Olympic Spotlight: Tough Weekend for Iowa Sports
It was another difficult week for Iowa's Olympic sports. The Field hockey squad suffered two losses, while the soccer team came up short against some of the best in the conference. The volleyball team also lost a pair of road matches.
It's late in conference play now, but man of these Iowa teams have put in a lot of good work throughout the season to give themselves a chance at postseason success.
Let's take a look.
SOCCER
Iowa (9-4-4) played both Michigan schools this weekend, drawing Michigan (7-6-4) 1-1 and falling to Michigan State (12-3-3), 3-0. Against the Wolverines, the Hawkeyes battled through scattered downpours to come away with a point. Josie Durr put the Hawks in front after an interception at midfield that led to a breakaway and a perfectly slid ball into the back of the net.
Michigan found an equalizer late in the first half off a well-struck free-kick goal. Both teams battled each other and the elements in the second half, but neither was able to find a winner. Iowa was just ahead of Michigan for the final postseason qualifying spot in the Big Ten standings coming into the weekend, so holding on for a point on the road was a big result for the group.
On Sunday, the Hawkeyes took on the best team in the Big Ten, #14 Michigan State. The Spartans scored early off a corner kick, but the score remained just 1-0 into halftime. In the second half, Michigan State controlled possession and the Hawkeye defense eventually broke, allowing two late insurance goals. Iowa actually out-shot the Spartans 9-4, but weren't able to find a goal of their own.
Michigan State looked like the better team on Sunday and showed why they are Big Ten champions. They played a crisp game of soccer, stringing together passes and recovering the ball quickly whenever they lost possession. The Hawks hung with them as best they could, but the Spartans punished every mistake the Hawks made.
Still, Iowa's regular season performance was good for 8th place and the final spot in the Big Ten conference tournament. It's a good result for a team that missed the conference tournament last year and further proof that this team has taken a step forward in quality. They'll need to turn some of their shot opportunities into goals, but that's a much better problem to have than struggling to generate shots at all.
Iowa knows anything can happen in postseason tournaments, as they made a Cinderella run in 2020 to claim the conference tournament title and qualify for the NCAA Tournament. They'll have to recreate some of that same magic this time around, starting with a rematch against the Spartans in the quarterfinals on Sunday (TBD, BIG+).
FIELD HOCKEY
#5 Iowa field hockey (12-4) lost a pair of ranked matchups last week, falling 4-1 to #9 Maryland (14-3) and 2-1 to #16 Penn State (8-7).
Maryland jumped on the Hawks early, putting two goals away in the first period. A goal late in the second quarter felt like a back-breaker for the Hawkeyes after fighting to pull one back. They did find a goal early in the third quarter when Annika Herbine put home a penalty corner, but the Terps answered just a minute later to push the score to its final 4-1 margin.
Iowa has struggled with slow starts this year and this was another match that felt like the opponents came out with more energy from the jump. The Hawks were pushed back into their own half for much of the first half, similar to what happened in their other losses this season.
Iowa's best opponents are pressing the Hawkeyes hard and forcing them to string together passes or win 1-on-1 off the dribble to create offensive pressure. It's an enticing strategy against what is a young frontcourt for the Hawkeyes and while they've been able to overcome it in spurts, they also have struggled mightily to generate shots against the best of the Big Ten.
The Hawks came out with more fire on Sunday against Penn State, taking the lead in the 14th minute when Alex Wesneski slotted one home. Penn State found an equalizer late in the first half and the game-winner early in the third quarter. The Hawks registered 15 shots, but the Nittany Lions were up to the task, piling up eleven saves to preserve the win.
It's the first time this season that the Hawkeyes have suffered back-to-back losses this season, but they are still ranked #8 in this week's poll. They'll have one more regular season game next week, another top-ranked matchup against #3 Rutgers (15-1) on Friday (4:00, BTN+) before the Big Ten tournament starts the first week of November.
There's no doubt the Hawkeyes are fighting through some adversity right now, but they've got one of the best coaches in the country, the nation's top goal-scorer, and plenty of talent on the roster to help them get back on the right track.
VOLLEYBALL
Iowa volleyball (8-14) dropped both matches last week, 3-0 to #11 Penn State (14-5), and 3-1 to Maryland (14-8). The Hawks followed a familiar pattern, hanging with the Nittany Lions before one of the best in the Big Ten strung a run together and pulled away. Bailey Ortega notched 26 assists in the match, including her 2,000th career assist, a great accomplishment for the senior.
Against Maryland, Iowa fell 16-25 in each of the first two sets but rallied to claim the 3rd set 25-17. Maryland responded to take the 4th and final set 17-25. Nataly Moravec has continued to grow in her redshirt freshman season, leading the Hawks with 13 kills in the match and a career-high five aces. She's been a really positive development for the Hawkeyes, turning into another potent attacking option alongside Seniors Caitlan Buettner and Delaney McSweeney.
The Hawkeyes will be back home next weekend for a pair of matches, Friday against Rutgers (9-11) (6:00 BTN+) and Saturday in a rematch against Maryland (8:00, BTN).