The Iowa soccer team tied the Pacific Tigers, 1-1, at the Iowa Soccer Complex on Thursday night. 

The Hawkeyes dominated the possession battle in the first half, getting 15 shots off to the Tigers’ four. The first goal, however, didn’t come until the 65th minute when Iowa’s Sara Wheaton delivered a free kick from about 55 yards out, which Kyndal Anderson headed into the back of the net.

“I feel like me and Sara [Wheaton] have been connecting really well on the long balls … so I just held my hand up and was like, ‘Sara, give me the ball,’” Anderson said, laughing. “And luckily it went in.”

Wheaton said she’s spent a lot of time in practice working on her services into the box.

“We talked about it this week, how we need to trust our runners that they’re going to be in the right spot at the right time,” the fifth-year said. “And I just did what I could and put a ball in and Kyndal [Anderson] was fortunate enough to get on the end of it.”

GOOOOOOAAAAALLLLLLL!!!!!! @kyndal_anderson finds the back of the net off a long pass from Sara Wheaton!!!#Hawkeyes x #FightForIowa pic.twitter.com/H31lC4g3bu

— Hawkeye Soccer (@HawkeyeSoccer) September 2, 2022

Just over 10 minutes later, however, Pacific’s Reid Morrison put a textbook downward header into the back of the net off a corner kick from Hana Rosenblatt, tying the game at one apiece.

Iowa was only able to get two shots off in the second half to Pacific’s four.

Head coach Dave DiIanni said the result was unfortunate, because the Hawkeyes played some of their best soccer of the year, moving the ball effectively, creating scoring opportunities, and trapping the ball defensively. 

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“Pacific grinded it out a little bit in the second half, but we still created enough chances to be able to put the second goal away,” DiIanni said. “And unfortunately, their goal was a result of a couple of different mistakes by us.”

DiIanni said the Hawkeyes could have done a better job finishing and being more patient in the final third.

2021 West Coast Conference Goalkeeper of the Year Brenna Crump made 11 saves on the night, 10 of which came in the first half.

Big picture

Sitting at 2-2-1, DiIanni said his team’s record reflects inconsistencies, though he said the Hawkeyes have gotten better each game.

“We’re searching for a little bit of an identity and we’ll get there,” DiIanni said. “We’ll get there sooner than later.”

DiIanni said the return of players like Kenzie Roling and Addie Bundy, who got their first caps of the season on Sunday against DePaul, along with Maggie Johnston, who played her first minutes this season against Pacific, will help the Hawkeyes as the returning athletes continue to recover and play more minutes.

What’s next

The Hawkeyes will play a stretch of three road games at Baylor, Iowa State, and Northern Iowa on September 4, 8, and 11, respectively.

Baylor is coming off a 3-0 win at Houston, giving the Bears a record of 2-2-1 on the year, the same as Iowa.

Wheaton said there are a lot of positive takeaways from the game against Pacific that Iowa can carry into its next few games.

“We were moving the ball in and out of the forwards and the midfield and switching the point of attack,” Wheaton said. “So I think in regards to offense, we were doing really well. [On] defense, I think we were aggressive and we were winning tackles and we definitely left it all on the field. So going into the rivalry week, that will be good.”