The no. 14 NC State women’s soccer was beaten 1-0 by the Iowa Hawkeyes on Friday afternoon on a goal by forward Samantha Tawharu.

The Wolfpack (2-2) were without star player senior forward Tziarra King for the match against the Hawkeyes (5-0), with the forward serving a suspension after being given a straight red card in the team’s road victory over Monmouth.

“We were trying to adjust,” junior goalkeeper Jessica Berlin said. “We usually have her up top. You could miss her today, but we had some other teammates step up.”

With neither team able to get much going early, head coach Tim Santoro went to his bench to make both personnel and formation changes. Brining on sophomore Anna Toohey into a forward role for freshman holding midfielder Jaiden Thomas.

With the substitution, the formation changed from a 4-1-3-2 to a 4-3-3 with senior Ricci Walkling and sophomore Toni Starova playing a pair at the base of midfield, with senior Paige Griffiths just in front of them. Across the front line was Toohey, and freshmen Jameese Joseph and Leyah Hall-Robinson. 

The change appeared to be working as the Wolfpack had started to control the tempo of the game, but with 7:35 left in the first half the Hawkeyes broke the deadlock.

Forward Samantha Tawharu connected with a low cross just outside the six and placed the ball low to Berlin’s left and the keeper was not able to get down to it in time. 

While the Wolfpack had started the control the tempo of the game, the Hawkeyes dominated the first half in terms of chance creation, outshooting the Wolfpack by a margin of seven to three. NC State was often able to get into the Iowa box but was let down by the final ball.

Santoro started the second half the same way he began the game from a personnel standpoint but the formation looked very different. The formation echoed the 4-3-3 he switched to halfway through the first half but with Starova leading the line and Hall-Robinson and Joseph on the wings. 

“I’ll do whatever coach asks me to do,” Starova said. “At this point, it was the best option at what he wanted us to do. I’ll play wherever, all for the team.”

The Wolfpack looked good at points throughout the second half but as a whole, the half was controlled by the Hawkeyes who outshot the Wolfpack 6-1 in the second 45.

One bright spot on the night for the Wolfpack was the play of Berlin in net, who made three saves only allowing one goal on 13 shots faced. The position of keeper was a big question mark coming into the season with the departure of the now-graduated Sydney Wootten, but Berlin has proved herself as a capable keeper at the beginning of this season.

“It’s been difficult and rewarding,” Berlin said. “I’ve waited two years to get to this point. I’ve been training, I’ve been watching Sydney. She’s big shoes to fill and my goal is to step up and do the best that I can for this team.”

NC State will be back in action on Sunday, Sept. 8 against Duquesne. The game will kickoff at 1 p.m. at Dail Soccer Field.