COLUMBUS, OHIO — Iowa Hawkeye soccer carried a 1-0 lead into halftime against the nation’s No. 8 team Sunday, but Ohio State erupted for three goals in a seven-minute span after the break and handed the Hawkeyes a 3-1 Big Ten loss at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
The September 27 defeat dropped Iowa to 5-3-4 overall and 0-2-3 in conference play. Ohio State improved to 8-1-1 overall and 4-1 in the Big Ten.
Iowa entered the nationally ranked matchup coming off a 1-1 draw at Penn State, where Sara Batchadji helped the Hawkeyes extend their Big Ten tie streak to three straight matches.
Batchadji struck again Sunday.
The Hawkeyes grabbed the lead in the 37th minute when Batchadji finished a chance off a Berit Parten corner kick, giving Iowa a 1-0 advantage.
Iowa controlled much of the opening half, firing eight shots with four on goal while holding Ohio State to just four shots and none on target.
The Hawkeyes took that one-goal lead into halftime with a chance to knock off one of the Big Ten’s top teams.
Then the match flipped quickly.
Ohio State’s Amanda Schlueter tied the game in the 64th minute and struck again just three minutes later to give the Buckeyes a 2-1 lead.
The trouble continued for Iowa in the 71st minute when Jadin Bonham converted a penalty kick, pushing Ohio State’s advantage to 3-1.
The Hawkeyes could not recover from the sudden burst.
Batchadji’s goal was her third of the season. Parten recorded her seventh assist and has now registered at least one point in every match in which Iowa has scored this season.
The loss snapped Iowa’s run of three consecutive Big Ten draws. The Hawkeyes had previously battled Nebraska and Illinois to scoreless ties before rallying for the draw at Penn State.
Iowa now returns home still searching for its first Big Ten victory.
The Hawkeyes will host Rutgers on Sunday at the Iowa Soccer Complex. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. Central time.