Following a tough draw at Ohio State, the No. 18 Iowa women’s soccer team continued its road trip with a trek to Champaign, Illinois, for a matchup against Illinois. The Hawkeyes defeated the Fighting Illini 2-1, scoring both of their goals in the second period. 

Iowa improves to 7-0-3 and 2-0-1 in conference play with the win, while Illinois drops to 4-4-2 and 0-2-1 with the loss. 

The first half of play was fairly quiet, as neither team’s offense was able to score. Iowa recorded five shots in the first period, none of which were on goal. On the flip side, Illinois mustered only two shots of its own.

That theme carried over into the second period, as the Hawkeyes tallied nine shots compared to Illinois’ three. Additionally, Iowa collected seven shots on goal in contrast to only two from the Illinois offense. 

The Fighting Illini offense remained stagnant for nearly the remainder of the contest until third-year midfielder Lia Howard scored off a penalty kick to cut the deficit in half. With less than three minutes in the game, the Fighting Illini were unable to take advantage of this momentum. 

First-year forward Berit Parten continues to shine for Iowa as a young starter, scoring her sixth goal of the season at the 60:50 mark of the second frame. Parten’s quick and shifty continues to be a problem for opposing defenses, giving the Hawkeyes more depth and firepower in their starting lineup. 

Shortly after getting on the board, Second-year Defender Millie Greer scored a goal of her own at the 68:17 mark, marking her first goal of the season and giving Iowa a crucial two-goal edge. 

The Fighting Illini offense remained stagnant for nearly the remainder of the contest until third-year midfielder Lia Howard scored off a penalty kick to cut the deficit in half, but it was too little too late, as goalkeeper Macy Enneking held them from there. 

Iowa goalkeeper Macy Enneking held Illinois scoreless until three minutes left in the game. This marked Enneking’s fourth goal allowed on the season, and the first goal allowed by the Hawkeyes in the second period of play all season.

Following the game, head coach Dave Dilanni praised his squad for battling back in the second period after a tough first frame. 

“Winning on Sundays is hard in the Big Ten,” Dilanni told Hawkeye Sports. “I loved our grit to push through when we were flat to begin the game and our ruthlessness in the second half to finish it.”

Up Next 

The Hawkeyes return to action on Sept 26 for a home contest against Penn State, who is 8-2-1 on the season. The game is scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m. local time and will be live-streamed on Big Ten Plus.