Skip to main content
Iowa
Join Now

Iowa Women's Soccer to host South Dakota State in the NCAA Tournament

On3 imageby: Kyle Huesmann12 hours agoHuesmannKyle
The Hawkeyes will host a tournament game for the third consecutive season. (Photo by Dennis Scheidt)
The Hawkeyes will host a tournament game for the third consecutive season. (Photo by Dennis Scheidt)

On Monday afternoon, the NCAA Soccer Selection Committee revealed the field of 64 for the 2025 NCAA Women’s Soccer Tournament. The Iowa Hawkeyes (11-4-4) earned 5 seed and will host the South Dakota State Jackrabbits (13-2-6) in the first round of the tournament. It’s the third consecutive season that the Hawkeyes will host an NCAA Tournament game. The two sides will meet for just the fourth time, with Iowa winning the last meeting back in 2009.

Should the Hawkeyes advance to the second round, they would face the winner of the matchup between 4 seed LSU and Houston Christian. That game would be hosted by top-seeded Vanderbilt and take place in Nashville, Tennessee.

Taking a quick look at the rest of the region, Vanderbilt earned the top seed in the region, while TCU (2), Tennessee (3), Texas Tech (6), Memphis (7) and Clemson (8) round out the top teams. Other notables in the region, reigning national champion North Carolina will face Tennessee in the opening round, while Illinois will face Memphis.

Going back to the Hawkeyes opening round match, South Dakota State earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, defeating Oral Roberts 2-0 in the Summit League Tournament Championship. The Jackrabbits are 1-1 against teams in the field, with a win over WAC champion Cal Baptist. SDSU is led by Summit League Goalkeeper of the Year Mallorie Benhart and First Team All-Summit defender Lauren Eckerle. In the goal scoring department, the Jackrabbits are led by two freshman, forward Emma Brezenski and midfielder Jenna Maloy who each have scored six goals apiece.

The other matchup is between LSU and Houston Christian. The Tigers earned an at-large bid out of the Southeastern Conference, with a 13-5-4 overall record. They are led by First Team All-SEC forward Ava Galligan (10 gls, 4 ast), Second Team All-SEC forward Ida Hermannsdottir (8 gls, 7 ast) and Second Team All-SEC defender Sydney Cheesman. As for the Bobcats, they earned the automatic bid out of the Southland Conference, defeating Stephen F Austin 1-0 in the tournament championship game. They are led by First Team All-Southland defender Alexia Murillo and leading goal scorer Isabella Dillow (5 gls, 1 ast).

The Hawkeyes enter the tournament with a 11-4-4 record, including finishing in a tie for third-place finish in the Big Ten standings for the just the third time in program history. They are led by All-Big Ten selections, midfielder Sofia Bush (6 ast) and defender Millie Greer (3 gls). True freshmen forward Liana Tarasco (4 gls, 2 ast) and forward Elle Wildman (4 ast) both earned All-Big Ten Freshman Team honors. Fifth-year senior forward Kelli McGroarty leads the team with six goals and two assists.

Overall, this is the Hawkeyes 6th NCAA Tournament in program history and their fifth appearance under head coach Dave Dilanni. Iowa has an all-time record of 4-5 in the tournament and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in program history last season.

You may also like