On Sunday, the Colorado College women’s soccer team faced a top-25 opponent for the first time since 2019 when it took on the University of Iowa in Missoula, MT. The Tigers took a first-half lead after Finley Schoenbeck scored her first college goal. However, the Hawkeyes responded with four unanswered goals and won 4-1.
CC’s last game against a seeded opponent was on September 17, 2021, a double-overtime thriller against No. 20 Arizona State.
On Sunday, the Tigers challenged the defending Big Ten champions in the first half of the two teams’ first meeting since 2005. Finley Schoenbeck received a fantastic ball from the second grader Tyler Rosewho perfectly directed a pass from the right side of the field into the goal when Schoenbeck got between two defenders and deflected the pass into the net – her first career goal.
“Great first half for us,” head coach Keri Sanchez said. “We stuck to the game plan and worked on defense to be difficult to break. We knew we would get chances on the counterattack and the team scored a great early goal.”
Although CC faced seven shots from the Hawkeyes in the first half, it only took one to put the ball in the net thanks to a fantastic pass from Rose to Schoenbeck.
Iowa scored its first goal in the 30th minute, tying the game at 1-1 after Sofia Bush scored an unassisted goal.
goalkeeper Regan Wallace made two saves in the first half; the sophomore finished the game with five saves.
The Hawkeyes continued to attack the box in the second half, firing 12 shots on goal compared to seven in the first half. Berkley Binggeli’s goal in the 57th minute gave Iowa the lead.
Fourteen minutes later, the Tigers tried to clear their box, but some pinball rebounds left a hole open and Iowa scored again with another goal by Binggeli. Three minutes later, Iowa scored another goal to seal the win and earn its first program victory over the Tigers.
“The result didn’t reflect the team’s performance, but when we were behind, we wanted to get the win, so we were a little overwhelmed and that cost us the win,” Sanchez said. “We’re proud of the group’s performance and their improvement from Game 1 to Game 2.”
Kaelin Enga led the Tigers with two shots, including one on goal, in her 40 minutes on the field. Ava Risser led the players without a goalkeeper with 87 minutes played. The experienced defender played 159 minutes during the week.
CC opens play in five days at Stewart Field when South Dakota State comes to town on Thursday, August 22nd at 6:00 p.m. MT. The Tigers host their in-state opponent, Northern Colorado, on Sunday, August 25th at 6:00 p.m. MT.
