Iowa beats Campbell for 1st NCAA women’s soccer tournament win

This Iowa soccer team had already made its mark on the school record book with a remarkable run to the program’s first Big Ten tournament title.

The Hawkeyes went ahead and achieved another landmark Tuesday afternoon.

Iowa defeated Campbell 1-0 in an NCAA women’s soccer tournament first-round match at Buies Creek, N.C., for its first NCAA win in three tries.

Sara Wheaton’s fourth-minute goal held up as the winner for the Hawkeyes (7-8-1), who move on to face No. 3 UCLA (12-1-2) in the second round at 2 p.m. (CT) Friday (ESPN3). The Pac-12 champion Bruins received a first-round bye.

“It feels unreal and I’m so proud of the whole team for everything that we’ve accomplished and the records that we’re gonna have forever,” Wheaton said in a video posted by the team.

Campbell (8-4-1), playing on its home field and also seeking its first NCAA tournament victory, produced the first chance of the game with a corner kick in the opening minutes, but a young Iowa team defended it well and quickly dispatched of any jitters.

In the fourth minute, Josie Durr raced down the sideline and earned a corner kick that Samantha Cary launched to the far post. Wheaton, a junior defender, settled it, took a touch to her right and fired a shot across goal that deflected off Campbell defender Laney Peabody and in with 41:22 remaining in the first half.

Durr, Cary and Wheaton were three of four Hawkeyes (along with Samantha Tawharu) in Tuesday’s starting 11 who also started their 1-0 NCAA first-round loss to Kansas in November 2019.

The program’s other previous NCAA appearance was in 2013, a 4-1 defeat to Notre Dame. Dave DiIanni took over as head coach the following season after winning three NCAA Division II championships at Grand Valley State and has now, in his seventh season, taken the Hawkeyes further than they’ve ever been.

“We talked a lot about, two weekends in a row, trying to make history in our program,” DiIanni said. “We just talked about creating a foundation for others who are gonna wear this jersey, and an expectation and a standard that what is expected of them at the University of Iowa, specifically in the soccer program.”

Iowa threatened often in the first half Tuesday, twice hitting the post among its six shots, another of which was saved off the crossbar. Sandwiched among those opportunities was perhaps Campbell’s best chance at an equalizer. In the 31st minute, Peabody headed a corner kick on net that was cleared off the line by Iowa substitute Ginna Gourley.

In all, the Hawkeyes outshot the Camels 12-8. Freshman goalkeeper Macy Enneking made three saves for Iowa.