It was another packed week of Iowa sports last week. Iowa soccer picked up their first conference wins of the season, field hockey took on another Top 15 opponent, and the volleyball team traveled for a pair of road games.

As always, there's a ton to cover so let's jump right in.

Iowa soccer (8-1-3) won both of their matches last weekend without allowing a goal, shutting out Purdue (3-9-1) and Rutgers (5-5-3).

The Hawks were looking for their first points, and goals, in conference play and found both in a big way Thursday night against the Boilermakers. The Hawkeyes scored three goals in the first half and another in the second en route to a dominating 4-0 win.

Kenzie Rolling was the first Hawkeye to score, putting one away in the 18th minute. A second and third quickly followed when the Hawks converted a pair of free kicks, Maggie Johnston scoring off a beautiful delivery from Samantha Cary in the 22nd minute and Kellen Fife finishing a bouncing ball after a Kelli McGroarty header in the 35th minute. Iowa found the net once more in the 80th minute when Rielee Fetty scored her first career goal, an absolute dart from outside the box.

It was a dominating performance for a team that had been knocking on the door offensively for the past two weeks. Iowa put up 15 shots, nine of which were on goal, while allowing just one shot on goal from Purdue. The team seemed to visibly relax once the first ball found the back of the net and the goals came in bunches after that.

Perhaps the most exciting part was that the Hawks weren't at their best against the Boilermakers. The team was a bit disorganized at the back for much of the first half and gave Purdue multiple opportunities to take advantage. Instead, Macy Enneking and the defense came up big when called into action and then the offense took advantage of their set-piece opportunities.

The Hawks continued their momentum into Sunday's match, shutting out Rutgers 1-0. The lone goal of the match came in the 24th minute when 7th-year(!) player Josie Durr finished off an impressive passing sequence from the Hawks with a perfectly placed ball into the back of the net. Fetty and Rolling assisted in the build-up of what was one of the most impressive team goals of the year for the Hawkeyes.

From there, it was Iowa's tried and true defense that carried the game. Rutgers took just five shots to Iowa's 15 and the Hawkeyes kept the Scarlet Knights pinned in their defensive third for much of the game, winning five corner kicks.

As entertaining as Thursday's blowout win was, Sunday's win was much closer to the style of play these Hawks have showcased throughout the year. The Hawkeyes, who have allowed just three goals this year (GK Macy Enneking, Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Week, has a nation-leading 8 shutouts this season) are steady at the back and look to squeeze opponents until they eventually break down.

Iowa is a defensive-minded team, but they're not sitting back and inviting pressure. Instead, they look to control possession, quickly reclaim the ball in transition, and find opportunities to score before the opposition is set.

At their best, it turns into wins like Thursday's, but Sunday's win against Rutgers was just as impressive. The Hawks took a step up in competition and looked composed and in control throughout. They'll look to continue the positive momentum next Saturday when they take on Nebraska (8-2-3).

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Iowa field hockey (10-1) suffered its first loss of the season last week, falling 2-1 to #11 Ohio State (11-2), before bouncing back with a 3-1 win over Michigan State (3-7).

The match against the Buckeyes was a tenuous affair, with Ohio State jumping ahead from a 15th-minute penalty corner. Iowa found an equalizer in the 37th when Dionne van Aalsum smashed home a goal, assisted by Lieve Schalk.

The Buckeyes again pulled ahead late in the 3rd period and while the Hawkeyes fought furiously to equalize, they were unable to find a second goal. Ohio State pressured the Hawkeyes all game, playing a physical brand of field hockey that led to 11 shots and eight penalty corners. Iowa's defense did all they could to keep the team in the game, and goalie Mia Magnotta saved four shots on goal, but they ultimately came up just short.

It was always a longshot for the Hawkeyes to go undefeated with such a difficult scehdule, but the team no doubt felt, and continues to feel, that they should win every game they play. Unfortunately for Michigan State, they had to face the Hawkeyes coming off the loss earlier in the weekend and saw a highly motivated Iowa group.

Alex Wesneski started the scoring early, netting a goal in the sixth minute. The Spartans equalized a few moments later, but Iowa again pulled ahead when van Aalsum slotted home a 12th-minute penalty corner. The score remained 2-1 into the third period until Hilary Cox scored on a penalty stroke in the 41st minute to give Iowa a third goal and seal the win.

Even with the loss, the Hawks are still clearly one of the best teams in the country. Dionne van Aalsum is up to an incredible 23 goals so far in her freshman season and the Hawks have racked up ranked wins throughout the year.

They were clearly disappointed with Friday's loss, and said as much in postgame interviews, and looked much more physical in their match against the Spartans. Iowa dropped to #3 in this week's poll. The schedule doesn't get any easier for Iowa, as they'll take on #2 Northwestern (11-1) in one of the biggest matches of the season on Sunday (3:00 PM, BTN)

Iowa volleyball (8-8) was swept in both of their matches last weekend, losing 3-0 to Indiana (12-5) on Friday and Illinois (7-7) on Saturday.

Against Indiana, the Hawks stayed close to the Hoosiers for much of the first two sets but struggled to put runs together and pull away. The Hoosiers took set one 25-20, set two 25-19, and then pulled away to take set 3 25-16.

Caitlan Buettner continued her strong season, picking up another 15 kills in the match and Sydney Dennis notched 16 digs. The first two sets were back and forth with neither team able to create any distance on the scoreboard until late in the set. Unfortunately for the Hawks, a few errors in each set proved too much to overcome.

On Saturday at Illinois, it was an even closer matchup. The Illini took set one 28-26, set two 25-18 and set three 28-26 to claim the match. Iowa had set point at 24-23 in set one and 26-25 in set three, but weren't able to find the winning point in either set. Nataly Moravec picked up a double-double, registering 15 kills and 10 digs, and Sydney Dennis added another 21 digs in a strong weekend for the libero.

The Hawks are close but they're missing that last piece to get over the hump. In some sets, it's a few missed passes on serve receive. In others, it's a few errors at the serving line or at the net. It's part of the growing pains of a building team in the country's best conference. The Hawks are showing definite improvement over last year's squad, but it will take time to close the gap with some of the best schools in the country and learn how to consistently win as a team.

There's no respite for the Hawks in the Big Ten, as they'll come home to face #1 Wisconsin (13-0) on Wednesday (7:00, BTN).

The Iowa men's golf team traveled to South Bend for the Fighting Irish Classic last week, finishing tied for 11th at the event.

The Hawks were led by Mac McClear and Max Tjoa, who each finished the event tied for 36th at +6. In the final round, McClear shot one under par to jump up twenty spots on the leaderboard. Tjoa put together a consistent weekend, shooting a trio of 72's at the event.

Iowa cross country ran at the Joe Piane Invite last weekend, with the women's team finishing 15th and the men's team finishing 17th. The top finisher for the women was Jalyssa Blazek who set a new career-best when she finished the 5,000m race in 17:56.2. Amber Aesoph (17:59.4) and Sophie Bookin-Nosbisch (18:01.4) were close behind and each set career-bests as well.

On the men's side, Max Murphy paced the Hawkeyes, finishing 20th in 23:56.4. It was Murphy's first race since the start of September and a solid return to form for the junior. The Hawkeye runners will conclude their regular season on Friday when they travel to Peoria for the Bradley Pink Classic.