Iowa soccer draws against Wisconsin to end regular season
The Hawkeyes ended the regular season at fifth place in the Big Ten standings to qualify for the conference tournament.
University of Iowa forward Alyssa Walker pushes University of Minnesota defender Abi Frandsen to move the ball around University of Minnesota defender Delaney Stekr during a soccer game between Iowa and Minnesota at the UI Soccer Complex on Thursday Oct. 21, 2021. The Hawkeyes defeated the Gophers 1-0.
October 24, 2021
The Iowa soccer team battled to a 1-1 draw at Wisconsin on Sunday.
The Hawkeyes got on the board first with a goal from graduate forward Alyssa Walker in the sixth minute. Defender Sam Cary sent the ball from deep in Iowa territory soaring to the opposite end of the field, where Walker was ahead of a pack of Badgers.
Walkers ran to the penalty area, shooting the ball past Badger goalkeeper Jordyn Bloomer.
The Hawkeyes took the lead through most of the half, but Badger midfielder Emma Jaskaniec scored a goal 16 seconds before the end of halftime.
The Hawkeyes and Badgers stayed in a tie at one through the second half and 20 minutes of overtime.
Wisconsin outshot Iowa, 11-1, from the second half to the end of the game, but ultimately neither team got the ball past the net.
“I’m proud with the team’s performance today playing a difficult opponent, and with the pressure of knowing we probably needed a positive result to qualify for the tournament,” Iowa head coach Dave DiIanni said in a release. “We didn’t generate as much offensively as I would have liked, but our commitment to defend as a team was excellent all game. Finishing tied for fourth is a respectable placing and we have an opportunity to extend our journey one more game, searching for the best version of this team.”
BIG PICTURE
The Hawkeyes finished the regular season with a record of 11-5-2 overall and 5-4-1 in the Big Ten — fifth place in the conference standings.
The Hawkeyes qualified for the third consecutive year as the No. 5 seed and will play at Michigan State next Sunday in the quarterfinals.
WALKER FINISHES REGULAR SEASON AS LEADING SCORER
In her first and only season as a Hawkeye, Walker scored eight goals for Iowa in fall 2021 — leading the Hawkeyes.
Walker scored the first goal of her Hawkeye career in the season-opener at DePaul on Aug. 19.
The Richmond soccer transfer had a two-score game against Purdue-Fort Wayne on Sept. 2, with both goals coming in the first 11 minutes. Four of her goals came against Big Ten opponents.
UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes will face the Spartans in the Big Ten Tournament next Sunday at noon.
Iowa and Michigan State met in the regular season Oct. 3. The Spartans made a second-half comeback with two goals to take the match, 2-1. Both the Hawkeyes and the Spartans ended the regular season with 16 points in the Big Ten standings.