Josie Durr’s dream to play for the Hawkeyes didn’t happen right away. The Solon, Iowa, native received two offers to play collegiate soccer during her sophomore year of high school: one from Iowa, and the other from Iowa State — what she referred to as “the other state school.”

With two younger sisters and Iowa’s campus just 18 minutes away, Durr didn’t have to think hard about her decision.

But right before she started her collegiate soccer career, Durr tore her quad during her final game at Solon High School. Doctors told her the expected recovery time would be six to eight weeks, and Durr was hopeful she would make her return in time for the collegiate season. Instead, the recovery process ended up taking about six months.

As a result, Durr redshirted her freshman season with the Hawkeyes. Now, to fulfill that extra year of eligibility, she will return to Iowa City for her seventh season for the Hawkeyes in 2023.

To say that Durr was an offensively minded player during her high school years would be an understatement. Durr, then an attacking midfielder, led the Spartans in goals scored each of her four years. She even led the state of Iowa in goals her junior season, tallying 46 in 19 games.

After sitting out her freshman year of college, Durr’s role began to shift. She assumed the No. 8 position, a midfielder focused on linking the forwards and defenders, in Iowa head coach Dave DiIanni’s game plan. Over the course of the 2019 and 2020 seasons, Durr totaled just two scores.

“She helps in a position where she connects the two lines and is a little bit of a conduit for how they flow,” DiIanni said of Durr. “She’s so athletic and smooth with how she moves, and she’s very, very productive with her touches. She doesn’t get on the ball a ton, but when she does, she connects with others and gets the ball where it needs to be and when it needs to be there.”

Durr said the adjustment to steals wasn’t difficult. After all, she led the state in steals as a point guard in basketball her senior year of high school.

Durr constantly recovered from injuries while adjusting to the new position. She broke her wrist her junior season and tore her hamstring the following year. In addition, she missed the entire 2021 season after tearing her ACL in an exhibition game against South Dakota.

“I just had to keep reminding myself why I was doing it, why I was going to the rehab, and all the stuff to be able to just stay focused on getting better,” Durr said.

Durr started every game of the 2022 season, logging over 1,411 minutes — fourth most on the Hawkeyes. DiIanni told her she still had a lot to give and pitched a return in 2023, but Durr originally declined the offer.

Then, Hawkeye goalkeeper Macy Enneking and defender Samantha Cary reached out to Durr, and DiIanni said the exchange made the difference.

“I took a couple of months off, and I [was] just kind of like, ‘Oh crap, maybe I’m not done, maybe I do have more to give,’” Durr said. “So, [the coaching staff, teammates, and I] had a couple of conversations, and then I decided I might as well come back if I have the opportunity to.”

From 2017-19, Durr learned under fellow Iowa midfielder Natalie Winters about being a good player and teammate while also not taking the game too seriously. This season, the 24-year-old Durr will assume that leadership role on a team that includes 12 underclassmen.

“Just trying to be a role model for these younger kids … there’s not that many older girls left on the team,” Durr said. “So, I think it’s just along those lines of just, like, leadership and trying to show or teach [the younger players] the knowledge I’ve learned over my time at Iowa and try to give it to them so they can have that kind of same experience.”

DiIanni noted that a seventh season will be tough on a body battered by injuries and will require dedication to the weight room and nutrition. But DiIanni said that resilience will be nothing new to Durr, who arrived in Iowa City from a town of around 3,000 people.

“When you come from a small town and you play in a local club, sometimes the bigger pond is hard to figure out how to find your way,” DiIanni said. “And it took her a year or two, but when she learned she could play here, that she was good enough, she was all in and flying.”