IOWA CITY — Iowa women’s soccer wasted no time making a statement to open the 2026 season, pouring in a program-record seven goals in a 7-0 demolition of Milwaukee on Wednesday, August 12, at the Iowa Soccer Complex.
(TOP IMAGE via Iowa Athletics)
Five different Hawkeyes found the net as Iowa overwhelmed the Panthers from the opening minutes. The seven goals were the most Iowa has scored in a game since an 8-1 victory over Southern Utah in 2017 and established a new program record for goals in a season opener.
“It’s nice to be able to score different types of goals as well as different people,” Iowa head coach Dean Ward said. “And that’s a real bonus for us; you can’t just mark one player and take us out of a game. There’s multiple threats that they have to deal with.”
Iowa needed only three minutes to strike.
Reilly Heman scored the Hawkeyes’ first goal of the season with assists from Elle Wildman and Alli Macke, giving Iowa a 1-0 lead almost immediately.
Berit Parten doubled the advantage in the 15th minute, finishing a buildup from Macke and Liana Tarasco for the eighth goal of her Iowa career.
Berkley Binggeli made it 3-0 in the 37th minute off an assist from Jada Grove, sending the Hawkeyes into halftime firmly in control.
There was no letup after the break.
Wildman scored her third career goal in the 49th minute to stretch Iowa’s lead to 4-0.
Parten struck again in the 69th minute after a setup from Savannah Hutchins, giving her two goals on the night and nine for her career. It marked the second multi-goal game of Parten’s career.
“I kind of knew that we always had it in us,” Parten said. “We know who we are and how we’re going to work together and work for each other. We have a tight-knit group, and I believe we have the possibility to do something really special this year.”
Iowa continued piling on.
Binggeli converted a penalty kick in the 73rd minute for her second goal of the match, giving her the first multi-goal game of her Hawkeye career and eight career goals overall.
Lexy Griffin finished the rout in the 80th minute, scoring off an assist from Parten for her second career goal and Iowa’s seventh of the evening.
The scoreboard reflected just how thoroughly Iowa controlled the match.
The Hawkeyes outshot Milwaukee 21-3 and held a commanding 13-2 advantage in shots on goal.
Macke helped orchestrate the attack with two assists, while goalkeeper Braelynn Galt made two saves during the full 90 minutes to preserve the shutout.
Iowa opens the season 1-0-0 and will return to action Saturday, August 15, when the Hawkeyes host Loyola Chicago, also 1-0-0, at 7 p.m. at the Iowa Soccer Complex.
Admission is free.