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Hawkeyes Prove They Belong By James Allan T he University of Iowa soccer team isn't content with moral victories, but a 2-1 loss to No. 15 Michigan on Sept. 22 at the Iowa Soccer Complex showed that the Hawkeyes have the ability to be a player in the Big Ten Conference race in 2013. "This shows that we can be competitive with a ranked team in the country," said UI head coach Ron Rainey. "That is something we should be excited about. Maybe that was an unknown coming in, but I think we proved that." The Hawkeyes entered the Big Ten opener with an 8-0 record, out-scoring opponents, 16-4, and posting five shutouts. Iowa went undefeated in the nonconference for the third year in a row, running its nonleague winning streak to 25 games. Iowa proceeded to go toe-to-toe with the Wolverines, tying the game in the 68th minute on freshman Bri Toelle's second strike of the season, and out-shot Michigan, 12-7. The Hawkeyes had three solid scoring opportunities in the final 10 minutes, but couldn't net the equalizer. "We need to take advantage of every opportunity," said junior Cloe Lacasse. "We need to capitalize each time because you're not going to get as many chances when you're playing quality Big Ten opponents." Junior Katie Nasenbenny believes opening the conference slate against one of the top teams in the Big Ten right out of the gate will be beneficial for the Hawkeyes. It proves the team has the ability to compete against the league's best. "Michigan is a tough team — every Big Ten team is tough — and we're a tough team," she said. "People regarded Michigan highly coming into this season, and we played well, it was even. It shows we can hang with anyone, and it gives us confidence heading into our next contest." After playing five-straight games at the Iowa Soccer Complex, the Hawkeyes hit the road for six of their next seven contests. Iowa opens the road stint with games at Illinois (Sept. 27), Northwestern (Sept. 29) and Nebraska (Oct. 3) before hosting Michigan State on Oct. 6 in Iowa City. "We've been (at home) for five games, so now it's our turn to go on the road," said Nasenbenny. "Some people like playing at home more. I like playing on the road because it's different and fun. We have to play well, have things fall our way, and we'll get the results we want." Rainey says the Hawkeyes need to let the loss to Michigan sting, use it to help them improve and then turn the fortunes. "We have to let this hurt a little bit and then rededicate ourselves to getting better in the attack and defense," he said. "I think we can do well (moving forward). "We have experience and players that have played in these games. Now it's about not accepting losses and tie games, it's figuring out a way to lead and win these types of games." 43