The 2022 Big Ten women’s soccer regular season has come to a close, and the conference’s top eight teams are gearing up for the Big Ten tournament set for next week. 

While Iowa will not be participating in the tournament, The Daily Iowan examined how the Hawkeyes and their Big Ten rivals fared in 2022.

Iowa

Iowa had mixed results this season with an overall record of 5-6-7 and a conference record of 2-3-5.

The Hawkeyes had a slow start to their Big Ten schedule, tying with Michigan State and Illinois and losing to Ohio State. The Hawkeyes bounced back and finished strong with wins against Nebraska, No. 13 Northwestern, and a tie against No. 24 Penn State.

Michigan State

Michigan State started dominant and stayed that way all year. The Spartans finished at 14-1-3 overall, and 9-0-1 in the conference. The Spartans’ only loss came against No. 9 Arkansas.

During the regular season, Michigan State scored 38 goals and allowed seven, putting them second and first in each respective category.

Senior Lauren DeBeau is tied for the Big Ten lead in goals with 10 and second in points with 23.

Northwestern

The Wildcats finished second in the conference with a 7-2-1 record good for 22 points. Their only losses came against Michigan State and Iowa, both within the span of a week.

At 13-3-2, Northwestern is ranked 13th in the nation.

Junior Josie Aulicino has been outstanding for the Wildcats this season. Her eight goals and seven assists make her the third leading point scorer in the conference with 23 points.

Wisconsin

The Badgers started their season well with a 10-1-2 record with their only loss coming against Notre Dame on Sept. 1.

Then a three-game losing streak at the beginning of October put Wisconsin down in the conference standings. The Badgers finished their season strong with a tie and a win against Illinois and Nebraska.

Senior Emma Jaskaniec has been one of if not the most productive offensive players in the Big Ten this year, leading the conference in points and goals with 24 and 10 respectively.

Nebraska

The Cornhuskers are a strange case. They started their season with a 2-3-3 record in non-conference play, but bounced back, going 5-3-2 in the Big Ten, to finish fourth in the conference.

What’s even stranger is that Nebraska played only one road game during its nonconference schedule but still had a poor start.

Ohio State

Ohio State was a two-loss team for much of the year but dropped its last two games against Michigan State and Northwestern, the top two teams in the Big Ten.

The Buckeyes finished at 5-3-2 in the Big Ten and 10-4-3 overall.

Seniors Emma Sears and Kayla Fischer were both productive attackers with eight goals each. Sears and Fischer also had five and two assists, respectively.

Penn State

All but one of Penn State’s losses came against ranked opponents.

The Nittany Lions finished at 10-4-3 overall, and 5-3-2 in the Big Ten. They were dominant for most of the year but finished with a whimper with a loss to 7-6-4 Nebraska and an unconvincing draw against the Hawkeyes.

Penn State was aided by several standouts on the attack. Senior Ally Schlegel is tied for the Big Ten lead in goals with 10, senior Kate Wiesner leads the Big Ten in assists with eight, and senior Penelope Hocking is not far behind with six helpers.

Rutgers

The Scarlet Knights scored 41 goals on the season to lead the Big Ten. However, 21 of those goals came in nonconference play — a stretch where Rutgers only played two away games and didn’t face a ranked team.

While Rutgers is 13-3-2 overall, the Scarlet Knights’ 5-3-2 Big Ten record is likely a more accurate reflection of their quality.

Minnesota

The Golden Gophers sit on the very edge of Big Ten Tournament contention in eighth place with a 4-4-2 conference record.

Minnesota finished 8-7-3 overall.

Illinois

Illinois let in a lot of goals: thirty-seven to be precise, which is the most in the Big Ten.

Goalkeeper Julia Cilli led the Big Ten in saves with 99 but was outside the conference’s top 10 in save percentage.

The Illini finished 10th in the Big Ten at 2-5-3 with an overall record of 7-7-4.

Maryland

The Terrapins finished 11th in the Big Ten, going 3-7-0 in conference play and 4-8-5 overall.

Maryland led the Big Ten in yellow cards with 29. Just under half of the Terrapins’ yellow cards came from junior Juliana Lynch and graduate student Malikae Dayes, who each had seven. Maryland didn’t pick up one red card all year.

Michigan

Michigan came into the season ranked in the United Soccer Coaches poll but didn’t quite live up to expectations.

The Wolverines went 3-7-7 overall and 2-6-2 in the Big Ten, putting them 12th in the conference.

Indiana

The Hoosiers didn’t see many goals over the course of the season. They were last in the Big Ten in goals scored with 11 and fifth in goals allowed with 16.

Despite their stingy defense, 11 goals proved to be too few, as Indiana finished the season at 3-7-7 overall and 1-7-2 in the Big Ten.

Purdue

The Boilermakers went winless in the Big Ten, finishing 0-7-3 in the conference and 3-11-3 overall.

Purdue was 12th in goals scored and 13th in goals allowed.

Despite the tough season, Emily Matthews proved to be a bright spot, tying for third in the Big Ten in assists with seven.