The women’s soccer regular season is rapidly approaching an end, and the newly ranked No. 11 Iowa women’s soccer team will look to continue the success it found into postseason play.

Last season, Iowa soccer shocked the conference and won the Big Ten title, defeating No. 12 Wisconsin, 1-0, in the championship match. With a 13-1-3 record on the season, Hawkeye soccer has what it takes to make an even bigger run in the postseason, aiming its sights on winning the program’s first NCAA championship.

There is no doubt that this will be quite a challenging feat to obtain, but in order to do so, Iowa will have to play some of the best soccer of the season — and focus on three key points.

Score early, dominate early

It’s no secret the Iowa offense has been nothing short of electric this season. However, most of these goals have come from the second half of play, hence the thriller.

In the postseason, for the team at least, thrilling is nerve-wracking, too. Iowa has 13 first-half goals on the season to 21 in the second half. While clutch second-half play has given Iowa a competitive advantage during the regular season, postseason play is a whole different animal.

In do-or-die scenarios like the impending tournaments, Iowa does not want to have to solely rely on clutch offensive play in the second half.

Leading the charge for the Iowa offense this season has been first-year Berit Parten, who was recently named Big Ten Freshman Player of the Week and has amassed seven goals this season. Closely behind Parten are Meike Ingles, Sofia Bush, and Maya Hansen, who all have a respectable five or more goals on the season.

These four have accounted for 22 out of the 34 goals this season and will likely be who the Hawkeyes look to early in postseason play. That, however, requires setting the tone early and not waiting for
the final moment.

Let experience reign

While there is no question Iowa soccer’s underclassmen have played a pivotal role in their regular season success, the Hawkeyes will have to look toward veteran leadership if they want a chance at taking an NCAA championship appearance.

While the lineup for the Hawkeyes has fluctuated throughout the season for various reasons — such as opponents, matchups, and injuries — Iowa will have to rely on veterans Ingles, Elle Otto, Macy Enneking, Rielee Fetty, and Kenzie Roling to lead the team.

It’s important for younger players to have someone to look to in stressful away-game environments. The pressure of postseason play at the Division I level is extremely taxing, so any experience to help guide the underclassmen is extremely beneficial in the postseason.

Ingles, Otto, Enneking, Fetty, and Roling have played a combined total of 6,075 minutes on the pitch this season. In a previous interview, head coach Dave DiIanni emphasized the depth and differing experience on this team.

“We have an interesting mix,” he said. “[We are] incredibly old with very experienced players who have [played in] big games. Macy Enneking and Elle Otto have played a lot of minutes. I think that, on the flip side, you have young players such as Sofia Bush and Sophie Kincaid who have been very important early on for this team. This is the deepest team I have ever had at Iowa.”

Limit fouls

Fouls have been a glaring issue for Iowa throughout the whole season. The Hawkeyes currently have 209 total on the season, compared to their opponents’ 169 average during the same timeframe.

In a sport where one goal is often the difference between advancing or going home empty-handed, Iowa will have to clean up play in order to succeed in the postseason, especially as fouls give the opponents too many extra chances.

Fouls have even led to players sitting out of games for the Hawkeyes. During the 4-0 shutout win against Oregon, Hawkeye defender Eva Pattison, who has started 16 games for Iowa this season, sat out against the Ducks after accumulating five yellow cards on the season.

Additionally, fouls can lead to free kicks, and even sometimes the much more detrimental penalty kick. Iowa’s historic season could easily come to an end simply because of a goal off the latter.

Fouls are simply something that cannot happen in the postseason and surely cannot happen if Iowa wants to make a long postseason run.