Hawkeyes dominate FGCU, Coach Dilanni earns win #100 at Iowa
Since Dave DiIanni became the head coach of Iowa Women’s Soccer, he has achieved numerous milestones that the program had never seen. On Thursday night, soaked in blue Powerade, DiIanni gave all the credit to his team following a 3-0 shutout victory over FGCU, as they celebrated his 100th win as head coach of the Hawkeyes.
“I told them, it’s all about them. It’s all about the kids that we coach and the investment they give us,” said Dilanni. “I’m very proud to be the leader of this program and it means we’ve had some success, but we need to keep pushing for more.”
The Hawkeyes came into the game feeling like they matched up well with the Eagles of Florida Gulf Coast, but the reigning ASUN Champions we’re looking to be a home opener spoiler. Iowa put together plenty of scoring chances in the first half and held a 15-1 shot advantage going into the break, but a 1-0 lead was all they had to show for it.
“We just talked (at halftime) about pushing. 1-0 is not much in soccer and it gets really tight if you give up a goal and we’ve given up a couple of really bad goals this year…just making sure that we were sharp defensively and not giving up a crappy goal and then having to chase the game.”
“We created more than enough opportunities, especially in the first half. I thought first half maybe should have been three or four goals,” said Dilanni. “I think we’re a little bit tight in the box with our finishing, trying to be a little bit too cute and pretty.”
It took a bit of time for the Hawkeyes to strike in the opening half, as several big time chances came up empty, but freshman Berit Parten broke the scoreless tie in the 25th minute. She got a pass from Kenzie Roling and wasted no time, turning and sending a shot past FGCU GK Olivia Molina for the opening goal of the match. Coach Dave Dilanni wants to see more of that aggressiveness from his freshman forward as the season goes on.
“I think we’re trying to be a little bit too perfect in the box, specifically Berit Parten. Berit’s got an unbelieveable shot,” said Dilanni. “She doesn’t need to beat people too much, just like the goal she scored. She turned her girl and slotted it, but I thought she missed four of five chances.”
It may have been a frustrating first half from an offensive standpoint, but the Hawkeyes were able to get a quick goal out of halftime to calm some nerves. Midfielder Kenzie Roling got behind the Eagles defense and Sofia Bush found her teammate wide open with a lengthy pass just outside the box. Roling did the rest, pulling a hard, right-footed shot off the far post and in to make it 2-0 Iowa in the 48th minute.
“I thought we did enough to get the second goal in the first half, but we didn’t, so I was happy with their mentality to keep pushing.”
“I think we played well, they followed the scout well,” said Dilanni. “When we are really good out of possession, out of the back in particular, and we get numbes high in line, we’re pretty dangerous.”
The exclamation point came in the 82nd minute from South Dakota State transfer Maya Hansen. Forward Sophie Kincaid flipped a short cross infront of the goal and the former Jackrabbit, Hansen, came in with a diving header into the net for her first goal as a Hawkeye. Iowa is now 35-2 under Dave Dilanni when scoring 3+ goals.
“I think we’re just really excited about being able to play well on our home field, which is really important. If you can control that, you usually get in to the postseason.”
Every key statistic ended in favor of the Hawkeyes. They outshot FGCU 26-3 and forced Eagles goalkeeper Olivia Molina to make 15 saves on the night. Without her efforts, Iowa would have won 6-0 or 7-0. They also held a 9-2 advantage in corner kicks taken. Though four games, the Dave Dilanni’s squad has earned 39 corners kicks to just six for their opponents.
Up Next, the Hawkeyes will host the 18th-ranked Wake Forest Demon Deacons on Sunday at the UI Soccer Complex. Kickoff is set for 6:00pm CT on BTN+.
