Iowa Women’s Soccer Preview: Forwards/Midfielders

The Iowa Women’s Soccer program has always been built on the foundation of having a good defense. So much so, that some reporters ask head coach Dave Dilanni, ‘oh, so you’re like Kirk (Ferentz)?’

“Yes, we do a lot on the defensive side of the ball,” says Dilanni. “But, as we have evolved with talent and our roster has changed, we’re now starting to open the game up a little bit and take some more risks, get the ball down the field faster, be a bit more athletic and in transition.”

Last season, the Hawkeyes won the Big Ten Tournament, hosted an NCAA Tournament game and finished ranked for the first time in program history while ranking 96th in goals per game (1.64). Over the last ten seasons, the Hawkeyes have averaged 1.45 goals per game and only twice in the past 13 seasons have they averaged over 2.00 goals per game. Coming into this season, Dave Dilanni feels like he has assembled a roster that could be a bigger offensive threat than some of his prior teams.

“Goal scoring at the highest level (in the Big Ten) is a bit more challenging, but a 1-0 win is something that I would say is underachieving for this team with the options that we have. I think this team has the ability to score at a little bit more of a prolific rate.”

Forwards

Projected Starters: Gr Kelli McGroarty, Sr Kenzie Roling, Fr Berit Parten OR Gr Maya Hansen (South Dakota State)

Bench: Sr Delaney Holtey, Jr Shae Doherty, Jr Morgan Lietz, Soph Sophie Kincaid, Fr Caleigh Collard, Fr Abby Warner

The Hawkeyes return all three starting forwards from last season, while a pair of newcomers have the coaching staff excited for the outlook of the group coming into the year. Iowa led the Big Ten in goal scoring back in 2019, but has finished top five in the conference in scoring just twice in the last ten seasons.

“I do think championships come down to the defending side of the field, but to win games and be at that high level, you’ve got to score goals. You’ve got to have people who want to score goals and have the ability to do it.”

There’s two types of goal scorers. There are natural goal scorers and there are players who just find a way to put the ball in the back of the net when their team needs it most. Graduate senior forward Kelli McGroarty belongs to the second category. She finds a way to score goals. Last season, McGroarty tallied seven goals and four assists, led the team in shots with 52, and was named Team Offensive MVP. Coach Dilanni says that she is dealing with some ‘physical things’ that might limit her early on, but once fully healthy, she’s expected to be an integral part of the Hawkeyes’ lineup.

“Kelli is a soccer junkie. Wants to win, wants to compete, likes to be gritty, get dirty. She’s ok getting into tackles, okay getting into spaces in the box where she might get hit, but also could result in a goal,” said Dilanni. “She’s elite in the air, heading the ball, probably the best in terms of timing and skill.”

There figure to be a couple of players alongside McGroarty in the team goal scoring race and South Dakota State transfer forward Maya Hansen is expected to be one of them. A four-time All-Summit League selection over five seasons with the Jackrabbits, Hansen compiled program records for points (107) and goals (44). She was named Summit League Offensive Player of the Year in 2022 after putting up 11 goals and five assists.

“Maya is a goal scorer. She’s not the most athletic forward that we have, she’s not the tallest forward that we have, but she’s gritty, she’s competitive and she’s combative,” said Dilanni. “Maya and Berit Parten like to shoot, they like to take thier chances, take risks and that’s not normal in the women’s game…Transfers will take a little time, but you already see it on the field. She lives in the box and has a nose for the goal.”

Now we go from the veteran, proven DI goal scorer to true freshman Berit Parten who already made herself known with a hat trick in the Hawkeyes 7-0 preseason exhibition win over South Dakota. A native of Minnehaha, MN, Parten finished her high school career with 151 goals and 79 assists, while she was a three-time All-State selection and named East Metro Player of the Year as a senior. Iowa has not had a freshman score more than three goals in a season since Gianna Gourley scored five goals in 2019.

“She’s two-footed, that’s a huge part. She can score with her left, she can score with her right and she’s constantly looking to shoot and put something on frame. She has the green light from us,” said Dilanni. “(Berit) can score in a plethora of ways and she’s done that her entire youth career. I don’t see why that would stop here.”

Rounding out the potential starters at forward for the Hawkeyes is senior Kenzie Roling . Last season, as a junior, Roling started all 22 games, totaled three goals, five assists and 1,782 minutes played. Coach Dilanni says that Kenzie can be used in several different spots across the formation making her a versatile piece in the lineup.

“Kenzie will play a little bit up top as a forward and as a wide forward. Her strength is that she is athletic, she’s fit. She is a natural goal scorer, but we’re still pushing her to be a bit more aggressive and hungry…She’s fit enough to do the work out wide and get can get a lot of service in to the box and is versatile to really play the midfield, up front and out wide.”

Two other names to keep in mind at forward would be juniors Shae Doherty and Morgan Lietz . A transfer from Belmont, Doherty appeared in 21 games with 13 starts last season, finishing with one goal, two assists and 844 minutes played. As for Lietz, she appeared in 20 games with six starts last season, totaling two assists and 645 minutes played.

Midfielders

Projected Starters: Gr Rielee Fetty, Soph Sofia Bush, Gr Maggie Johnston, Sr Elle Otto

Bench: Gr Madison Wilson (Dayton), Sr Meike Ingles, Soph Abby Skiff, Jr Kellen Fife, Soph Sonya Mehta, Fr Keira Billis, Fr Charlotte Bien, Fr Berkely Binggeli

In the midfield, the Hawkeyes return three of four starters from last season and six of their top seven in terms of minutes played. They are also set to get senior Meike Ingles back healthy after playing in just one game over the last two seasons.

Attacking Midfielders

We start our breakdown of the midfielders with the two projected attacking midfield starters. A transfer from Mississippi State, senior Elle Otto has spent two seasons with the Hawkeyes. Last season, Otto started 20 games and played 1,456 minutes. She has totaled eight goals and eight assists during her time at Iowa. Otto has experience at a couple of different positions during her collegiate career, but will start the season as an attacking midfielder.

“Elle transferred in from Mississippi State two years ago. They used her in a different way. They used her out wide, we wanted to use her in the middle of the field, so she played as one of our lead forwards,” said Dilanni. “She’ll be like an attacking midfielder that will be right underneath Berit Parten and Maya Hansen. Elle is less of a goal scorer than she is a distributor. High work rate, high fitness rate, very competitive.”

The other projected starting attacking midfielder is sophomore Sofia Bush . As a true freshman last season, Bush appeared in all 22 games, made 15 starts and was second among Iowa freshman with 1,587 minutes played. She finished with three goals, two assists and was an All-Big Ten Freshman Team selection. The coaching staff is looking for her to take another step with her playmaking this season.

“For Sofia, the biggest thing is her belief that she’s one of the best players in the program and one of the best players on the field. We want her to be a bit more confidence and aggresive on the ball. We want her to be able to feel that she can take players on off the dribble and create opportunities for others,” said Dilanni. “Sofia is right on line with her progression, we just want her to continue to believe in herself as much as we do.”

The big name to keep an eye on is senior Meike Ingles . There’s a very high probability that she does not start the season in the starting lineup, but having her healthy for a full season would be a huge boost for the Hawkeyes.

“Meike, when she’s healthy, is one of the top five best players on our team and the time off we’re hoping has been helpful for her physically to be able to be a bit more durable.”

As a true freshman, Ingles appeared in 17 games, started 14 and played 1,295 minutes. She finished with four goals and one assist en route to being named a Top Drawer First Team All-Freshman selection. However, since then, different health things have popped up causing her to play just nine games over the last three seasons, including just one game over the last two seasons.

“Unbelievable soccer IQ, probably highest soccer IQ on our team and incredibly dynamic, so we’re hoping that she’s able to get a streak of good faith because we’re a better team because of her.”

The coaching staff also went into the transfer portal in search of some more offensive midfielder help to go with Sofia Bush and Kenzie Roling. Dayton transfer midfielder Madison Wilson spent four seasons with the Flyers appearing in 50 games with 30 starts. She totaled nine goals and nine assists, while she accumulated 2,635 minutes played. Dave Dilanni says that her experience was exactly what Iowa was looking for.

“We felt like we needed more help underneath the forwards in terms of dribble penetration and being a bit more multi-skilled. Sofia Bush is that way, but she’s only a sophomore, so we wanted to get a little bit older, a little bit more experience in terms of ability to pass the ball, to dribble and break players down in the final third. I feel like we got that with Madison.”

Defensive Midfielders

Looking at the defensive midfielders, the Hawkeyes are led by graduate senior Rielee Fetty . Since she arrived at Iowa in 2020, Fetty has been a starter, appearing in 73 games with 69 starts. She has only scored one goal during her career, but leads the team with 5,852 minutes played and has been a critical piece of the lineup for the entirety of her time with the Hawkeyes.

“She’s the glue of our team. You take her off the field, you’re at risk to give up a goal. She’s the one that stirs the entire lineup for us,” said Dilanni. “Rielee gets no accolades because of what she does. She’s just a player that sits in the middle of the field, wins all the balls and gives it to other players…She covers all the ground, more ground than anybody else on the team and wins all the tackles.”

Starting alongside Rielee Fetty will be graduate senior Maggie Johnston . Entering her fifth year with the Hawkeyes, Johnston has appeared in 61 games with 48 starts during her career, including starting every game as a defender last season. She is third on the team in career minutes played with 3,838, including a career-high 1,777 minutes last season.

“Maggie came in as an attacking player, we moved her to defender. She’s probably going to live a little bit as a defender and as a midfielder this year,” said Dilanni. “Dynamic, athletic, can cover some ground, has a bit more offensive skills than Rielee Fetty does, but very similar in nature with how they play.”

The other names to know in the Hawkeye midfield are sophomore Abby Skiff and junior Kellen Fife . As a true freshman last season, Skiff appeared in 19 games with two starts and totaled 589 minutes. Fife appeared in 16 games with seven starts as a sophomore, totaling one goal and 655 minutes.

Outlook

The Hawkeyes have not had a double-digit goalscorer since Cloe Lacasse (12 goals) did it back in 2014. Could the streak end at nine years? It’s certainly possible, with natural goalscorers like Maya Hansen and Berit Parten on the roster. However, even if no one is able to hit that ten goal mark, I still expect this to be a more threatening attack compared to years past. The forward and attacking midfielder group has depth and quality, while the newcomers compliment the returning players. Look for this to be the best scoring Iowa team since the 2019 group that ranked 26th in the country in scoring.

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