It was another busy week for Iowa sports and a successful one at that. The Hawkeye soccer and field hockey teams continue to put on defensive clinics, resulting in a string of victories for both teams.
Let's take a closer look.
Olympic Spotlight: Iowa Soccer
#17 Iowa soccer (6-0-2) picked up a pair of shutout wins against rivals Nebraska (3-4) and Iowa State (3-4-2) last week, beating the Huskers 2-0 on Thursday before finishing the weekend with a 3-0 win over the Cyclones on Sunday.
Against Nebraska, the Hawks saw a familiar story play out, out-shooting the Huskers 8-3 in the first half but failing to find a goal. Iowa kept its foot on the gas to start the second half and broke through with the match's first goal in the 64th minute. Sofia Bush tracked down a slow back pass, evaded the Husker goalie, and coolly placed the ball into the back of the empty net.
Fifteen minutes later, Meike Ingles chipped the goalie from well outside the box to give Iowa the insurance goal needed to salt the game away.
The Hawkeye defense was again stalwart, earning their fifth straight shutout, aided by six saves from Macy Enneking.
Iowa rode its midweek momentum into the weekend and dominated the Cyclones on Sunday. The Hawkeyes broke through far faster in this match, opening up the scoring in the 22nd minute. Ingles was again the finisher, slotting home a beauty of a shot into the top corner.
Less than ten minutes later, the Hawks struck again. This time, it was Maya Hansen who found the back of the net, leaving a Cyclone defender in the dust before launching a rocket that was deflected into the Iowa State net. Berit Parten added an 82nd-minute goal for good measure, her fifth of the year. Iowa outshot the Cyclones 29-2 (!!) and controlled the game throughout.
The Hawkeye defense has long been its calling card, but Iowa has leveled up on that side of the ball and has more firepower on offense to take advantage of the opportunities the defense creates and dominate the stat sheet and the scoreboard. Parten and Ingles have been composed in the final third and you can see the Hawkeyes grow in confidence as the games wear on.
They put pressure on the opposition for 90 minutes, tilting the field until the opponent is forced to commit more players forward or sit back until the Hawkeye offense inevitably finds its way through. Iowa has now shut out six straight opponents (Sunday's gave Macy Enneking the Iowa record in career shutouts with 27.5) and has yet to allow a 2nd-half goal this season.
The Hawkeyes moved back a spot to #18 in the new weekly rankings but should still be feeling incredibly confident heading into this week's fixtures against #17 Ohio State (6-1-1) (9/19, 7:00, BTN+) and Illinois (4-3-1) (9/22, 1:00, BTN+)
Field Hockey
#6 Hawkeye field hockey shut out New Hampshire (2-4) and Delaware (2-3) this week to push their record to 4-1 this season.
The Hawks dominated New Hampshire piling up five goals, outshooting the Wildcats 10-6, and earning their third shutout of the year. Hannah Maney, Alex Wesneski, Dionne van Aalsum, Milly Short, and Jacey Wittel all found the back of the net in the game as the Hawks used a balanced attack to limit New Hampshire's transition game and turn the match into a blowout.
Sunday was a lower-scoring affair, but the Hawks found a way to push through and beat the Fighting Blue Hens 1-0. Annika Herbine notched the Hawkeyes' lone goal in the 18th minute and the defense held off the Delaware offense to secure the win.
The Hawkeyes have now shut out their opponent in all four wins this season. The only team that has found the back of the net against the Hawks is #2 North Carolina. The team is still young and it shows periodically in the games as the group finds themselves in adverse situations due to a lack of chemistry or a lack of experience, but the Hawks are doing what they need to do to get the wins they should. The Hawkeyes moved up to #4 in this week's coaches poll after their two shutout wins.
They'll open up Big Ten play next week when they take on #1 Northwestern (6-0) on Friday (1:00, BTN)
Volleyball
It was a tough week for Iowa volleyball, going 1-3 in their four matches. The Hawkeyes fell 3-1 to both Iowa State (5-4) and St. Thomas (6-4), picked up a 3-1 win against Illinois State (3-7), and closed out the weekend with a 3-1 loss against UW-Milwaukee (5-4).
Against the Cyclones, Iowa was blown out in the opening set and it looked like a quick sweep was in order. The Hawks showed resilience, battling back for a close second set loss. Again, it looked as though the Hawks might fold, but they put together a strong third set to pull the score back within one.
Unfortunately, the Cyclones pulled away early in the fourth set and kept the Hawkeyes at bay until they could close out the match. Malu Garcia was a bright spot in the match for the Hawkeyes with a career-high 15 kills in the game and Alyssa Worden served up six aces in the match.
Friday's match was a much closer affair, but unfortunately, the results were the same for the Hawkeyes. St. Thomas claimed the opening set 25-19 and the second set 25-23. The Hawks again bounced off the mat and won the third set, but couldn't force a deciding fifth set. Garcia, Gracie Gibson, and Dominique Phillis all notched double-digit kills, but it wasn't enough to get the win for the Hawks.
Iowa found its way into the win column on Saturday, beating Illinois State in their best performance of the weekend. The Hawkeyes flipped the script and dominated the first two sets of the match. The Redbirds staved off a sweep, but Iowa pulled away early in the fourth set and sprinted to the set and match victory. Garcia and Phillis each scored 12 kills and Gibson tied a career-high with nine blocks.
The Hawkeyes played a tight Sunday match against Milwaukee, ultimately falling victim to a familiar script, dropping the first two sets before picking up a third-set win and then falling in the fourth and final set. Iowa led 14-9 in set two and 11-5 in set four, but comebacks from the Panthers in both sets were gut punches to the Hawkeyes.
The group still is searching for a go-to option to win a point and it has made it difficult to close out tight sets. Jenna Meitzler earned her first career double-double in the match, with 52 assists and 14 digs as she filled in for Claire Ammeraal.
The Hawkeyes are still looking for the right lineup combination and now that they're replacing the shot-caller of the offense in Ammeraal, it's going to be even tougher. There are a lot of new faces on the team so it was always going to take some time to gel, but losing a setter during that learning process is a major obstacle that will make the process even more difficult. They'll host the Kwik Star Klassic this weekend, with matches scheduled against South Dakota, St. Louis, and Drake.
Cross Country
Both the men's and women's cross country teams competed in the Big Ten preview last weekend. The women's team placed 5th in the event while the men's team placed 7th.
The Hawkeyes' top finishers on the women's side were Miriam Sandeen and Amber Aesoph who finished 22nd and 24th respectively while setting personal bests. For the men, it was Miles Wilson leading the way with a personal best and 19th place finish. Miles Sheppard was the next Iowa finisher, placing 40th with a personal best of his own. Eight Hawkeyes set personal bests at the meet.
The teams will next race on September 27th at the Gans Creek Classic.
