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Early red card dooms Iowa Soccer against UCLA

On3 imageby: Kyle Huesmann10/17/25HuesmannKyle
The Bruins dominated after an early red card on the Hawkeyes. (Photo by UCLA Athletics)
The Bruins dominated after an early red card on the Hawkeyes. (Photo by UCLA Athletics)

There wasn’t much of a chance for the Hawkeyes on Thursday night in Los Angeles. An early red card for Iowa put them a player down more nearly the entirety of the match, allowing UCLA to roll to a 3-0 victory. With the loss, the Hawkeyes fall to 10-3-3 on the season.

The first six minutes of the match were frantic. As frantic as you’ll see all season. Iowa earned corner kick just 30 seconds into the match, but the Bruins were able to clear and get Payten Cooper running on a 70-yard transition break. She got into the box untouched and sent a shot on goal, but Iowa GK Taylor Kane made the 1v1 save to keep the game scoreless.

Unfortunately, it was far from the first save that Kane would be forced to make and it was less than a minute later that UCLA found the score sheet. A slight touch ahead from Emma Egizii led Kara Croone into the box and she put a shot at the far post for the opening goal of the match in the 2nd minute.

In the 6th minute, a disastrous sequence changed the match completely. A great through ball from Emma Egizii sprung Payten Cooper for a chance on a slashing run into the box, but Iowa midfielder Sofia Bush got a hold of her jersey denying her of a goal scoring chance. Match official Trevor Wiseman sent off Bush with a red card and although Cooper missed the ensuing penalty kick, the match was decided. For nearly 85 minutes, the Hawkeyes were going to have to play 10v11.

It went about as well as you’d expect, but Dave Dilanni’s squad fought valiantly to stay in the match. They made it to halftime trailing just 1-0, thanks in large part to goalkeeper Taylor Kane who would finish the match with a career-high 13 saves. That’s the most in a match by an Iowa goalkeeper since 2010 and the most by a Power 4 goalkeeper this season.

Playing an 11v10 match for 85 minutes yielded an incredibly slant towards UCLA, as they outshot Iowa 30-1, including a 16-1 advantage in shots on goal and holding 65% of the possession. Finally, in the 60th minute, the Bruins broke through to make it 2-0 on a goal from Emma Egizii who finished the match with a goal and an assist. Freshman Grace Shank added a goal in the 74th minute to give UCLA a 3-0 victory.

FINAL STATS

#14 UCLA 3 #5 Iowa 0

6′ – Iowa Red Card Sofia Bush

2′ – Goal UCLA Kara Croone (1-0), 60′ – Goal UCLA Emma Egizii (2-0), 74′ – Goal UCLA Grace Shank (3-0)

Shots: UCLA 30-1 Shots on Goal: UCLA 16-1 Corners: UCLA 11-1 Fouls: UCLA 9-3

Up Next, the Hawkeyes will stay out west for a matchup with the USC Trojans on Sunday night at Rawlinson Stadium. Kickoff is set for 8:00pm CT on BTN+.

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