Maryland women’s soccer will look for its second conference victory on Sunday as it travels to Iowa City to face the Iowa Hawkeyes. The Terps have struggled in conference play this season, so far totaling a 1-4-1 record, and are coming off a poor 3-0 loss to Nebraska.
The game is scheduled to begin on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET, and BTN Plus will have the broadcast.
Iowa Hawkeyes (6-5-1, 1-3-1 Big Ten)
2016 record: 8-11, 2-9
Head coach Dave Dilanni. In his fourth season as Iowa’s coach, Dilanni has had an inconsistent tenure for the Hawkeyes. In the last three years, Iowa went 29-28-2 under his watch, including a top-five Big Ten finish in 2014. Before coaching Iowa, Dilanni spent time as Grand Valley State’s head coach, totaling 295 wins and three Division II National Championships.
Players to know
Devin Burns, sophomore, forward, No. 30. In her second season, Burns has asserted herself as one of Iowa’s best players. The sophomore has totaled seven goals and 17 points so far this season, both of which lead the team. She’s also scored two goals in her last three games, and has three game-winning goals on the season.
Kaleigh Haus, sophomore, forward, No. 4. Like Burns, Haus has had a breakout campaign in her second year at Iowa. She opened the season with a hat trick vs. Richmond, and has five total goals on the season to tie for second on the team. However, Haus leads the team with 29 shots, including five in the last two games.
Olivia Fiegel, sophomore, forward, No. 12. The third strong sophomore on this Iowa team, Fiegel is tied with Haus with five goals on the season. She also has a .294 shot percentage, which leads the team among players with more than two shots. However, she hasn’t scored a goal or recorded an assist since August 31.
Strength
Offense. On the season, Iowa is averaging 1.83 goals per game, which is tied for 62nd in the country and ranks sixth in the Big Ten. However, similar to Maryland, Iowa’s offense has struggled to adjust to Big Ten play, only scoring five goals in five games.
Weakness
Goaltending. Despite a strong offense, Iowa’s goaltending has struggled for most of the season. Starting goalkeeper Claire Gaves is allowing an average of 1.28 goals-per-game, which ranks outside the top 150 in the country. As a team, Iowa’s 1.219 goals-allowed-per-game ranks 171, and the team had allowed seven combined golas in the three games prior to the 1-0 victory over Rutgers on Thursday.
Three things to know
- Who plays for Maryland? The Terps’ lineups have been all over the place of late, with Jlon Flippens and Gi Krstec missing each of the last two games. Ray Leone continues to experiment with his lineups, making the team’s strategy for each game pretty unknown until the game begins.
- Can the defense bounce back? For the first time all season, Maryland’s defense struggled vs. Nebraska and let the team down. However, if Flippens returns and with the team’s veteran leadership, this unit should be able to bounce back as it is too talented to struggle for long. Additionally, with the offense likely to struggle again, the defense needs to play well for Maryland to have a chance.
- Can Rachel Egyed keep her success up? Egyed has been Maryland’s best and most consistent player this season, and without her the Terps get blown out by even more against Nebraska. Since Maryland’s best chance of winning games is by keeping the score low, Egyed has to stay strong in net, letting the rest of the team know that protecting the net is under control.