Senior midfielder Adelle Lever scored the game-winner with less than eight minutes left, scoring off a rebound. She had three consecutive attempts missed before her fourth found the back of the net.

Head coach Helen Knull had words of praise for Lever, who hasn’t been a major scorer for the team but has been consistently good over the course of the year.

“I told her after the game, this is her moment,” Knull said. “This is what she’s been working for, and I know this will be a memory she will have for the rest of her life.”

By winning the Big Ten Championship, MSU earns an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. This plays into the team’s favor, as an at-large bid would have been unlikely considering the .500 regular season record.

“We knew if we didn’t win today, we didn’t have a hope of getting into the tournament,” Knull said. “The girls knew we had to win today to get that bid. They focused on the process, executing (the) game plan and it worked out for us, coming back to win it.”

Junior forward Abby Barker was named tournament MVP. Barker scored two goals in the second half to lead the comeback.

Barker’s season started with turmoil. The star forward suffered turf burn on her leg during an early-season loss to Stanford. The burn became infected, and ultimately cost Barker four games.

Without Barker, who scored a team-leading 18 goals the previous season, MSU struggled with a 3-5 start to the season.

Since returning, Barker has been on fire. She had a hat trick against Ohio State during the semifinals on Friday, and followed by spearheading the comeback against Iowa.

“I’m really proud of Abby because having her injured early in the season I know was tough, was tough for her, because she’s a kid that sets goals for herself,” Knull said. “For this entire Big Ten Tournament, she’s been focused, she’s been ready, she wanted to win it for this team. She’s been huge, and for her to get MVP today is fantastic.”

Senior goalkeeper Molly Cassidy had two saves. Iowa goalkeeper Kelsey Boyce had three saves.

Iowa sophomore forward Natalie Cafone beat Cassidy by striking the upper-right side of the cage for the first score of the game.

Senior forward Kelsey Mitchell scored again for Iowa with under four minutes left in the first half.

She received an assist from freshman forward Stephanie Norlander and beat Cassidy to score at the upper-right of the cage.

Barker started the comeback effort by striking the ball into the lower right of the net five yards out.

Barker continued her strong effort, scoring her second and final goal of the game off a penalty with under 13 minutes left to tie with Iowa, 2-2. Senior midfielder Katherine Jamieson and junior back Jenni Smith assisted on the play.