Soccer to blend in lots of youth
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The 2008 season can be summed up in one word: freshmen. Sophomores-to-be Morgan Showalter, Alyssa Cosnek, and Suzy Levett débuted strong field presence last season. Iowa head coach Ron Rainey is continuing the fresh talent by adding nine new freshmen to the 2009 mix.
What you should know
The 2009 season features 24 returning players and nine freshmen to significantly deepen the Hawkeye squad. Iowa comes off a 9-11-1 2008 season, but some are seeing more Ws in the future.
“We have a lot of young players coming in, and they’re combining with our returners,” Rainey said. “I think we will be able to take another step forward with our group.”
With 33 players on the team, Kaeding views practices as constant tryouts for starting positions, increasing their intensity.
“It will be really cool, because people will have to compete for spots,” she said. “It will make practices a lot tougher — which we need.”
Whom you should know
Seniors-to-be Jackie Kaeding and Alex Seydel will be leading this year’s team.
Seydel started all 21 games for the Hawkeyes in 2008, and Rainey does not plan on diminishing the San Diego native’s role this fall.
“Someone real important to us is Alex Seydel,” Rainey said. “She is such a hard worker for us, and we just want her to have a great presence in our center field — controlling the tempo and kind of being our engine.”
Iowa’s offense was also energized by junior-to-be Keli McLaughlin. She had a .226 shot percentage, reaching the net seven times for the Hawkeyes.
Rainey is using summer to focus making the team an efficient unit.
“One of the biggest things that Coach [Rainey] is working on with us is having us all work together as a team — defense, midfield, and forwards,” McLaughlin said.
Main rival
Iowa will be seeking to avenge conference rival Penn State after suffering two staggering losses from the Nittany Lions in fall 2008. Penn State defeated the Hawkeyes 1-0 in overtime in Iowa’s last road match of the season. The teams met again three weeks later in the opening round of the Big Ten Soccer Tournament but the results were the same. Despite Iowa’s valiant comeback effort, the Nittany Lions won 2-1 in Iowa City en route to becoming tournament champions.
Top Scorer: Sophomore-to-be Alyssa Cosnek, 9
Most Assists: Sophomore-to-be Morgan Showalter, 9
Most Saves: Sophomore-to-be Emily Moran, 74
Key Win: Defeated No. 16 Illinois, 1-0, on Oct. 10
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