Olympic Spotlight: Soccer and Field Hockey Score Big Wins
Iowa sports bounced back in a huge way last week, rebounding from some losses to come up with some of the season's best wins. Iowa soccer came up with a huge upset win in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament and Hawkeye field hockey put on a record-setting performance against one of the best teams in the country.
Let's jump right in.
Olympic Spotlight: Soccer
Iowa soccer did what it needed to do in order to claim the last spot in the Big Ten tournament, but a 3-0 loss to Michigan State (12-4-3) in the season finale showcased the uphill climb the Hawks would face to go on another magical postseason run. The #12 Spartans were the top seed in the Big Ten tournament, setting up an instant rematch between them and the Hawkeyes on Sunday afternoon.
This time, the Hawkeyes were ready and came away with a 2-1 win.
The Hawks flipped the script from the opening kickoff, matching and exceeding the Spartans' energy. In their first meeting, Michigan State controlled possession and tempo, forcing the Hawkeyes back into their own third and drawing 22 fouls. On Sunday, it was far more even.
The #12 Spartans absorbed Iowa's pressure and slowly generated momentum of their own, culminating in a goal to go up 1-0 just before the end of the first half. The game was threatening to turn into a repeat of the first matchup between the teams, but Iowa regrouped at the half and came out pressing hard for a goal. It didn't take long for their effort to be rewarded, with Samantha Carey lobbing a beautiful cross in from the left side and Kelli McGroarty climbing the ladder to send the header into the back of the net.
Carey was named 2nd-team All-Big Ten, primarily due to her defensive prowess throughout the year, but on Sunday she showed how valuable she can be as a facilitator as well. She won three Defensive Player of the Week awards, the most in the conference, but also notched three assists.
The Hawks weren't content to just tie the game. They continued to push, tilting their field towards their offensive third. Just four minutes later, the Hawks earned a corner kick and put it to good use. Sofia Bush, who was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team earlier in the week, was the first to react to the loose ball in the box and poked it past the Spartan goalie to give the Hawkeyes a 2-1 lead over the top-seeded Spartans.
With almost 40 minutes left in the half, the Hawks' job wasn't over just because they had the lead. Michigan State immediately began pushing for an equalizer, throwing players forward to try and generate chances. The Hawks settled back into their defensive shell and weathered attack after attack without allowing the Spartans to generate chances. The game began to get chippy as frustration built on the MSU side and multiple players were shown yellow cards in the game's final ten minutes.
The Spartans' best chance came in the final minutes. A bouncing ball made its way to the top of the box and the foot of an MSU player. She took one dribble and took a shot, aiming for the far corner, but the shot was blocked by an outstretched Hawkeye leg and then cleared away to ice the game and give the Hawkeyes the huge upset win.
The win gives Iowa its highest-ranked victory since they defeated #4 Penn State during the 2020-21 Big Ten Tournament run. More importantly, it keeps their conference tournament and postseason tournament hopes alive. Iowa needs at least one more victory, and likely two, to qualify for the NCAA tournament, but they took care of the first step Sunday afternoon.
The Hawkeyes had an answer for everything Michigan State threw at them and showed again that this team is at its best when the lights are brightest. The Big Ten Tournament has been home to some of the Hawks' best performances in the past few years and Sunday's game will no doubt rank near the top of that list. Iowa bounced back from a loss, adjusted its strategy, and then stuck it to the best team in the Big Ten.
They've proven they can play with some of the best in the country and have to be brimming with confidence as they turn their sights toward the semifinal matchup against fourth-seed Penn State (13-1-4). The match is scheduled for Thursday, November 2 at 6:30 PM CT. BTN will televise the game.
Field Hockey
Iowa field hockey finished their regular season in style with an emphatic 7-2 win over #3 Rutgers (15-2). The Hawks came out with energy and scored the opening goal in the 21st minute when freshman phenom Dionne van Aalsum scored off an assist from Lieve Schalk and Annika Herbine. It was the only goal in the first half, but the Hawks broke the game open in the third and fourth quarters.
Annika Herbine doubled the Hawkeye lead with a 32nd-minute goal, and while Rutgers answered in the 34th minute, the Hawks just kept coming. Only a few moments later, Iowa again pushed their lead to two when Alex Wesneski pushed the score to 3-1 with a slick goal. Iowa added another in the third quarter, this time from Esme Gibson, and then continued to pile on in the fourth quarter.
The Hawks knew they couldn't afford to take their foot off the gas, even with a 4-1 lead, and added two more in quick succession in the final quarter, with Miranda Jackson and van Aalsum each slotting home a goal to push the lead up to 6-1. Rutgers found another goal in the 56th minute, but the Hawkeyes refused to give the Scarlet Knights even a semblance of hope, sending home an exclamation point 7th goal from Jacey Wittel.
If the Hawks were looking for momentum heading into the Big Ten tournament, they found it on Friday. Iowa put together a dominant performance against the #3 team in the nation, leaving no room for doubt that they can play with anyone in the country.
Iowa came out with energy and refused to let up for the entire forty minutes. The Scarlet Knights hung with the Hawks for a half, but Iowa found another level in the third and fourth quarters and snuffed out any hope of a Rutgers comeback.
The Hawkeyes took advantage of seemingly every opportunity, punishing Scarlet Knight mistakes and forcing them to defend for long stretches in their own half. It was a complete performance, highlighted by two more goals from Dionne van Aalsum, who earned Big Ten Freshman and Player of the Week honors for her performance.
She now has 27 goals on the season, tied for the most by a freshman in Iowa history with Hawkeye legend Krissy Gleason, and will have ample opportunity to break that record in the postseason.
Iowa's big win earned them the No. 6 seed in this week's Big Ten tournament. You can read a full breakdown of the bracket and upcoming matchups here, but the Hawks will kick off their tournament against a dangerous Maryland (14-4) team, one that beat the Hawks 4-1 just over a week ago.
It won't be an easy path to the tournament championship for the Hawkeyes, but last week's game shows just how talented this group is when they're firing on all cylinders. A few wins would give them a chance to exorcise some demons from the regular season and would go a long way toward their NCAA tournament seeding.
There isn't a long to see what comes next, either, as the #7 Hawkeyes and #8 Terps will play this Thursday (4:00 PM CT, BTN+).
Volleyball
Iowa volleyball (8-16) lost both matches last week, falling in five sets to Rutgers (10-12) and dropping a straight-set match to Maryland (15-9).
The Hawkeyes battled hard against Rutgers and were up 2-1 after the first three sets. After losing set one 25-21, the Hawks rallied and claimed the second set 26-24. Iowa pulled ahead late in the set on the back of two kills from Delaney McSweeney and held off the Scarlet Knights' push to claim the set. Set three went much the same way, with Iowa using a five-point run to stretch a late-set lead to 23-20 and were able to secure the 25-21 set win.
Unfortunately, the Hawkeyes weren't able to win either the fourth or fifth sets to claim the match victory. The group is still young and learning to win is a real skill, especially in the Big Ten. The Hawks played well, led by Caitlan Buettner's 13 kills, but they came up just short of the win.
Iowa had another shot at a conference win on Saturday but wasn't able to beat the Terrapins. Maryland won the match, 25-19, 25-8, 25-21. Nataly Moravec led the team in kills with seven and Sydney Dennis pitched in eight digs. The Hawks will be back in action next Friday against Michigan (4-17) (5:30, BTN+).
Swimming and Diving
Iowa swimming competed against Vanderbilt last week, while the diving team took on Ohio State. Hawkeye swimmers claimed victory in six swimming events but lost the overall meet 138-124.
Freshman Olivia Swalley had a standout weekend in the water, winning the 100m breaststroke in 1:02.16 (9th fastest all-time at Iowa), the 200m breaststroke in 2:17.41 (7th fastest all-time), and the 200IM in 2:03.26. Jenna Kerr picked up an event win in the 200 and 500-meter freestyle races, finishing in 1:50.40 and 4:57.49 respectively and the Hawks picked up a team event win when Kerr, Sabina Kupcova, Josie Hood, and Scarlet Martin won the 400m free relay in 3:23.72.
It's always encouraging to see wins and top-10 times from the Hawks and even more so when the winners are all either freshmen or sophomores. The group continues to head in the right direction, attracting young talent that is producing early in their career.
On the diving side, Geneva Pauly placed 4th in the platform dive to pace the Hawkeyes, scoring 222.40 points. Iowa will be back in the pool on November 10th when they take on Nebraska (4:00, BTN+).
Cross Country
The Iowa cross country team competed at the Big Ten Championships last week, where the men finished 10th and the women 14th. The men's team was led by Max Murphy who finished 34th overall in the 8,000m race at 25:21.3.
Abby Ryon was the top runner on the women's side, finishing in 22:49.3 in the 6,000m event, good for 68th place. Iowa will next compete in the NCAA Regional meet on November 10th.