After holding a 1-0 lead for much of Thursday’s contest with Wisconsin in Iowa City, No. 9 Iowa soccer ultimately dropped its conference matchup, 2-1 — delivering the Hawkeyes their first loss of the season.
The Hawkeyes are now 10-1-3 on the season while the Badgers moved to 6-3-4 overall after gaining some much-needed confidence with the top-10 win.
Iowa was first to the punch, scoring off of a penalty kick at the 18:43-minute mark from midfielder Maggie Johnston. But Iowa was unable to ride this wave of momentum for the entirety of the game.
“Momentum is very powerful, and it can go sideways on you very quickly if you do not control it,” Iowa head coach Dave DiIanni said. “That’s what happened today in the second half.”
The Iowa offense finished the game with one goal across nine shots, three of which were on goal, and five corner kicks. While the Badgers recorded only one shot in the first half, they flipped the switch in the second, recording two goals on seven shots.
The pair of Badger midfielders in Aryssa Mahrt and Maia Richters accounted for the two goals. Mahrt scored off of a penalty kick at the 73:18 mark, and Richters then struck while the iron was hot and scored at the 76:43 mark.
Defensively, Iowa had not allowed more than one goal all season. Goalkeeper Macy Enneking recorded one save on the night and two goals allowed.
After losing its first game of the season, DiIanni believes Hawkeye soccer will make the quick turnaround necessary for its upcoming match against No. 15 Rutgers.
“We’ll find out tomorrow — I learned that they care,” DiIanni said. “They are sad, and they should be. You don’t get into this just to get bonus points for trying. I think they are disappointed in their effort … but that does not make them a bad team. They are a very good team. I think this group will bounce back tomorrow.”
Hawkeyes and Scarlet Knights prepare for battle of Big Ten supremacy
In a clash between two highly ranked Big Ten teams, No. 9 Iowa will travel to No. 15 Rutgers in Piscataway, New Jersey, for a grudge match on the pitch this Sunday.
With their 3-2 win against Nebraska on Thursday night, the Scarlet Knights improved to 9-1-3 on the season and 5-0-2 in conference.
In preparation for Rutgers, DiIanni believes some minor adjustments are all it takes for the poorly executed second half against Wisconsin to become a distant memory.
“We are going to have to make some adjustments in terms of how we play, where we play, how high we play, how hard we press, things like that,” he said. “It’s not broken — it just needs to get fixed.”
The strong duo of Allie Post and Ashley Baran lead the charge for Rutgers offensively, with both players recording four goals on the season. Close behind them is Riley Tiernan, who has accumulated three goals and seven assists this season.
“They have one of the best players in the conference — Riley Tiernan,” DiIanni said. “Their whole team is good. They don’t give up goals, and they are very disciplined. We are going to have to work really hard to score goals.”
Rutgers is 0-0-2 this season against ranked opponents and will look to change that unfortunate streak against Iowa this weekend.
Game time at Yurcak Field is set for 12:00 p.m.