Olympic Spotlight: Soccer Loses Sweet Sixteen Heartbreaker

Iowa soccer made history on Friday, besting Georgetown 1-0 to reach the Sweet Sixteen. Unfortunately, the magical season came to an end on Sunday when the Hawkeyes fell 1-0 to Virginia Tech.

Friday’s match was evenly matched throughout. The teams each notched three shots in the first half, but none truly challenged the goalkeepers. Iowa looked to play the ball long early and often but was just a tick off on their timing throughout the first half, being whistled offside four times in the first half.

As the second half began, the Hawks began to tilt the field, controlling the ball more and more in the offensive half. In the 54th minute, Iowa won a free kick near midfield. Goalkeeper Macy Enneking stepped up as she often does for long-range free kicks and sent a ball into no man’s land in the box.

The Hoyas goalie and defender had some miscommunication, running into each other as they each went to clear the ball. The deflected ball bounced to Maya Hansen, who headed it to the top of the box where Meike Ingles was ready and waiting to launch a wonderful volley over the goalkeeper and into the back of the net.

The final 30 minutes of the match were intense, but the Hawkeye defense was up for the challenge. The Hoyas only created one major scoring opportunity, which Enneking saved, and otherwise were held in check as the Hawkeyes continued to push for an insurance goal. Iowa never did find the back of the net again, but the defense was more than enough to power the Hawkeyes through to their first-ever Sweet Sixteen.

The win gave this team a share of the school record for wins in a season and Sunday’s matchup against Virginia Tech gave the Hawks a perfect opportunity to rewrite the history books yet again, but it was not meant to be.

The teams played to another first half scoreless stalemate, but each spent a portion of the half threatening to break the game open. While Friday’s game was played more in the midfield, with each team struggling to create scoring chances, Sunday’s match was more open. The Hawkeyes generated the best opportunities of the half, floating a cross in that had to be saved by a diving Hokie keeper. creating an opportunity for a wide-open header in the box, which was unfortunately not turned on net, and sending another shot off the crossbar, missing the back of the net by inches.

As the second half began, the physicality took a major step up. The Hawks and Hokies each had players booked and the whistles came early and often as each team laid it all on the line for a chance at the Elite Eight. Iowa put together another great opportunity in the 62nd minute after a loose ball in the box fell to an open Hawkeye. The shot beat the keeper but was again denied by the woodwork. In the 79th minute, Virginia Tech sent a cross into the box that was deflected by Enneking and found its way to the back of the net. The goal would go on to be the game-winner, an especially brutal gut punch for a group that had accomplished so much throughout the season.

The loss stings most because Iowa had the best chances of the game and were only inches from turning a 1-0 loss into a 2-1 or even 3-1 win. The Hawkeyes matched Virginia Tech’s physicality and generated chances through well-placed through balls and combination passing. For the match to end on a fluky goal feels unfair to a team that accomplished so much throughout the season and a senior class that has elevated this program to a new stratosphere.

Enneking ends her Iowa career as the Hawkeyes’ all-time leader in wins and shutouts, while Ingles finished the season tied for the lead in goals with freshman Berit Parten. Grad students like Rielee Fetty, Maya Hansen, Elle Otto, Kenzie Roling, Kelli McGroarty, and Maggie Johnston were mainstays in the lineup throughout their careers. With their graduations, the Hawkeyes lose the last members of that 2020 Cinderella team.

The group came into the 2020 postseason with only two conference wins and made the tournament only because of COVID scheduling quirks. Instead of folding, the Hawks put together four straight upset wins, setting the stage for the miraculous growth for the Hawkeyes over the next four years, a legacy that now includes two Big Ten Tournament titles, three NCAA tournament berths, four NCAA tournament wins and the school’s first-ever Sweet Sixteen.

The loss hurts and will always feel like a missed opportunity, but it shouldn’t negate what was an incredible season for this group of Hawkeyes and extraordinary careers for the most accomplished senior class in program history. Head coach Dave Dianni and these seniors put this program on the map, and the Hawkeyes are motivated to make this year the standard, rather than the exception.

Congratulations to Coach Dianni and the entire Hawkeye soccer team on an amazing year.

Iowa women’s wrestling competed in the Missouri Valley Open over the weekend, racking up five top-three finishes. Brianna Gonzalez was the Hawkeyes’ lone champion on the weekend, claiming the title at 117 with a 10-0 tech fall win against Camille Fournier from Texas Wesleyan.

Rianne Murphy (103), Ava Bayless (110), and Naomi Simon (180) all finished second in their respective weight classes, and Emilie Gonzalez finished 3rd for Iowa at 110.

The Hawkeyes earned the most match points of any school competing with 661 and led the tournament with 37 tech falls. The Hawks will be back on the mat on December 7th when they compete in the Jewell Dual Tournament in Liberty, Missouri.

Hawkeye volleyball (10-20, 4-14 Big Ten) dropped a pair of matches in straight sets last week, falling 3-0 to #2 Nebraska (28-1, 18-0) and 3-0 to #16 Minnesota (18-10, 11-7). The Hawkeyes were overmatched talent-wise in both matches. Against the Huskers, Iowa did what they could to keep up, but weren’t able to put the points away often enough and the athleticism of the Huskers eventually overpowered Iowa.

Against the Gophers, Iowa played hard during the first two sets, fighting back in the first set before falling 25-20 and leading Minnesota 15-12 in the 2nd set. Unfortunately, a 13-3 run by the Gophers gave them the set 2 win and they kept the momentum rolling into the 3rd set, which they won 25-12.

Claire Ammeraal registered a double-double against Minnesota with 16 assists and 10 digs and Michelle Urquhardt was just short of a double-double of her own with nine kills and nine digs.

Iowa will close out its season on the West Coast this week, facing UCLA (13-14, 7-11) (coached in part by this writer’s younger brother) on Wednesday (9:00, BTN+) and USC (19-9, 11-7) on Friday (9:00, BTN+).

Iowa swimming and diving hosted the Hawkeye Invitational last weekend, coming away with a slew of podium finishes, lifetime bests, top-10 marks, and even a school record. Olivia Swalley was the star of the weekend for the Hawkeyes. She won the 400IM event with a school-record time of 4:10.54, besting the previous Iowa record by nearly two seconds. Just for good measure, Swalley also bettered her 4th-best mark in the 200m breaststroke with a 2:12.42 PR and won the 200IM with a 1:57.89 mark that improved on her 2nd-best time in school history.

Olivia Frantum and Alix O’Brien each set career-bests in the 1,650m freestyle, with Frantum finishing in 16:39.75 to claim 9th on Iowa’s all-time list and O’Brien finishing in 16:42.33 to claim 10th. O’Brien also entered the top-10 in the 500m free with a 4:48.53 mark which is 10th in school history.

Two freshmen broke into Iowa’s top-10 on the weekend as well. Freshman Rachel Dildine swam Iowa’s 6th-fastest 50m free ever with a 22.90 time on Thursday and Nora Kemp swam Iowa’s 9th-fastest 200m free in 1:48.46.

Makayla Hughbanks won the 3m diving competition, improving on her 4th-best mark in school history with a 358.10 score.

The youngest members of the Hawkeye team continue to be its stars. Swalley looks like one of Iowa’s best-ever, even as a Sophomore, and the new freshman class is already making its way into the Iowa record books. The Hawks are going to have multiple NCAA qualifiers this season and it’s a joy to see as the program continues its rebuild post-Covid cuts.

They’ll be back in the pool on December 13th against Iowa State