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Hawkeyes earn a hard-fought 2-0 win over Minnesota

On3 imageby: Kyle Huesmann8 hours agoHuesmannKyle
Iba Oching scored the opening goal in the Hawkeyes win over the Gophers. (Photo by Dennis Scheidt)
Iba Oching scored the opening goal in the Hawkeyes win over the Gophers. (Photo by Dennis Scheidt)

The Big Ten rarely has off nights on the schedule. It’s a tough conference that will test your team’s ability to play through adversity and earn a result. Few teams have felt that grind more than Iowa through three conference matches. After a sluggish first half, the 14th-ranked Hawkeyes surged late when it counted, netting two second-half goals to shut out rival Minnesota, 2–0, on Sunday in Iowa City.

“I didn’t like how we started. Thought we were a little flat for 10-15 minutes, but Minnesota didn’t punish us, and I think as the game went on, I really liked how we played,” said head coach Dave Dilanni. “I think we’ve got some players that are starting to take ownership.”

Through the first hour plus of the match, both sides searched to find real scoring chances. The possession was pretty even, but the Hawkeyes seemed to be the team that was closest to breaking through. Still, after 70 minutes, just like in Thursday’s match against Purdue, thoughts of a draw began to creep in. Instead of getting frustrated, sophomore forward Berkley Binggeli says it’s important to trust their coaching.

“I think just trusting the plan and trusting the scout,” she said. “Our coach, Kyle Venter, he gave us a great scout for Minnesota, and I think we all knew our role, and it was clear what we needed to do. I think times like that, it’s just trusting each other, trusting the plan and then it’ll come for us.”

“This group, they fight, they do what’s needed until the job is done and we talk a lot about it takes what it takes. They know what the definition of that is and the definition for me is that you need to continue to invest until the result occurs for you, not against you,” said Dilanni. “I love the leadership, and I think the mentality is to compete until the job is done.”

Once again, the Hawkeyes fought until they got the result they wanted. In the 71st minute, it was the freshman Elle Wildman with the run to create a scoring chance. She went 1v1 with a Gopher defender and got to the end line before chipping a ball back in front of the goal towards the back post side. Midfielder Iba Oching was there and finished the deal with a one-touch goal to give the Hawkeyes the lead.

“We thought we could get into those spaces, and Wildman got in those spaces. I think Sofia Bush got into those spaces in the first half and then we thought there’d have to be some decisions on the service,” said Dilanni. “If you can’t get it across the front post quickly, we wanted to clip the ball in the air and give opportunities to get on the end of it.”

“Great composure by Elle running to the touch line at full pace and to be able to clip a nice textured ball at the back post.”

No matter how a match plays out, a 1-0 lead in the late stages is scary. In their Big Ten opener against Northwestern, the Hawkeyes were on the other side of it, slotting in a late goal to earn a draw with the Wildcats. This time around, with the lead in their favor, they got a second goal to put the game out of reach.

In the 81st minute, forward Berkley Binggeli got into the box with a transition opportunity, but went to the ground, fouled by Minnesota defender Keegan Schmeiser, resulting in a penalty kick being given. It wasn’t quite as dramatic as her heroic header against Purdue was on Thursday, but Binggeli stepped up and converted from the penalty spot to make it 2-0 Hawkeyes with under ten minutes left on the clock.

“I don’t really mind taking penalty kicks. I don’t get too nervous, so I was confident, and I knew I could put it away,” said Binggeli. “After getting fouled, I was out of breath, I won’t lie, so I took a second to try and slow my breathing, take a second to gather myself and then just buried it in the back of the net.”

“2-0 is a lot better than 1-0 and you never know in our game. You can play really well and still tie a game or lose it,” said Dilanni. “I like their conviction to be able to keep fighting to put another goal in…Berkley works so hard and she’s one of the kindest kids we have on the team.”

FINAL STATS

#14 Iowa 2 Minnesota 0

’71 – Goal Iowa Iba Oching (1-0), 81′ – Goal Iowa Berkley Binggeli (PK) (2-0)

Shots: Iowa 11-6 Shots on Goal: Iowa 8-2 Corners: Iowa 4-1 Fouls: Iowa 14-5

Up Next, the Hawkeyes go on the road for a Thursday night match against the 21st-ranked Wisconsin Badgers in Madison. Kickoff is set for 7:00pm CT on BTN+.

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