As it stands, the Iowa Hawkeye women’s soccer team is ranked No. 9 in the country with a record of 13-1-3.

Be honest, did you know that?

Historically, women’s sports haven’t gotten as much coverage as men’s sports. That has changed recently, especially here in Iowa City, with the explosion of women’s basketball in mainstream media. While women’s basketball has always been an important aspect of Iowa City’s culture, the recent success of our women’s team has grown that interest to a national level.

Why not continue the growth of women’s sports with a spotlight on our women’s soccer team?

In the program’s history, they’ve won two Big Ten championships, with their most recent win just last season. Additionally, the program has four NCAA tournament appearances.

During the 2023 NCAA tournament, the Hawkeyes played their first-round game in front of a home crowd of 2,639, which set the program’s attendance record.

Fans show up for the big games, which is great, but we need a fanbase that will stick with the team game-by-game.

The women’s team has already hosted some big-name ranked opponents, like Wake Forest and Penn State, in which the Hawkeyes came out victorious.

The Penn State game featured a great crowd of Hawkeye fans all dressed for a blackout. These types of fan showings are what the women’s soccer program consistently needs to grow their popularity not only on campus, but also nationally.

The Hawkeyes finish their season in the Twin Cities against the University of Minnesota. After that, the Hawkeyes will begin their promising postseason campaign in which we can expect a lot of success. The Hawkeyes will be defending their Big Ten championship title and hope to win the program’s first-ever NCAA tournament.

The Iowa Hawkeyes women’s soccer team is also full of talent. Three players were featured on the Top Drawer mid season top 100 players list. Sofia Bush is our highest ranked player at No. 17. Bush is a second-year midfielder who currently has three goals and three assists on the season.

The Iowa Hawkeyes women’s soccer team also plays at the UI Soccer Complex, which is a brand-new facility the university continues to work on. The Soccer Operations Building, which holds the home and away locker rooms, was just completed last year. The success of the women’s soccer team has led to brand new facilities being built for them.

The women’s soccer team already won a Big Ten championship last year and has a real chance to win an NCAA championship this year.

If that isn’t enough to excite you, I don’t know what is.