Iowa women’s soccer has built a memorable legacy in recent years, highlighted by ranked wins and postseason hardware. But it’s channeled the traditions of former teams to do so — and brought Iowa soccer to national attention as a result.

Excellence, winning, growth, integrity, discipline, respect, grit, and family — all traits at the heart of the University of Iowa women’s soccer team finishing the regular season ranked No. 11 in the country.

And every single player from this team and back to members of the founding team almost three decades ago in 1997 has been constantly reminded of these pillars during her time wearing the Black and Gold on the pitch.

But, while Hawkeye soccer is ingrained in tradition, the state has historically lacked that tradition in its levels below.

Recently, soccer has grown in popularity in rural Iowa, but according to the Iowa High School Athletic Association, soccer is only played in 174 high schools statewide, compared to 350 total schools competing in track and field during the same spring season.

The lack of greater opportunity for soccer at the high school level has made many soccer enthusiasts overlook the state of Iowa or believe the Hawkeyes cannot compete at a high level collegiately with other states.

Upon a deeper look, though, this is not the case.

With a record of 13-2-3 and a national ranking of No. 11, Iowa women’s soccer has proved to those with even the most pessimistic views that those sentiments against Iowa soccer are blatantly wrong.

This begs the question: How did women’s soccer become a growing, nationally recognized powerhouse in the first place?

The obvious answer would be that Iowa has recruited better athletes than before, especially taking advantage of the new-look NCAA today in snagging the likes of Kelli McGroarty, Elle Otto, and Maya Hansen from the transfer portal. But there is much more to a team than recruiting.

Much like Rome, the UI women’s soccer team was not built in a day. In fact, it was built over the course of those 27 years since its inaugural season in 1997.

During the inaugural season, as women’s soccer was growing on the international scene with the rise of Mia Hamm and FIFA Women’s World Cups, Iowa went just 8-11 overall and 2-7 in conference play.

Offensively, a trio of Hawkeyes led the team: Beth Oldenburg, Kate Walse, and Jenna Sorenson. The three accounted for 62 percent of the goals on the season. Defensively, the 1997 Hawkeyes were led by goalkeeper Gabe Mauren, who recorded a total of 101 saves and allowed 37 goals on the season.

While the 1997 team was far from perfect, for the first-ever season of play, the team laid a solid foundation for future Hawkeyes by truly embracing the “blue-collar” work ethic — outworking their opponents with physical play.

This “blue-collar” mindset is most definitely embodied in today’s team, best explained by current forward Kenzie Roling.

“Finding people that always trust the process and that want to get better really sold me as well,” Roling said. “Seeing that at work before, and just the kind and welcoming environment, really made Iowa stand out.”

Following the 1997 season, Hawkeye soccer experienced both high and low points, with three 10-plus win seasons from 1999-03. However, Iowa was unable to keep the early momentum into the mid-to-late 2000s, forcing it to reshape that “blue-collar” mindset in adaptation to a new era of collegiate athletics.

And from 2011-14, Iowa soccer strung multiple successful seasons, going 41-17-7 during that time frame.

Team morale was extremely high for Iowa soccer for the first time since the early 2000s. And amid the rush of winning, needing a final piece to make the turn toward the finish line, the program then took a chance on a head coach who had won three NCAA Division II National Championships before.

The UI hired Dave DiIanni in 2014 after 11 successful seasons as head coach of Grand Valley State.

In his 11th season as head coach today, DiIanni has compiled a record of 115-76-27 and led the team to three NCAA tournament appearances alongside two Big Ten championships.

Still, DiIanni’s approach to recruiting has been at the forefront of his success, finding players in Iowa and out who truly embody, “excellence, winning, growth, integrity, discipline, respect, grit, and family.”

Statistically, Iowa is much more sound defensively than it has been in past seasons, only allowing 10 goals this year compared to 35 allowed in 1997.

While the work ethic and physicality remain intact, there is a glaring difference in Iowa’s offense.

Offensively, the Hawkeyes have a much wider range of scorers on their team compared to previous teams with over 14 different players scoring this season, making it much harder for opponents to slow Iowa down.

In the past four seasons, Iowa has won two Big Ten championships, however, the team lost in its first round of play this year.

And with the recent success and long journey leading up to it, it is important to remember the roots of the program. Current Hawkeye soccer midfielder Rielee Fetty is extremely grateful for the groundwork paved by former players.

“Meeting all the alumni, they were resilient, and they had nothing to build the program — carry on to this year, we are united for the love of the game,” Fetty said. “My freshman year, we weren’t expected to make the tournament at 0-8. Now we had that mentality of, ‘Why not us?’ Never really underestimating the power of resilience is huge.”

Soccer at the UI has not only grown from a competitive standpoint but for its audience as well. For reference, the highest attendance during the 1997 season was 907, where Iowa had a dismal performance against the Minnesota Gophers, losing by a score of 6-0.

Now, Iowa soccer is drawing in fans from near and far, recording an attendance of 1,893 against Washington on Oct. 17. If the atmosphere of a couple thousand Hawkeye fans isn’t enticing enough for future recruits, then maybe some insight on what it truly means to be a member of the Hawkeye soccer culture from Fetty will help.

“Come to Iowa,” Fetty said, laughing. “It’s not the same everywhere else [compared to Iowa]. There is just something different about Iowa. We feel like we are always underestimated, trying to prove people around us.”

“I genuinely love going to practice,” she added. “And our coaches always joke and say, ‘Do you guys really like each other that much?’”

Just 27 years after its founding, Iowa soccer has transformed from a budding soccer school to a nationally recognized program, drawing recruits from across the country to get a chance to play in the historic Black and Gold kit — and shoot for gold while they do it.