The No. 25 Iowa women’s soccer team traveled down south to face No. 12 Texas in a highly anticipated top-25 matchup. Both the Hawkeyes and Longhorns won their respective conference championships in 2023, adding more drama to the matchup.
Both clubs duked it out in a defensive oriented game in the grueling Texas heat. The undefeated Longhorns were held to only seven shots in the first period. The Hawkeyes did not fare much better, recording only four shots in the first period.
Iowa continued to struggle offensively in the second period, compiling a measly four shots in the second period. Texas tripled the amount of shots in the second period compared to Iowa, tallying 12 shots.
Offensively, the Hawkeyes were led by fourth-year forward Meike Ingles with three shots, two of which were on goal. Graduate-student goalkeeper Macy Enneking recorded six total saves in the match, with five of those saves coming in the first period.
Dilanni expressed some frustration after the game, believing the Hawkeyes had plenty of opportunities to come out victorious.
“We challenged our team to grow from Thursday’s game and embrace the adversity that comes with playing Texas on the road,” Dilanni told HawkeyeSports. “I thought our tactics were spot on and the team played almost flawlessly for 90 minutes. Both teams got tired at the end and missed some chances to win the game.”
The loss dropped Iowa’s record to 1-0-2 on the season.
Florida Gulf Coast
Following the tough draw in Austin, the Hawkeyes returned to humid Iowa City on Thursday for their home-opener against Florida Gulf Coast.
Iowa dominated offensively in the first period, recording a total of 15 shots on net compared to FGCU’s one shot in the first. First-year forward Berit Parten scored the first goal for the Hawkeyes at 20:19 in period one.
Kenzie Rolling and Maya Hansen each recorded a goal of their own in the second session, giving Iowa a comfortable 3-0 edge. The Eagles continue to struggle, recording only two shots in the frame. By this point, FGCU tallied only three shots in the entire game.
The Hawkeyes continued to ride their momentum from there and cruised to a 3-0 victory.
Goalkeeper Macy Enneking had a slow night in part due to Iowa’s potent offense, compiling only one save on the night. On the flip side, Eagles goalkeeper Olivia Molina tallied 15 total saves on the night.
Following the victory, Iowa players celebrated Coach Dilanni’s 100th career win in fashion with a gatorade bath. Dilanni was pleased with how his team responded after the tough tie against Texas. The win brings Iowa’s record to 2-0-2 on the young campaign.
“We thought that we matched up pretty well,” Dilanni said. “Again I think we were a little tight in the box with our finishing. We tried to be a little bit too cute, but at the end of the day I was very happy with how we played.”
Up next
The Hawkeyes return home to the UI Soccer Complex on Sunday evening against Wake Forest, who is 3-0-1 on the season. The game is scheduled for 6:00 CT with live stream coverage on Big Ten Plus.