Iowa women’s soccer hopes to continue its Cinderella run in the NCAA Tournament.

Iowa earned a No. 5 seed and will host its first round matchup against No. 12 Bucknell on Friday at 6 p.m. at the Iowa Soccer Complex, the NCAA announced Monday. All first round games will be streamed live on ESPN+.

This will be the first-ever meeting between the Hawkeyes and Bison. Friday will also mark the first time the Hawkeyes have hosted an NCAA Tournament match.

It is Iowa’s fourth NCAA Tournament appearance and third under the guidance of  head coach Dave DiIanni, who has led the Hawkeyes to an 11-6 postseason record during his tenure. 

Iowa last made the NCAA Tournament in 2020  after winning the Big Ten Championship. During that NCAA Tournament run, the Hawkeyes advanced to the second round after beating Campbell, 1-0. Iowa then lost to UCLA after two late goals from the Bruins.

The Hawkeyes will hope to carry their recent dominant defensive performances from the Big Ten Tournament to the NCAA Tournament to slow down a Bucknell offense that scored the second-most goals in the Patriot League. 

Iowa is coming off back-to-back shutouts against ranked opponents, including a top-five win over Penn State and a 1-0 victory over No. 12 Wisconsin to claim the Big Ten title. 

The Bison went 12-3-5 this season en route to winning their third straight Patriot Leauge title after beating the Army Golden Knights in penalty kicks on Sunday.

Bucknell is led by junior midfielder Teresa Deda, who has scored nine goals and nine assists this season.

The Hawkeyes are now ranked No. 14 by College Soccer News and No. 17 by Top Drawer Soccer — the highest rankings in program history. The previous record was No. 19 in 2019.