COLUMBUS, Ohio - No. 25 Ohio State battled the weather and the Iowa Hawkeyes, coming away with the 3-2 victory on a soggy Friday night at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.

"This was a sloppy game to play in and a difficult day for goalkeepers," head coach Lori Walker said. "We talked at halftime about shrinking the field and we were able to do that in the second half."

The Buckeyes almost struck first when freshman Lauren Granberg gathered a loose ball in the box but Iowa goalkeeper Emily Moran stepped out to make the sliding stop in the 13th minute.

The Hawkeyes would convert their best opportunity in the 20th minute when forward Alyssa Cosnek lofted a ball from 20 yards out just over the outstretched arms of Ohio State keeper Lauren Robertson.

However, the Buckeyes would tally the equalizer with just under 10 minutes remaining in the first half when sophomore Colleen Brady played a free kick into the box from just beyond midfield and senior co-captain Ashley Bowyer flicked the header over Moran and into the back of the net. The goal marked the first goal of 2009 for the Aliso Viejo, Calif. native.

Bowyer would tack on her second goal less than five minutes later when she redirected a shot by freshman Kendyl Reed to beat the Iowa goalkeeper and give the Buckeyes the 2-1 lead.

"It was a release to score the goals," Bowyer said. "I've had some opportunities and I finally put them away."

The lead would be short-lived as Iowa sophomore Morgan Showalter controlled a failed Buckeye clearance and drilled the shot from just outside the 18-yard box to beat a diving Robertson in the 43rd minute and tie the game at two heading into the break.

It would not take long for the Buckeyes to regain the lead when junior Lauren Steuer headed in her first career goal in the 54th minute. The goal came when Granberg played a nice through ball to freshman Tiffany Cameron who made an excellent cross just before she reached the end line.

The Hawkeyes had a near miss in the 64th minute when Alyscha Mottershead drilled a rebound that sailed just wide right but Ohio State had another great opportunity less than five minutes later. Sophomore Paige Maxwell nailed a low, driving shot that Moran was able to deflect wide right.

The game would get chippy late but neither team would be able to muster much in the way of opportunities as the Buckeyes improved to 6-1 at home and 2-1 in Big Ten play.

For the game, the Buckeyes held an 11-7 advantage in shots, 7-2 on goal.

The Buckeyes (9-2-1, 2-1-0 Big Ten) return to action when they host Northwestern at noon Sunday. The match will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network.