Iowa Soccer bounces back, shuts out 15th-ranked Rutgers in Piscataway
The Iowa Soccer is in the midst of a season that is unlike any other in program history, but for the first time all year, they were challenged to regroup and respond on Sunday. Coming off of their first loss of the year against Wisconsin on Thursday, the Hawkeyes traveled to Piscataway to face 15th-ranked Rutgers. Dave Dilanni’s squad delivered a huge bounce back performance, defeating the Scarlet Knights 2-0. Iowa moves to 11-1-3 on the season, and more importantly, keeps themselves near the top of the Big Ten standings.
“Today this team found an element of resiliency that’s critical to have with a successful team,” said head coach Dave Dilanni. “We could have had a lot of excuses why we didn’t perform today, but the group found a way to look past all that and win at a difficult place to play against a talented team.”
“These ladies take pride and joy in playing with and for each other and that was evident today.”
Although Rutgers had their moments in the opening half, the Hawkeyes dominated the opening 45 minutes on the stat sheet. They outshot the Scarlet Knights 9-4 and held a 6-1 advantage in corner kick opportunities. Iowa had near chances in the 16th and 21st minute, but the Rutgers back line was able to wiggle their way out of trouble both times. However, they could only hold up for so long and the Hawkeyes were rewarded for their work with a goal in the 37th minute.
On their sixth corner kick of the half, Lauren Geczik delivered a ball into the box that pinballed off of several players before finding the feet of Sofia Bush. She quickly fired the ball into the goal for her fourth goal of the season to put the Hawkeyes up a goal going into halftime.
Trailing by a goal in the 48th minute, Rutgers delivered the first scoring chance of the second half. Forward Riley Tiernan found some room in the right side of the box and hit a strike towards the left corner of the goal, but it snuck just wide.
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Moments later in the 50th minute, the Hawkeyes found a second. Midfielder Meike Ingles, who has been fantastic all season on long-distance shots, provided some insurance. She connected on a beautiful strike from outside the box that beat Rutgers GK Olivia Bodmer. The Hawkeyes, who have now won 53 of their last 58 when scoring two or more goals, were in control of the match.
The two-goal advantage was never at risk, but Rutgers nearly made things a bit more interesting in the 89th minute. Ashley Baran had a shot attempt blocked, but it bounced right to Brianna Azevedo for an open chance. Her shot went off the left post and Iowa was able to clear it out of danger. That was it for the Scarlet Knights comeback hopes.
Iowa outshot the Scarlet Knights 14-13 and held a 6-2 advantage in corner kick opportunities. With the win, the Hawkeyes move to 6-1-1 in Big Ten play, which has them sitting third place in the standings with just three games remaining.
Up Next: The Hawkeyes will return home to host the Washington Huskies on Thursday for their first meeting against one of the Big Ten newcomers. Kickoff is set for 7:30pm CT on the Big Ten Network.
