Kansas City helped the Hawkeye soccer team to a 2-0 victory Thursday night at Durwood Stadium.

After Hawkeye senior defender Sara Wheaton pushed the ball into the Roos’ penalty area off a set piece, a Kansas City player headed the ball into her own team’s goal in the 16th minute.

Senior defender Riley Burns added to Iowa’s score in the 81st minute after firing a shot off from about 15 yards out. It was Burns’s first goal of her career.

Despite the 2-0 win, the Roos All-Access broadcast of the match announced Iowa had 12 players unavailable Thursday. Freshman forward Kenzie Roling — who is tied for the team lead with four goals — didn’t participate.

“Tonight, our team was not as sharp as normal, but they were gritty from the start and got better as the game progressed,” Iowa head coach Dave DiIanni said in a release. “It’s always exciting to get a clean sheet defensively, and the chances we created in the second half were from adjustments made at halftime. We’ve been creating enough chances the last few games that I believe we are very close to opening up the scoresheet.”

BIG PICTURE

After the Hawkeyes tied Mississippi State last Sunday, Iowa got back into the win column against Kansas City.

Iowa had offensive opportunities with 29 shots — 13 on goal — but only one Hawkeye scored.

Senior midfielder Hailey Rydberg led the match with eight shots — four on goal.

Defensively, the Hawkeyes proved strong with their second shutout in three matches. Through seven matches, junior goalkeeper Monica Wilhelm has allowed four goals.

RELATED: Iowa soccer set for final nonconference matches of 2021

WHITAKER STARTS

For the first time since November 2019, Hawkeye senior defender Riley Whitaker was in the starting lineup

Whitaker missed the 2020-21 season because of a knee injury but played for the first time since 2019 against Purdue-Fort Wayne Sept. 4.

Whitaker replaced junior defender Natalie Mass, who played off the bench Thursday after starting the previous two matches.

Against Kansas City, Whitaker totaled 57 minutes and recorded no other statistics.

UP NEXT

The 5-1-1 Hawkeyes will face 2-4 Southeast Missouri State Sunday at 1 p.m. in Iowa City for the final nonconference match of the regular season.

The Redhawks lost, 6-0, in their previous game to Indiana on Sept. 5.

Southeast Missouri State averaging 0.83 goals per game while their opponents have averaged 2.17

Sunday’s game will be the third meeting between the programs and the first since 2011. The Hawkeyes won, 2-1, in the last match against the Redhawks.