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Hawkeyes outlast Michigan State 5–3 in crucial Big Ten battle

On3 imageby: Kyle Huesmann10/13/25HuesmannKyle
The Hawkeyes earned a thrilling 5-3 win over Michigan State on Sunday. (Photo by UI Athletics)
The Hawkeyes earned a thrilling 5-3 win over Michigan State on Sunday. (Photo by UI Athletics)

The regular season is starting to wind down, and the Big Ten title race is starting to sort itself out. On Sunday afternoon, the UI Soccer Complex played host to a critical match that would go a long way in figuring out who may, and who may not be in the thick of the trophy hunt with just three more match days remaining. The Hawkeyes and Michigan State delivered a back-and-forth barnburner, but it was Dave Dilanni’s squad netting the final two goals of the match to come away with a 5-3 victory.

“I didn’t think that it would be that way,” said head coach Dave Dilanni. “I thought maybe a 2-1 game, tight game with two teams that are playing with a lot at stake right now, but I was really proud of our group…for us, getting five goals is something that’s been sitting out there for a while and we haven’t been able to do it.”

With the win, Iowa moves to 10-2-3 on the season and 5-1-2 in Big Ten play, which is good for solo second in the conference standings. The eight combined goals are the most in a Hawkeye victory since an 8-1 win over Southern Utah back in 2017. That solo second place standing, has Iowa in a position that they’ve never been in before, with last season’s third place finish the highest they’ve ever had.

“I don’t think anyone expected the outcome to be as high scoring as it was, but we definitely were able to respond,” said Kelli McGroarty. “We just kept plugging and were able to put balls away (in the net).”

“I spoke to them about buying into the dream. These are areas we’ve never been in, and we’ve had a pretty successful program the last five, six years,” said Dilanni. “I want them to compete, and I want them to dream that maybe they can accomplish something that this program has never done.”

There were so many goals scored that it’s hard to touch on all of them without drawing this recap out to a mini novel. The scoring opened in the 16th minute on a goal by MSU forward Emerson Sargeant, but the Hawkeyes found an equalizer in the 29th minute off the foot of Liana Tarasco.

Less than ten minutes later, in the 38th minute, substitute Kelli McGroarty, who had been scoring all her goals with her head, put one in the back of the net with her foot. A quick turn and shot from the top of the box, McGroarty beat MSU goalkeeper Noelle Henning at the near post for her sixth goal of the season to make it 2-1 Hawkeyes.

“I had a personal thing with this team. Two years ago, I was the one that tied it up, and then assisted Sofia Bush for the game-winner,” said McGroarty. “I was really excited to play them because it was a good moment for me a couple years ago, and I was looking to recreate it…I was really happy to finally be able to score with my feet and show I can still do that.”

Coming into the match, goal scoring was a bit of an expectation, with the Spartans ranking first in the Big Ten in goals scored (33), while Iowa was in third place with 26 goals. The way the first 45 minutes played out, both sides expected more of the same over the final 45 of the match.

“We definitely felt there was going to be some more goals in the locker room (at halftime,” said McGroarty. “Everyone felt that. We were right. There were a lot more.”

There was no waiting around either. The goals came fast and furious to open the second half of play. Michigan State was the first to punch. Just 65 seconds out of the break, Sofia Beerworth attacked the right side of the box and sent a sharp shot across the front of goal for a back post equalizer.

The Hawkeyes quickly responded with maybe the most unique goal you’ll see from them this season. In the 52nd minute, a foul in the box on previous goal scorer Emerson Sargeant gave Iowa a penalty kick with a chance to reclaim the lead. However, instead of a forward, or any field player for that matter, it was goalkeeper Fernanda Mayrink that stepped up a buried it from the spot to make it 3-2 Hawkeyes.

That would have been a great story. Iowa goalkeeper converts a penalty kick that holds up as the winning goal in a crucial conference win. That headline held up for all of 57 seconds and then it was no longer, with Maggie Illig netting a brilliant header off of a corner kick to tie the match once more. In the span of 6:41, three goals were scored, with the score going from 2-1 Iowa to level at 3-3.

“You’ve just got to be able to keep your composure and know that there’s always time,” said McGroarty. “Games like we’ve had against Purdue and Northwestern, goals can happen in the final seconds of the game. We know that we’ve just got to keep going and anything can happen.”

To that point of the match, anything and everything had happened, but the fun was not yet done. Fortunately, for Iowa, they were going to be the ones to have the rest of the fun.

In the 67th minute, the Hawkeyes grabbed a lead that they wouldn’t relinquish. They pushed down the field on the attack and Shae Doherty found herself with some space and tried to put Iowa in front with a shot from distance. MSU keeper Noelle Henning made an impressive initial save, but she couldn’t punch it over the bar. Instead, it bounced off the crossbar and fell in front of goal for Elle Wildman to clean up for the goal.

There had already been seven goals, so why not add one more for good measure? A late sub in the 84th minute, Berkley Binggeli muscled an MSU defender off the ball and scored an exclamation point goal to close out the 5-3 victory.

“Shae is playing some really great soccer, and playing within herself, and is very impactful,” said Dilanni. “Elle Wildman has had a fantastic freshman season, but she’s just not been rewarded with goals. Liana Tarasco, same thing, but both of them were rewarded today with hard work and staying committed to the progress.”

“Even Berkley Binggeli at the end. She buzzes around and creates some stuff against (the flow of) the game, against the run of play, and gets that fifth goal.”

Although a 5-3 final is not a super common result for the Hawkeyes, both the players and the coaches were happy with how the team responded when put in tough situations throughout the match.

“The way Michigan State plays, they put so much pressure on you and commit so many numbers forward. You have to be prepared to be able to handle that pressure,” said Dilanni. “The other aspect is that you’ve got to counterpunch. I thought we took on a lot of direct play, but then we counterpunched and got back into spaces and exposed their back line, which has not happened most of the year.”

FINAL STATS

#24 Iowa 5 Michigan State 3

16′ – Goal MSU Emerson Sargeant (1-0), ’29 – Goal Iowa Liana Tarasco (1-1), 38′ – Goal Iowa Kelli McGroarty (2-1), 47′ – Goal MSU Sofia Beerworth (2-2), 52′ – Goal Iowa Fernanda Mayrink (PK) (3-2), 53′ – Goal MSU Maggie Illig (3-3), 67′ – Goal Iowa Elle Wildman (4-3), 90′ – Goal Iowa Berkley Binggeli (5-3)

Shots: Iowa 16-14 Shots on Goal: Iowa 11-5 Corners: Tie 8-8 Fouls: Iowa 20-10

Up Next, the Hawkeyes will travel out west for a matchup with the 7th-ranked UCLA Bruins on Thursday night at Wallis Annenberg Stadium. Kickoff is set for 8:00pm CT on BTN+.

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