Iowa soccer team expects to win

Having 10 one-goal losses in a season could be demoralizing.

But that's not the case for the Iowa Hawkeyes soccer team, even with memories of last year's 9-11-1 campaign fresh in their minds. This year is shaping up to be quite different, as the disappointments of 2008 serve to fuel higher expectations as the team prepares for its season opener tomorrow against No. 24 Missouri.

“Up to this year, I've seen a lot of differences,” said senior co-captain Jackie Kaeding. “Everybody - the fans, the community - was used to us losing. This year we have gained a lot of pride. We expect to win now.”

That is unusual for a Hawkeyes team whose best season since 2002 was 8-8-4 in 2007.

“Our team (now) believes we can win any game on our schedule,” said Coach Ron Rainey.

Part of that comes from the close losses and knowing they were one play away from a different outcome. Another part comes from having a handful of area women on the team accustomed to victory. Joining this year's team are freshmen Jade Grimm, Katherine Lewis and Rachel Spellerberg from the 2009 state champion Cedar Rapids Kennedy team.

“The biggest thing is knowing what it feels like to be on top,” Grimm said.

Another change this year is the number of Iowans. When Kaeding came in as a freshman five years ago (an injury led her to red-shirt her sophomore year) there were only a few Iowans. Now there are nine on a roster of 31.

“People grow up in this area now and they want to be a Hawkeye soccer player,” Kaeding said.

Rainey, who became coach a year after Kaeding arrived on campus, has been instrumental in making that happen by getting children more involved in the program and bringing them around the team, Kaeding said.

He sees having nine area players as a benefit not just to the team, but to those children as well.

“Little ones can come out to a game and see Xavier or Kennedy girls playing,” Rainey said.