Senior Jodie Durr scored the only goal of the match midway through the first period as the Iowa Hawkeyes downed the Scarlet Knights 1-0, before a crowd of 852 delighted spectators in Iowa City. For the Knights, the offensive power outage in the 2023 season continues, as RU was again held scoreless and collected just five shots in the match.

Two things were immediately noticeable at the start of the Scarlet Knights’ game against Iowa. Gia Girman returned to the starting line-up again after her standout performance against Nebraska, and Riley Tiernan was once again moved to the forward position after her time in midfielder purgatory against the Cornhuskers.

From the outset, the Hawkeyes were in an immediate pressure mode, flooding the RU zone with players in an attempt to keep the Knights bottled up in their own end while creating chances for the Iowa offense.

But the Rutgers defense was stout, and their ability to quickly transition created chances for Tiernan, who, while she didn’t score in the early going, forced Iowa goalkeeper Macy Enneking to make saves.

But soon the Iowa pressure paid off when Durr picked up the ball in stride and the Solon, Iowa native fired one to the right of RU goalkeeper Olivia Bodmer, whose dive was too late to stop the shot from nestling into the corner of the net at 23:23.

The 1-0 lead that Iowa took into the locker room would stand up as the only goal of the game.

The Hawkeyes made adjustments in the second half, and the chances that Tiernan had early in the contest soon evaporated, as she would not collect another shot for the final 78 minutes of the match.

Rutgers could manage only two shots on goal for the entire contest, while the Hawkeyes collected 15 shots in the match, no doubt benefiting from the absence of captains Emma Misal and Becci Fluchel from the RU lineup.

Back to a .500 team at 5-5-3 on the season, the Knights have struggled through conference play, holding a 1-3-1 record against Big Ten opponents. They have scored just five goals in those five contests, having been shutout in two of the last three matches.

The Scarlet Knights will look to turn their fortunes around against Maryland, who is currently reeling with a record of 3-5-5, (and 0-4-1 against Big Ten opponents). The Terrapins have yet to register a goal against any conference foe, having been outscored 14-0 in those five games. The match is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 7 in College Park, Md.