Olympic Spotlight: Iowa Soccer Wins 1st Round NCAA Match

There's nothing like the postseason in college sports. The seasons are short, the players have only a few opportunities in their careers for postseason glory, and there's enough parity across most college sports to allow for incredible upsets and triumphs.

Three different Hawkeye teams competed in the postseason last week, highlighted by a first-round win for Iowa soccer.

Let's take a look.

Fresh off an impressive run to the Big Ten Tournament title, Iowa soccer hosted their first-ever NCAA tournament game and came away with a 2-0 win over Bucknell. Cheered on by a school-record 2,639-person crowd, the Hawkeyes controlled the game from the jump.

Iowa dominated possession, peppering the Bison with 25 shots throughout regulation. Even with all those opportunities, the Hawks couldn't find their way onto the scoreboard in regulation thanks to a great performance from the Bucknell goalkeeper Jenna Hall, who notched nine saves during regulation and overtime.

The Bison didn't generate much offense, but the game grew in intensity as overtime began and the potential for a shootout grew. The Hawks were clearly the better team on the field, but they weren't able to find the breakthrough moment.

Thankfully, the Hawks didn't have to wait long in overtime to find the goal they deserved. In the 94th minute, Josie Durr, who scored the game-winner in the Big Ten Championship as well, slotted home a ball from the top of the box to give Iowa a 1-0 lead.

The Bison immediately shifted to attack, frantically searching for an equalizer, but the Hawkeye defense remained stout, turning back each Bucknell push and in the 108th minute, the Hawks capitalized, putting away a game-icing second goal on the counterattack. Morgan Lietz's shot was saved but Kelli McGroarty was in perfect position to pounce and sent the rebound home, guaranteeing that the Hawks would move on.

Iowa put together a perfect game plan and executed it almost to perfection Friday night. The Hawks controlled the pace of the game, leaning on Bucknell over and over until they found a way through. The Hawkeye defense was at its best, dominating the middle of the field and snuffed out most Bison attacks before they could start. The Hawks will no doubt feel they could have scored earlier, but the team didn't get tight as the game wore down and kept their foot on the gas rather than getting frustrated at their lack of scoring success.

The upperclassmen continue to lead the Hawkeyes during their most important moments. Josie Durr, now in her 7th season with the team, has come up with clutch goals in the Hawkeyes' two biggest games of the year, Macy Enneking has put together back-to-back clean sheets, and Samantha Cary is an anchor on the backline. Iowa seems to have an excellent combination of youth and experience that's all coming together at the right time.

Iowa's win earned them a spot in the round of 32 and a game against 4th-seeded Georgia on Friday. The Hawks and Bulldogs will play Friday (1:00 PM CT, ESPN+) at Clemson University.

Iowa field hockey battled Louisville in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament, falling 2-1 in double overtime. The Hawkeyes took the lead in the second quarter when freshman Dionne van Aalsum sent home a penalty corner with a wicked shot from the top of the circle.

The Hawks carried the lead into the break but Louisville found an equalizer midway through the third quarter. Both teams had a few great chances in the fourth but the defenses came up big and the teams remained deadlocked at one through the end of regulation.

Overtime meant 7-on-7 hockey, which opened up the field and created dangerous chances, but Mia Magnotta and the Hawkeye defense stood tall once again, sending the game to double overtime. Unfortunately, the Cardinals eventually broke through in double-overtime, converting a penalty corner to give them a 2-1 victory.

It was a disappointing end to a season that started out with so much promise for the Hawkeyes, but the group still accomplished a lot. Iowa was tasked with replacing All-Americans and All-Conference players across the roster, battled injuries to key players, and still found a way to be ranked #1 for four weeks during the regular season.

Dionne van Aalsum set a freshman record at Iowa for goals in a season, and sophomore goalie Mia Magnotta proved more than capable against many of the best teams in the country. As injuries took their toll and teams began to react to how the new-look Hawks were playing, Iowa had its share of struggles, but the group still racked up three top-five wins, including two in the final few weeks of the regular season.

The loss stings, but the future continues to be bright for Hawkeye field hockey.

Iowa runner Max Murphy qualified for the NCAA Championships last week, finishing 9th at the NCAA regional meet in 30:27.6. It was Murphy's first-ever 10,000m race and he immediately earned his way into the Iowa record books, running the 7th-fastest time in Iowa history. Murphy steadily moved up the pack throughout the race and held off some late challengers to earn his 9th-place finish.

Murphy, Iowa's first championship qualifier since 2019, will run in the 10,000m championship race on November 19th.

Hawkeye swimming and diving topped Nebraska 159.5-140.5 on Friday afternoon. Iowa won eleven events, ten individual and one team event, to propel themselves to victory. Scarlet Martin swam a season-best 54.18 in the 100m butterfly to win the event and a career-best 1:59.56 in the 200m butterfly to claim a second event title and improve on her 6th-fast all-time mark at Iowa.

Freshmen won six of the ten individual titles for the Hawkeyes, including three from Olivia Swalley, who swam the 7th-fastest 200m breaststroke in Iowa history (2:17.07).

The Hawks continue to get encouraging signs from the revived-from-the-brink program, as the underclassmen have racked up event wins and top-10 times. The program is clearly headed in the right direction and the future looks bright for one of the best stories in Iowa sports.

Iowa volleyball (8-20) lost a pair of straight-set matches last week. On Friday, Iowa lost to Illinois (14-12) 25-20, 25-16, and 25-13. On Sunday, the Hawkeyes fell to Northwestern (12-14), 26-24, 25-21, and 25-21. Nataly Moravec posted nine kills for the Hawkeyes against the Illini to lead the team, while Bailey Ortega registered 13 assists.

On Sunday, the Hawks pushed the Wildcats to the brink in set one before falling 26-24. The Hawks were tied at 16 in set two and led 15-14 in set three, but weren't able to pull away to take either set. Amanda Darling led the Hawkeyes in digs on the day, piling up 12 on her senior day.

Iowa has a pair of difficult matches coming up this week, taking on Minnesota (13-11) and #1 Nebraska (25-0).

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