Arena.  After four years at Iowa State, Powell said it feels natural to don the Tigerhawk on her jersey.

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Powell played for the Cyclones from 2017-20, scoring a total of 11 goals — four in the 2019 season. She appeared in nine games with two goals in fall 2020 but did not play in the abridged spring 2021 season.

Though Powell said she knows how to scout most of the Cyclone team, she noted Iowa State has a lot of new players. The Cyclones, 1-1 so far in 2021, have eight freshmen on the roster.

Powell started both games in 2021 as a Hawkeye, registering one shot on goal. She is dedicating her final season of college soccer to her father, Scott Powell, who died in February because of COVID-19 complications.

“It’d be easy to say it’s been great playing in honor of him,” Powell said. “But there’s the reality of it’s hard. Looking in the stands and not seeing him, and having my mom have to come to games alone. So, it’s a lot on the other side mentally trying to handle that and manage everything. But at the end of the day, I know that I’m playing for him and I’m doing my best and that’s all that he could ask for and I know he’s proud.”

Powell said if she scores a goal Thursday, she’ll dedicate it to her father.

The Hawkeyes have won each of their first two games of the 2021 season, including a victory over then-No. 21 Saint Louis. Iowa’s defense only allowed one goal over the two matches, and the Hawkeyes have new offensive depth in the form of freshman forward/midfielder Kenzie Roling, who has scored a goal in each game.

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Roling was named the Big Ten Women’s Soccer Freshman of the Week on Tuesday, while senior defender Sara Wheaton collected Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors.

Iowa head coach Dave DiIanni said Roling’s success in high school has translated to the college game.

“She’s quick, she finds a nose to the goal, and she’s hungry,” DiIanni said. “Like really hungry to score, and that’s a big difference in the women’s game.”

After the Hawkeyes didn’t score a goal for seven games in spring 2020-21, Iowa notched two road wins and three goals to start the season. Wheaton said those victories came in tough environments, showing the Hawkeyes are picking up where they left off from spring — when the Hawkeyes won their first-ever Big Ten tournament title.

Now, the Hawkeyes will look to continue that momentum against their in-state rivals. The game will be aired on BTN.

“Every year the Cy-Hawk series is always something that the Hawk fans and Hawkeye community look forward to,” Wheaton said. “Not having it last year was definitely a bummer, but it’s something we’re definitely looking forward to this year and hopefully we can start off this series well and get a big one.”