Iowa Women’s Soccer Preview: Defenders/Goalkeeper

The old adage ‘defense wins championships’ holds true for the Iowa Women’s Soccer team, whose recent success is largely attributed to their defensive prowess. Over the past five seasons, the Hawkeyes have totaled a remarkable 45 shutouts and conceded only 78 goals across 93 games (0.83 per gm). Last season, their defense was particularly formidable, ranking third in the country in shutouts (13) and 40th in goals allowed per game (0.76).

“For us, our staple is defending…We’re going to press you, we’re going to be in your face and we’re going to be difficult to play through,” said head coach Dave Dilanni. “We have our core model and that’s going to start with defending and I think championships come down to the defending side of the field.”

The Hawkeyes return three of their four starters on the defensive half of the field, but the graduation of five-year starter Sam Cary means it’s time for someone new to emerge and lead the way. We take a look at the Iowa defense discussing who could step up in the place of Sam Cary and give an outlook on the group as a whole.

Defenders

Projected Starters: Soph Millie Greer, Soph Eva Pattison, Sr Miah Schueller

Bench: Gr Lauren Geczik (Texas A&M), Jr Alexia Griffin (Southern Miss), Soph Emma Hampton, Soph Keira Smyser, Soph Kearstyn Gladden

When the Hawkeyes take the pitch for their season opener, Sam Cary will not be an option to put in the starting lineup for the first time since the 2018-19 season. However, her impact will still be felt, as her leadership and lessons taught on and off the field will give the returning players something to follow going forward. The Sam Cary impact can be compared to that of Kate Martin for the Iowa Women’s Basketball team.

“Absolutely (similar). Our whole team benefited from Sam Cary. What it looks like to be mature, what it looks like to be a pro, what it looks like to pay attention to detail, what it’s like to be consistent,” said Dilanni. “Sam was a great mentor to that freshman group all summer long. She cooked meals for them, she spent time with them and helped them in the transition process and you can already see the benefit.”

Two of those freshman she helped mentor, Millie Greer and Eva Pattison will see their responsibilities grow in their second year with the team. Greer started all 22 games, played the entirety of 17 games, totaled 1,934 minutes and was voted Iowa Defensive Player of the Year. As for Pattison, she emerged as a starter in the second half of the season, finishing with 14 starts and 1,316 minutes played. The two combined for one goal and four assists.

“Some of it (replacing Sam Cary) is putting a little bit more responsibility on Millie Greer and Eva Pattison. Millie played (almost) every minute of every game last year as a true freshman, Eva started most of the games by the midpoint of the season as true freshman…I think part of it is sharing the load with those who can handle a little bit more added responsibility.”

Senior Miah Schueller is expected to be the third starter on the defense after an impressive spring vaulted her into that spot. Schueller has appeared in 31 games with six starts during her Hawkeye career, including a career-high 640 minutes as a freshman back in 2021. Coach Dave Dilanni is hoping Miah can play at the form that she displayed back in the spring.

“Miah was starting all spring and will go into the season as a starter to play alongside Eva and Millie. Miah is incredibly technical and skilled, but her big challenge is to be able to maximize her athleticism, so that she can run with Big Ten soccer players and she’s been able to do that,” said Dilanni. “She did that in a couple of really big games this spring, one of them being Notre Dame and we’re hoping to see that continue through the fall.”

The transfer portal benefited the Hawkeyes’ defense, allowing the coaching staff to add a couple of seasoned players to the roster. Lauren Geczik , a transfer from Texas A&M, played in 39 games, starting 29 of them, and logged a total of 2,674 minutes over three seasons with the Aggies. She scored four goals and provided five assists during her time in College Station. Another new member is Alexia Griffin , a transfer from Southern Miss, who played in 34 games, started 31, and accumulated 2,632 minutes over two seasons with the Golden Eagles.

Both Geczik and Griffin will come off the bench to begin the season, despite being starters at their former schools. It’s also worth noting that Maggie Johnston (midfield) will start the season in the midfield, but spent a bunch of her time as a defender last season. The Hawkeye defense will be in great shape depth wise.

Goalkeeper

Starter: Gr Macy Enneking

Bench: Sr Taylor Kane, Soph Kassidy Lanthier

Macy Enneking returns for her fifth-year at Iowa and brings with her 43 career starts across four seasons, including 22 starts last season. She ranked fifth in the Big Ten last season in save percentage (.733) and third in goals allowed per game (0.76), while her 167 career saves ranks seventh in program history.

“Macy has won a lot of big games in her career and she is unflappable. No moment is too big for her. She’s a gamer,” said Dilanni. “Macy doesn’t really make mistakes, which then allows everybody else to feel confident doing their job. She’s somebody that doesn’t get nervous. The bigger the game, the better she plays.”

Enneking recently was named to the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Watch List. She is one of just seven goalkeepers to be named to the list putting her as one of the best in the country. A First Team All-North Region selection last season, Macy will be in contention to be the first All-American in program history.

“Her foot skills are incredible. Her foot skills are as good as any field player we have on the team, so she’s like having 11 field players on the team. We can use her as an outlet, her distribution is great and she’s very composed,” said Dilanni. “The other biggest thing is she has the best vertical on our team. Her ability to get in high on flighted balls and collect them because of her vertical, because of her athleticism is a huge factor.”

“You can give credit to the defenders all you want, but the reality is, we’re still going to give up one or two really big chances (a game) and she’s going to have to come up and make saves.”

The backup goalkeeper job will belong to former DIII Pomona-Pitzer transfer Taylor Kane . She transferred to Iowa after allowing just eight goals on 59 shots faced (.864) over two seasons with the Sagehens. Kane did not appear in a game last season for the Hawkeyes, but Coach Dilanni is confident in her ability to compete at the Big Ten level if needed.

“Taylor Kane will be our number two. She’s pushing Macy every day and we feel really good about Taylor,” said Dilanni. “Taylor is a little different. She’s a little longer and can make a few saves that Macy can’t make, but she’s not as strong as Macy in terms of distribution. She transferred here a year ago from a DIII school and she’s got more than enough skills to be able to compete at the power four level.”

Outlook

The departure of Sam Cary is a big one and while this group will have to prove themselves early in the season, there’s plenty of reason to believe that they can be in line with last season’s defensive numbers. The group has three returning players who logged over 1,000 minutes last season and added two more through the portal. The team will go from having just one player with over 1,000 minutes logged in the previous season last year to five. I expect this group to be near the top of the Big Ten in defensive numbers.

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