The Iowa soccer team reaffirmed their first-place ranking in the Big Ten with a 1-0 victory against the Indiana Hoosiers on Sunday afternoon, moving their home-winning streak to six.
The Hawkeyes have been known for playing close games all season, and today was no different, as Iowa found themselves in a 0-0 dog fight late in the game.
At the 73:01 mark, forward Maya Hansen found the back of the net to give the Hawkeyes the edge. It marked Hansen’s fifth goal of the season.
Similar to their football counterparts, the victory over Indiana was largely fueled by strong defensive play. Iowa goalkeeper Macy Enneking recorded two clutch saves in the second half of play to keep Iowa’s 1-0 lead intact. Additionally, the Hawkeyes held the Indiana offense to only two shots on goal.
The Hawkeye offense recorded a total of 14 shots, four of which were on goal. In the first half, Iowa kept the Hoosier defense on its toes with six shots on goal, none of which were successful. The Hawkeyes continued their relentless attack in the second, tallying eight shots.
In all, Iowa possessed the ball for 51% of the game while Indiana was close behind with 49% of the total possession time.
Iowa continues to prove to opponents across the nation that last season’s Big Ten title was not a fluke, improving their dominant record this season to 10-0-3 overall and 5-0-1 in Big Ten play.
The Hoosiers fall to 6-5-1 on the season with the loss, and will look to find some momentum during the final weeks of conference play after falling to 1-5 in Big Ten games. Indiana has been shutout in each of their five losses this season.
Badgers hungry for the upset
Iowa returns home to the Hawkeye Soccer Complex on Oct. 10 for a contest against rival Wisconsin, who is 5-3-4 overall and 1-2-3 in Big Ten play.
The Hawkeye defenses will have to focus much of their efforts on Aryssa Mahrt, who is distinctly leading the charge for the Badgers offense. Mahrty has tallied seven goals on the season while the next closest Badger on offense has only one goal.
The game is scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m. and will be live-streamed on Big Ten Plus.