Women’s Soccer heads on the road to Iowa and Nebraska for a two-game Big Ten trip

Following a 1-0 loss at the previous No. 5, and new No. 1 team in the nation, Michigan State, the Penn State women’s soccer team heads on the road to continue Big Ten play against No. 18 Iowa.

The Nittany Lions fell to No. 15 in the country following their loss to Michigan State and less-than-stellar play against a Columbia team that played up to Penn State and forced a closer game than expected.

Head coach Erica Dambach’s team sits at 8-2-1 (2-1-0 B1G) on the year with their only other loss coming to Virginia, another ranked opponent.

Penn State is 26-4-1 all-time against Iowa but hasn’t taken them down since March of 2021.

Dambach spoke in her media session about preparations for the game, saying her coaching staff and roster are preparing for a physical game against Iowa and an even more physical game against Nebraska. Iowa leads the conference with 124 fouls in only 10 games played while Nebraska ranks third with 106 whistles against them.

She praised Iowa’s coaching staff and their experienced roster (17 upperclassmen), knowing they will come out scouting well with a solid game plan in a home match for the Hawkeyes.

Scouting Iowa

Iowa (8-0-3) (2-0-1 Big Ten) has yet to lose and is a perfect 4-0 in home matches, including a win over No. 5 Wake Forest. They picked up a draw on the road in Columbus against No. 11 Ohio State and enter this match against the Nittany Lions with a strong resume.

The Hawkeyes take around 18 shots a game, good for second in the Big Ten behind Penn State who averages close to 19 shots per 90 minutes. Expect a ton of opportunities for both sides in what should be a physical affair.

Iowa’s Berit Parten leads the way with six goals for Iowa while Kaitlyn MacBean paces the Nittany Lions with 10 on the year, good for second in the conference.

The Iowa defense has held up despite offering up plenty of free kick opportunities, only squandering four goals on the year as goaltender Macy Enneking has played lights out in goal. Solid goaltending is paramount against a Penn State team that generates so many chances. Enneking and Nittany Lion goalie Amanda Poorbaugh have six clean sheets apiece, tying them for third in the Big Ten.

Scouting Nebraska

The Cornhuskers are off to a rough start this season and will enter this week with a 3-6 (0-3 B1G) record. Nebraska was the No. 6 team in the country in the D1 Coaches Preseason Poll but fell out of the rankings by the middle of August after back-to-back losses to unranked Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.

They head into this week on the back of a four-game losing streak including three Big Ten losses to Michigan, Iowa and Michigan State.

Nebraska ranks 17th in the conference with 20 goals allowed and sits in the bottom half of goals scored. Sarah Weber has been a bright spot as her 14 points and six goals lead the way for the Cornhuskers.

Before their matchup with Penn State, Nebraska will host the 4-4-2 (0-2-1 B1G) Illinois Fighting Illini on Thursday night while the Nittany Lions face off against Iowa.

Goalkeeper Roulette

Something to keep an eye on this week is the return of Mackenzie Gress to the Nittany Lions following her travel with the United States U-20 Women’s Soccer Team at the U-20 World Cup. Gress and the U-20 squad picked up third place but Gress suffered a concussion that Dambach said she is still recovering from.

Assuming her recovery goes as expected, Dambach said she could potentially be seen during either of the matchups this week and make her return to the lineup for the first time since the opener against Texas Tech.

Current goalie Amanda Poorbaugh has been nothing short of lights out, giving up only six goals with 29 saves, creating a battle for the starting spot which Dambach has deemed a great thing, and said, “I have two starting goalies, that’s a good problem to have.”

Penn State will face Iowa at 8 p.m. EST Thursday before heading to Nebraska for a 1 p.m. EST kickoff.

Jeremy Rose is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jrose0531@gmail.com.